Applying to PhD programs in mathematics

[wisteria]

marite, the page you linked also has a paragraph stating:

GRE scores: We strongly recommend that you take the GRE exams prior to the last test date in December to ensure that your scores reach us in time. We will accept scores after the deadline, but the late arrival may hurt your chances for early acceptance. We do not require a minimum score on either of the exams. Include a photocopy of your GRE score report, if available; we will insert a copy of the official report in your file when it arrives. We review applications which do not include GRE scores, but please note that competition for admission is keen, and the strongest applications always include GRE scores.

So, post #58 is technically correct in stating that Chicago does not require GRE scores, though it's clearly they strongly urge applicants to take them.

[momof3!]

Take the GREs or spend your entire personal statement explaining why you didn't....

and I believe that MIT math funds all its fulltime theoretical math grad students (those who also get outside funding don't get to doubledip--none of the departments allow that). Otherwise MIT could not compete with the other schools. Like many (not all) of the schools, the funding may come via a TAship or similar arrangment.

If I remember correctly, all the grad depts. require some teaching as part of their program--grad students need the experience and need it on their resume if they are going to pursue an academic job.

[marite]

Wisteria:

This is not the first time that a departmental website has incoherent information when the information is corrected piecemeal. I take the list of required materials I posted as far more binding than the explanatory one you've posted. What it may mean is that if GRE scores are not available by the time the applications are reviewed, they will considerably weaken the latter. It depends on the timeline for looking at applications. Many have Dec. 15 deadlines and are looked at in mid-January.
Perhaps the operative word is "formally." The admissions committee may take a preliminary look at an application that is very strong but is lacking the GRE scores, but will only formally review it once all the elements have been received. This, however, puts the applicant at a disadvantage if the committee has already decided on a list of admits and would have to knock out someone in order to make room for the late addition.

[padad]

LazyBum201, All TAs are listed as 50% funding because theoretically the student cannot spend more than that "working" as a TA. That is they cannot be hired as a 100% FTE in a work environment. the other 50% of their time is for classes etc. In the academic world students are always listed as a 50% FTE. That is of course legal-speak. We generally refer it as a full stipend, whether the stipend comes from a University fellowship, TA or RA from funded research. Hope that is clear.

[cookiemom]

It's now September so my S is working on fellowship applications at this point. He's been advised to apply to a dozen programs with a range of admission difficulty. It's easy to figure out the ones that are difficult to get into, but figuring out a "safety" is difficult. How safe is safe?

He still hasn't narrowed down a research area so he's considering the Cambridge math tripos. His lack of a specific interest is also going to be a problem with some fellowships like the NSF. But it looks like outside funding isn't necessary for most programs, especially since he loves to teach.

Fellowship applications, GRE's, Grad school apps, job interviews, senior thesis - this is worse than senior year in high school. Anyone else's kid overloaded like this?

[hikids]

I did not take the time to go through every post. But if your S wants to teach down the road, he should look at the number of positions available each year. Harvard Math PhD's have ended up teaching HS because of marketing conditions. There is a wide disparity regarding job opportunities in teaching among disciplines. For example, currently there are generally fewer PhD's in business produced every year, relative to the need for college teaching. Yet within business Finance is one of the top discipline in terms of jobs and salaries. I would think this through so I was not surprised at the end of an arduous program. Good luck.

[marite]

I wish my S were as focused on applications! At least he's done with GREs. He took the Subject test some time ago, and the General test yesterday. He's got some ideas of programs he wants to apply to, but he has not made a push to write his essay. He also has to ask profs for recs.
Job interviews. Yikes! He loved his internship, so he will definitely apply there. But for the rest...
It is like high school all over again.

[simba]

marite: what do you think are the prospects for internships? I think very little. Ph.d. candidates are not that attractive. Son had turned down an interview after accepting one offer. Few weeks ago he received an e-mail with blah-blah and an offer that they will waive the first round interview and conduct a second round interview at the earliest. After his response that he would like to come for an internship as he will go to graduate school, things are very quite from them.

[marite]

simba:

I'm not sure what your question is. S is a rising senior, so this summer's internship has been after his junior year. He really enjoyed it. The company is well known for treating its employees very well, and he was. He liked the group he worked with and they liked his work. His group took him out to lunch on his last day and encouraged him to apply to come back to work at the company. He is not thinking that it's a done deal should he apply but he feels definitely encouraged.

The company--and many others around here, have summer internship programs for college students. I don't know how many of the interns end up working at the companies, however. It's different for i-banking. I know college students who received offer of permanent work after their junior summer internships.

[simba]

marite: I was talking about internship for '09. Rising seniors are in most demand. Most of them do not pursue graduate schools. But what about those who do? They may not be attractive to employers.

[marite]

Okay. I don't know. In my S's case, there was a specific project he was asked to do. I don't know if a similar project will materialize next summer. As well, the company's internship program includes not only summer interns but also co-op students, so it may be different than for companies which see summer internships as essentially recruiting tools.
S's group knew that he was interested in grad school, and even made some suggestions; but still encouraged him to consider coming back to work at the company (next summer? next year? eventually? I don't know).