<p>First off, I want to note that I am thinking of majoring in Applied Math and wanted to make sure that the University of Texas at Austin offers it. If so, what school is it a part of, as this might affect my chance of admission? I am an incoming male junior living in Illinois. How does everyone think I fair at UT as an out of stater, knowing that they only allow 10% of their incoming freshman to be from out of state?</p>
<p>GPA: 3.60 uw / 4.12 w
ACT: 33 composite. (34 English 35 math 29 reading and 35 science)
Class rank: 27 uw / 21% w</p>
<p>Extra-Curriculars:
-5 years of high school and club volleyball. Multiple MVP awards and captain positions.
-1 year of employment at a special recreation organization.
-4 years of some volunteer work through church.
AP’s and course work:
AP euro history sophomore year. 3 on exam
AP us history, AP psychology, AP calc A junior year.
Will take AP Econ, AP gov, AP computer science, AP calc BC, and Ap Spanish senior year.</p>
<p>There were actually quite a few OOS students from Chicago, so I imagine that UT gets lots of Illinois applications. You seem really well qualified as well, besides your class rank. The rank is a bit iffy, but you still got a shot of getting in. Applied math is in the College of Natural Sciences, which is open at UT so if you are accepted to the university, you’ll get your desired applied math major. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks I’m glad to know that applied math isn’t part of an even more difficult school to get into like I thought it might be in Cockrell school of engineering. Anyways, I agree with my class rank being not too good, but I hope that my school profile will help me out due to it sending numerous students to top universities every year.
Does anyone know how the math department is at UT and how respected a degree in applied math would be from UT? Thanks</p>
<p>Yeah I know there is no quota, just that 90% of the spots are reserved for Texans, with 75% of them being automatic admits due to the top X% rule. So, yeah I plan on applying and really want to get in. But after I graduate, how would a degree in applied math from UT be respected? A lot or a little? Will It help me to find a
job fairly easily?</p>
<p>I think you have a good shot. OOS is hard simply because of what you stated, the majority of the UT freshman class is made up of Texans. As long as you have fairly high stats, which you do, you’ve got a good shot at admission. </p>
<p>This is grad school rankings, but you can see that UT is ranked pretty high for Applied Math. I’d say your degree would probably be well respected (although I don’t know much about applied math), especially if you plan on working in Texas.</p>
<p>You stats are pretty impressive so I would say you have a good shot. Definitely apply though.
Good luck in applied math! That stuff is way beyond me…</p>
<p>Regarding applied math as an undergraduate degree – it’s not exactly a “vocational” degree. No matter what school you graduate from, you’ll likely need to attend grad school.</p>
<p>There aren’t any jobs where employers seek those with undergrad degrees in math. Typically, any position as an “applied mathematician” requires a PhD in mathematics. Therefore, most people who graduate with undergraduate degrees in math usually go on to medical school, law school, etc.</p>
<p>If you’re worried, you might be interested in UT’s actuarial science track. It’s one of the three tracks in UT undergraduate math: theoretical, applied, and actuarial science. Actuarial science focuses more on statistics and leads to employment as an actuary. Actuaries easily make between 70k - 500k depending on skill and on how many actuarial exams they pass. The good part is you would only need an undergraduate degree, and it’s still an “applied math” degree.</p>
<p>If you want to become an applied mathematician just continue after undergrad and get a PhD in math.</p>
<p>Wow good to know about that actuarial science path. I hear that the exam process is quite difficult though, how true is this? Also, I have seen many threads and websites saying that the possibilities are endless with an applied math degree, however that doesn’t mean employers are seeking these people out as gamepad said, but wouldn’t doing hard work and having success in college make up for it? And
finally I’m not really set on math nor do I want to be a mathematician at all, I just found the most interest and success in math but didn’t like the idea of pure math. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Well I originally was thinking of doing some type of engineering, but I couldn’t find a specific focus in engineering that interested me enough and I also heard that engineering is very trying and difficult and engineers work upwards of 10 hours a day and I don’t think I would be very happy being that swamped with work. It’s not that I’m lazy, just that I would like to have time to spend with my future family.</p>
<p>^You should look for the thread on the parents forum about the number of hourse people work per week. Almost all of the posters said they work a good bit more than 40 hours a week. You will probably be swamped with work, no matter what career you choose. The great thing about engineering is that you’re doing something “real,” not just shuffling papers. And in some fields of engineering, you can work for yourself, as my husband and I have done for 12 years. We’re home almost all of the time. Yes, it’s crazy sometimes, but it’s really great not working for somebody else.</p>
<p>There are a lot of lazy engineers who have decent jobs, haha. But seriously, I also loved math in high school (and not so much science), but I think that combining math and science into engineering for an undergraduate degree is a smart thing to do.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great responses. I should probably realize that no job will be easy, not just engineering. Can anyone tell me how much of engineering is mostly finding creative solutions to difficult problems? Since that isn’t one of my fortes. However, I still have applied math as my top choice right now, but everyone knows how much people change their minds. Could someone tell me how much success I could have with only an undergraduate degree in applied math? Where(as in what field) would I have the most success finding a job? Any other info on applied math would be greatly appreciated since it is such a vague term. Also, MaineLonghorn could you tell me a little bit more about how you manage to be a self employed engineer?</p>
<p>Wow thanks for that much needed link. Now applied math seems scary and I am going to talk to my guidance counselor for a last opinion. Also, that third option for Mathematical Science with specialization in Statistics, Probability, and Data Analysis seems interesting, although I don’t know much about statistics and it seems boring. Could someone tell me what types of jobs that might lead to? I am also open to any any ideas as of now since my plan has been shattered.</p>