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Absolutely b@rium is an outlier. There are very very few people who a) major in math, b) take the course progression she did, and c) go on to a top 5 phD program. From what I understand from my uncle, a UCLA math phD, only a relatively limited number of schools offer funded math phD programs which means that the competition for them is fierce. Generally speaking, if it’s not funded, it’s not worth it. Also while I have no doubt that b@rium experienced gender discrimination (my friend’s experiences as a geophysics major, comp sci minor would indicate that heavily male fields do discriminate against women), she also received some assistance precisely because she was a women. To be fair, I’ve had a math professor who did her undergrad at Bryn Mawr and phD at Yale so perhaps her experiences in getting into a top phD program aren’t extraordinarily unusual. </p>
<p>I’m not a math major or in a related field (what’s up geology?!), so I truly have no idea about what schools could be good fits. I believe you should look at what level of math your son is at, assume that he stays a math major, and look at the course progression he’d undertake. Check to see how regularly classes are offered. If you think he’d exhaust the undergrad math offerings by the time he’s an upperclassman, then your best bet is probably a larger research university. </p>
<p>I’ve heard St. Olaf and Lawrence are good “math” liberal arts colleges, as is Harvey Mudd. Beyond that, I can’t help.</p>