Pure Math Major Extracurriculars

thankingcow
Tue, 11 Apr 2023 05:24:25 +0000

Hi, I’m a HS freshman looking to go into pure math as an undergrad.

Currently, I have a 4.0 GPA, 1570 SAT, and USAJMO qual.
I want extracurriculars that can make me competitive for universities such as MIT, Caltech, CMU, HYPS, etc., but I found that it was quite challenging to get EC’s, especially research.

1. Is it possible to do any meaningful research under a prof. in math as a HS student? If yes, what fields would I have the best chance in actually understanding the work?

2. Aside from research, what other things can I do? I applied to Ross and PROMYS, and I’m waiting on the results. The easiest thing that I thought of would be just stacking DE courses and going to camps, but I feel like I wouldn’t have a singular strong hook.

Thank you in advance!