Good student interested in math and philosophy

College Search & Lists
1

I’m a junior in Arizona interested in math and maybe philosophy. These are my likely stats a year from now.

UW GPA: 3.91
W GPA: 4.33
SAT I: 1560 - 800 Math + 760 Verbal
ACT: 35
SAT II: Math 2: 800 Physics: 800

AP’s:
Calc AB (5) - taken Freshman year, Calc BC (5) -taken sophomore year, Lang (5), World History (4), US History (5), Chemistry (4), Statistics (5), Computer Science A (5), Physics I (5),

Senior year I plan on taking AP Macro/Micro Econ, AP US/Comparative Gov, AP Lit, Physics C (both) and probably courses at a University (I’ve taken most AP’s at my school)

ECs:
Math Club - Team Member (5 years)
NHS - Member (2 years) VP (1 year)
Film Club (2 years member, 1 year president)
FRC Team - Programmer (2 years)
Vex Robotics Team - Programmer (3 years)
Academic Decathlon - (10th grade only. Youngest member and the teacher left after)
CIT at a summer camp (Summer before 11th grade)
7 week research internship at the University of Arizona (Summer before 12th grade)

AIME Qualifier, National Merit Finalist, and AP Scholar

I play the drums in a band and also paint sometimes (maybe supplement). I jumped up in math along with a friend in Freshman year (looks good?) and also I’m planning on self-studying multivar calc and linear algebra. I’ve also taken online courses in math, game theory, and philosophy.

I know 2 teachers that will give me great letters of recommendation (math and english) but I don’t really know my college counselor yet.

My only potential hook is that my parents are both South African immigrants (still white) and I talk with an accent at home.

I’m most interested in UChicago because I love Chicago but I’m open to anything. Really looking for match and low reach schools.

2

Given your stats, I would say Michigan-Ann Arbor is a low reach school. It has a solid Mathematics department and its Philosophy department is not to shabby either. Classes in both departments tend to be small since they are not terribly popular majors. It is worth a look.

3

Whats your EFC and how does it differ from your budget?
UMichigan is a match but due to selectivity rate it moves to automatic reach (so, low reach for you).
The issue is more: will it be affordable?
Run the NPC on UChicago, UMichigan, and a few others (Harvey Mudd? Williams? Yale?)
And see what’s affordable and what isn’t.

4

These colleges appear in a Princeton Review sampling, “Great Schools for Mathematics Majors,” and would generally be within your range as matches and reaches:

Caltech
UChicago
Harvard
Harvey Mudd
MIT
Rice
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Haverford
Carleton
Grinnell
Reed
Macalester
URochester
St. Olaf

In your case in particular, you will want to review the respective math curricula at schools of interest to see whether they offer sufficient courses for four years of study. Tech-focused schools on the list may be insufficient for your interest in philosophy. Regard the list in general as a source for ideas but not as comprehensive in the schools it contains.

5

UW-Seattle and UToronto have a math+philosophy option for math majors.