Clarification about MATH PHD?

august
Wed, 02 Mar 2005 15:49:09 +0000

You may be able to get into a “top” program IF you do really well on the math subject GRE. It’s pretty hard to do well on this exam. If you haven’t, you should get a GRE math subject book to see what is on the exam and get an idea of how you might do.

It may be possible to join a program in the spring. Try to find out by asking a professor in the departments you are interested in who is involved with the graduate program. I say this because often the rules are flexible, both for admissions requirements and for dates when you could join the program. But I will tell you one thing, I went to graduate school in math and there were very specific courses that had to be taken during the first year unless you were at a more advanced level. These were difficult courses and chances are you wouldn’t be at that advanced level unless you have learned a WHOLE lot outside of your courses. I knew a guy who had a situation and was able to start in the spring because he didn’t need those courses. And keep in mind that many programs do not have such specific course requirements, so that might not be an issue at all.

If your background is a little bit lacking, you may have serious trouble in a top program. If this is your situation, I might advise getting a master’s degree from a not-so-top program first in order to have solid preparation. Math Ph.D. programs oftten have a very high attrition rate, and the level of difficulty is one of the main reasons.