TL;DR preface: Should I give up on my dream of being a mathematician?
++2013-14++
midwest State University; 3 semesters; 1.992 GPA; academic suspension
++Spring 2017++
biggest CC in the state; 4.0 GPA with 16 credit hours:
Calculus II, A, 5 credit hours
Calculus III, A, 5 credit hours
Linear Algebra, A, 3 credit hours
Applied Probability & Statistics, A, 3 credit hours
My lowest exam grade was 95%. My teachers tell me I should “aim high” for schools like UCB because they don’t know about my first attempt at college.
I was immature and didn’t apply myself when I was 18-19, and now I’m 22. I fell in love with math, and I want to pursue it as a career if I can. However I have this presumption that you have to attend a top school in order for a mathematics career to be worthwhile.
What are my chances of getting accepted into UC Berkeley, UCLA, Duke, or another top tier school for pure or even applied mathematics?
Does undergrad really matter for mathematics? If it doesn’t, do I have a good shot at getting into a top graduate program given I receive a 4.0 from here on out?
Should I just give up and go for a CS degree from a “decent” in-state engineering school? Are there ANY possible avenues for bright, motivated students who failed their first time around to enter competitive academia?
Please help.
As a history major, I can’t speak to the mathematics stuff specifically, but transferring to a good school definitely isn’t out of the question for you. I went to college for the first time when I was 17 (after failing to complete high school) and my GPA was abysmal, actually a little bit lower than your first GPA. This was back in 2009-2010 and I didn’t go back until 2015. But I’m about to finish my first 2 years at community college and transfer out, I’ve maintained a 4.0 for 3 semesters so far and we’ll see about the 4th one in a few days.
I wanted to go to a top school too and applied to 4 good liberal arts schools in addition to my state university. I’m still in the process of getting decisions, but so far I’ve been accepted to Bryn Mawr and waitlisted at Amherst, which I personally thought was pretty good for someone who’s dropped out of school twice. I did my best to explain my situation on my applications and interviewed where I could, and I also intentionally picked small schools that I thought would give my application a closer read.
I would say definitely spend another semester or 2 at CC before you start applying to transfer so that you have more positive records to show on your applications. Make sure you apply to a realistic mix of schools too, aiming high is definitely a good thing but it won’t be the end of the world if you do go to a state school and it’s a lot better than going nowhere, so make sure you have a safety. And again, not a math major but I don’t think going to that in-state school will affect your future career or grad school as much as you think it will. I’m planning to apply to law school personally, and obviously I haven’t gotten to that stage yet, but again, my record is objectively worse than yours and I’ve still done ok so far in the undergrad admissions process. I think a lot of it depends on how you approach it and how you present yourself and your history. You’re not the first person who’s ever been through a rough patch.
You have obviously matured a lot and have shown you are capable. Those schools are extremely difficult to transfer into, unless instate for UCs. Regardless, just because you don’t attend a top tier school doesn’t mean you have to give up your dream of becoming a mathematician. It also depends what kind of work you want to do.
Thanks for the replies.
@gluttonousoyster I really appreciate that you took the time to write that response out. It’s relieving to know that academic redemption isn’t necessarily some silly pipe dream.
If anyone can comment on how important a school’s prestige/ranking is when being considered for top graduate programs in mathematics, that would surely be helpful. Or perhaps that calls for a separate thread…
@eerbean I was looking for some of the same answers when I found this site so I understand the situation you’re in. Sorry I couldn’t help more with the specifics, but good luck!