<p>I am a white male in Minnesota. I am planning on applying to college next year (my junior year) and attending college after taking a gap year. (I will graduate.) I am interested in studying pure mathematics and/or physics and plan on attending graduate school in one of these fields. I will have taken calc I-III, differential equations, linear algebra (computational), and analysis I by the time I graduate. Would a LAC be challenging enough?
Essentially, I am looking for a school with a bunch of really smart people (my school is severely lacking in this department and i am pretty bored/don’t fit in). I am very adaptable and feel comfortable in all types of weather. I am pretty sure I could fit in at any size school (although at a large school it seems like it would take a bit more effort to find the right groups of people). Name recognition doesn’t matter. I just want to be at a place where I am free to talk to smart people who share my interests, and I don’t want to be criticized for enjoying the study of mathematics. My mother wants to make sure that I don’t become too one-sided. (She favors me going to a bigger school or a LAC.)</p>
<p>My stats: Feels kind of awkward to share, but if it helps…
ACT-English 35 Math 36 Reading 36 Science 36 Writing 9 (this was the first essay i had ever written in under 30 minutes)
SAT II Math 800 Physics 790 Biology 780
AP- BC-5 Mechanics-5 E&M-5 Bio-5
to be taken AP-English, US Government, Chemistry, Econ
a couple of classes at local college
plus good ECs</p>
<p>possible schools: Carleton, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, University of Chicago, UMICH, Harvard/MIT</p>
<p>Your statistics are great and your list is very reasonable. Have you thought about affordability? Other than that, I see no problem with this list. You are likely to get into many of these schools. If you want to add another place, how about Princeton?</p>
<p>I would recommend Cornell University if you would like a well-rounded undergrad experience and great math and physics program for undergrads. Princeton is also excellent in both math and physics for undergrads.
Chicago, Stanford, Columbia, and Harvard are more focused on graduate students.</p>
<p>Looks like a great list to me. UMich should be your safety, and you’d likely be offered merit aid there as well. For a financial safety, you could consider an LAC with great merit aid.</p>
<p>I would consider Reed for social fit, and I think you could find an academic fit there too. One of the most brilliant graduates from my high school (he’s also one of my friends) is a math major at Reed, but that’s a bit of a misnomer, as he dabbles in a bit of everything. Never complains that it’s too easy :-)</p>
<p>Another great school for you could be Swarthmore.</p>
<p>My impression and experience is that at schools that have a lot of grad students (Chicago, Michigan, etc.) it’s easy for an undergrad to piggyback on grad student resources. (That’s certainly the case with Chicago, and particularly in the math department). At LAC’s, the resources are sort of created for you as you go along. Either way, you should be able to find challenge.</p>
<p>unalove, what do you mean when you say that resources are created for you as you go along? By the way, I turned down the University of Chicago for Swarthmore, partly because of finances, partly because I can go to UChicago for grad school, but once I turn down Swarthmore, that’s basically it.</p>