mathlegend

Hey CCS Math majors, care sharing what the program is like? And what your stats are when you got accepted? Thanks

mathlegend

bump

10char

DrAhumada

Well, I was highly considering joining CCS as a math major, because the department head invited me to join. I ended up opting out of it. It seemed nice but at the same time it wasn't really for me. Its probably more for someone who wants to be a math teacher/professor.

My stats:
SATs: 2080 (750M,690CR,640W)
GPA: 4.09 weighted, 3.6 unweighted
SAT IIs: 740 Math II

mathlegend

Thanks for the info. So they contacted you while you were in high school? What kind of math classes have you taken at that point? Why do you think its more for someone who wants to be a math teacher/professor?

hypersoar

I'm starting as a CCS math major this quarter, and this program is why I decided to go to UCSB.

I haven't started there yet, but I've seen the program and talked to a lot of people about it. First of all, you get a lot more personal attention at CCS; at least as much as you would if you went to a small liberal arts college. CCS math classes are small (I believe my class has 15 students), as are the upper division L&S math classes you take. At orientation, there were, I'm guessing, about 400-500 students. In the first advising session where everyone was split into groups of about 25 people and told about GE/major requirements and what they should be registering for. I and the 4 other CCS students there (none other than me were math) went off separately. A woman who advises all CCS students met with us for a little while, and then our faculty advisors came. I spent the next hour in a one-on-one meeting with my advisor, as did the others.

In addition to smaller classes and better advising, you get some technical perks that are talked about on the website: quarter-long library checkout, priority registration, , and the ability to drop and change grading options until the last day of instruction.

In just about everywhere else, from L&S to Caltech or any other school you care to name, most math students start with "lower division" courses, which in this context means that they're computation-based rather than proof-based. Since proving is really what math is all about, you don't really get into it until your 2nd or even 3rd year. CCS starts you off with proof-based classes, and they're flexible about letting you skip classes.

The admissions folks in CCS math (each department seems to handle admissions separately, so I can't really speak to other majors) don't care too much how well you do in non-math stuff in school. My GPA was only about 3.7 weighted, 3.3 unweighted. However, I was 2 years ahead of my HS math curriculum (and the only person who was so) and studied math in summer programs. I also got an 800 on SAT math, which, I believe, is what earned me an email from them. So even if you don't have the grades to get into top-tier schools (none of the ultra competitive schools I applied to accepted me), you still have a shot at getting in here.

Hope that helped.

mathlegend

Thanks hypersoar, that helps. CCS does sound pretty awesome.

Were you in state? 2 years ahead of your HS math curriculum...what did you take in sophomore/junior/senior year for math? What were you grades in your math classes?

I think I should look into some summer math programs for next summer.

hypersoar

Yes, I am in-state. In my sophomore year, I technically took integrated math III, which at my school was taught out of an algebra 2 textbook, with the junior class. However, I went ahead of the class and studied for and took the AP Calc AB test that year. Junior year, I took "Calculus and Analytic Geometry 2," which was essentially the difference between calc BC and AB, and multivariable. Senior year, I took linear algebra and started taking differential equations, but didn't like it and dropped it. I got As in all of my math classes while in HS except for Bs in the two calc classes in junior year.

As for summer programs, you should take a look at Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics and Canada/USA Mathcamp. If you want to do both and have enough time, I would recommend doing HCSSiM first, since their curriculum is less flexible (i.e. there's some introductory stuff you can ignore at Mathcamp but not HCSSiM), and what you learn there will prepare you to do really well at Mathcamp. There are other programs I'm less familiar with (i.e. I haven't been to them), like PROMYS, which is entirely number theory. There's also RSI at MIT, but you can only do it the summer after your junior year, and the competition to get in is very, very intense.

mathlegend

Thanks man! I looked at their sites, and seems like I won't have enough time, as I am a junior, so I only have 1 more summer. I'll look into both of them though, plus some others.

Two more questions. Did they interview you? Do you know how many CCS math majors are accepted each year?

hypersoar

Mathcamp will take you the summer after your senior year (that's when I went). HCSSiM might, but there was nobody that old when I was there.

There was no admissions interview per se for CCS. When I visited, the woman who emailed me about the program spent some time with me talking to me about it and introducing me to some of its students.

There are usually around 15-20 new students each year. This year it's 15.

mathlegend

Cool, then I have two summers!

Dang, only 15-20...so I guess it's quite competitive to get in, eh?

And have you qualified for AIME or anything like that? (Any math awards?)

hypersoar

No, I didn't win any math awards. Contest math was only something I got into in the last year, and I wasn't any good at it.

mathlegend

Okay, thanks!