Difficulty of entrance

[Antigravity324]

I am graduating soon from a big ten university and looking to get a Phd in Mathematics. I am really confused about my chances in getting into what level of university. I was looking at places like University of Chicago or California Berkeley but have no real idea as far as how difficult the graduate entrance is.

My profile is a follows: Double major Computer Science and Mathematics (Systems Analysis option), GPA: 3.61, I haven't taken the GRES yet but I would imagine it would be around 770-800 for math, and around 500-600 for verbal. I have done some extra volunteering in a computer science research lab (mainly doing grunt work though no real research) and I have done some in depth study of Elliptic Curves and Cryptography with a professor. My issue is that I am more experienced in computer science than math. The system's analysis option for my math major didn't require Analysis (although I have taken Real Analysis ) or Algebra. I know that these are key for math degrees so it makes me seem less confident into how palatable I appear to a university.

I would appreciate some feedback on what you all think about the universities I have chance to get into and what universities I could consider more of as "safety school"

Thanks a lot!

[noojens]

I don't have definite answers for you (your professors, particularly those that have served on admissions committees, can provide that), but here are some random thoughts:

- A big factor in the strength of your application will be your score on the math subject GRE. Berkeley's math PhD website says they typically don't admit people who score under 80%. I suggest you don't take the subject test lightly.

- Are you interested in applied or pure math? Because applied math programs will be much more receptive to your course profile; pure math departments will probably want to see a bit more theoretical preparation.

- You might google around for math grad school forums. I don't know of any personally, but there are two threads on the PhysicsGRE forums (stickied) you might find interesting. They document a couple hundred applicant profiles - GPA, GRE scores, research experience, etc. - and their admission results. I started a similar thread for engineering on these forums, with mixed results. Those threads won't give you math-specific information, but they'll give you a general feel for what's required to get into top programs.

Good luck!

[frankdux]

i have very similar stars as the OP described and i'm from a big ten school as well. also, i'll be starting my math PhD program in the fall.

my 2 cents: if you can, get some more research in before you graduate or over the summer. research is a huge plus and will guarantee a solid letter of rec. whether or not you want to apply to top programs is up to you, but i'd let your math subject GRE score give you an indicator of whether or not you stand a chance - since your GPA is reasonable but probably close to a cutoff for a school like berkeley. if you want to be competitive at a top program then you should be looking to get a very high score. I didn't do so great on the math subject test so i didnt even bother applying to top 10 schools. (however, i did get an 800 on the math portion of the general GRE) i applied to schools in the 15-50 range. and only 4 out of the 10 i applied to required the subject test. my LOR's were probably a mixed bag and my SOP could have used some work cause i've been out of school for just a couple years but i didn't have much to say about my gap years. i got rejected from 8 schools (including the ones requiring the subject test), an unfunded acceptance from a school towards the bottom of my choices, and a fully funded offer to one of my middle choice schools that i happily accepted. i also remind myself that the poor economy made it tougher to get a funded offer this year, so i'm pretty happy with what i got and i'm really looking forward to starting up school again in the fall.

summary: you can get a fully funded offer to a decent school and you'll probably have better luck than i did, but i believe that top 10 schools for you should be considered your reach schools and that you'll only really stand a chance if you have an outstanding gre subject score.