Real Talk About Mathematics Graduate School

In this video I talk about mathematics graduate school. I talk about various factors that you should consider when applying to graduate school. These are practical considerations that I think are worth considering. I hope this helps someone out there. Do you have any grad school experiences or advice you want to share? If so, please leave a comment below.

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Math Graduate Programs, Applying, Advice, Motivation

Daily Devotionals for Motivation with The Math Sorcerer

Thank you:)

[navierstokes]

The size does matter.

- The Math Sorcerer

[chthe-e]

I’m really in love with math. Currently starting a degree in computer science and been following your channel for a long time now. Keep bringing the love of math to others my sorcerer! ❤️

[ChuffingNorah]

When I did my Ph.D. in the UK, way back when, we luckily did not have to do extra examined classes. I don't know if this has since changed. You could attend any classes you wanted which were germain to your work, but it was never compulsorily. However, you were expected to produce a report at the end of each of the 3 years which had its own little Viva by a dept Prof.

If you failed to pass muster each year, you were out on your ear. You really were on your own; none of that happy undergrad collegiate malarky; the only point of contact was a one hour per week meeting with your supervisor (If you were lucky!). My supervisor went on sabbatical for a year which really didn't help my plight. Getting a good supervisor is crucial in the UK. If they're duff you're struggling.

I also supplemented my meagre grant from the Science Research Council by taking Maths tutorials with the undergrads & supervising Labs in Matlab & Physics. Happily, I passed my final Viva (after a rewrite) and got my Ph.D. But it was very much hard work, and you have to be really commited to earn your degree, shunning all distractions.

Also, you have to decide very early on what it is you want to research; to waste time at the start is fatal. I know this is easy to say but I've known fellow students who have crashed out early as they didn't have a clear perspective on what they actually wanted to do. But such is the lonesome life of the Grad Student.

I hope that wasn't too depressing!

[winterrobot]

Awesome advice. One thing I've learned about trying to live up to parents' expectations, is that their expectations for you are formulated as if they're playing a Sims game. Usually very idealistic and very unrealistic. Always best to advocate for your own limits and abilities.

[dAntony]

Good content. I'm in the process of applying for graduate schools for Mathematics right now. I agree with the content, there's for sure more to it than applying to the "best" school. I'm 30 years old finally finishing up my math degree and stability/location have become the most important to me, I'm not trying to move to an entire new state and start over again. I have a desire to move back home to be around family after being gone for about a decade now.

All the programs I've applied to are fairly small compared to the biggest state schools. I can see why having the options with a large and diverse faculty is nice; however, I've come to like smaller programs since it's what's allowed me to build great relationships with the faculty which has been helpful when looking for recommendations, career advice, or just having good personal conversations. The only real downside I've run into with smaller programs is funding can dry up and when that happens research opportunities, non-required classes, or equipment gets cut. Anyways, I'm really excited to see if I any program will take me so I can start learning more.

[srikanthtupurani]

We should be able to estimate how much we can handle. We should be clear about that. There are students who passed phd course work with c grade but did excellent research. Anything can happen. In case of pure math we cannot judge students based on grades. Some strange things can happen like a student with c grade in subject may excell in that subject. Geniuses like terrence tao did such tough courses in princeton when he was just 16 years. He struggled in the course work and faced unpleasant things. Now is the top most mathematician in the world. Anyone who faces subjects like measure theory pointset topology for the first time won't be comfortable. Pure math takes time. We should not expect quick results.

[DavidRamirez-wwkv]

I attended TexasA&M and graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering. It was hard but I overcame. Our mindset was that we were going to run the world because we would have the knowledge to solve society’s problems. Many people I knew in school, approximately 35% did not make it.

[TRUCKERTV]

Certain careers like Math, Engineering Healthcare and Tech, really doesn't matter which school you attend because the skills are very respected and are in demand. Attending a decent top 50 state school would be enough.

[AngelMedina-ehrb]

Wow! A lot of things in this video I haven’t considered. Very helpful advice because money and planning ahead in applying to graduate school is something that students think that will fall into their lap, but that isn’t true…. Great job in giving us a wake up call

[erthx]

I used to dream of getting a PhD in applied maths from Princeton while I was sleeping in classes at UNF in the early 90's.
Concerning the size of the department and your personal career goals, a larger (theory group) will usually give you much greater opportunity to get you work published.

[valeriopagnotta]

In Italy we have the so-called "3+2".
A three year cycle of undergrad called "triennale"
And a two year cycle called "magistrale"
And only after you finish the secondo tranche you can try to pursue a PhD.
I just finished my triennale and I have taken some classes of magistrale in a different university in the South.
I have realizing, warching this video, that in my choice I have followed all the steps suggested by you. 😀

[RoscoesRiffs]

Brilliant. I earned a master's degree thanks to a full-ride fellowship in another discipline, and as was yours my experience was one of total immersion in the academics. During that 18-month stretch, I managed to do hard physical exercise daily, which helped me keep sharp during the late-night and wee hours of research, study, and academic composition. Also, I took a three-hour break one day, the day after the committee accepted my thesis, to watch ONE movie at a theater: ROBOCOP. I'm still amazed I read a book every single day -- about topics you couldn't drag me to be even slightly interested in today -- just to keep up. Grad school is a-whole-nother level of intensity. 😎

[ottoomen]

I'm feeling better about Zill's Differential Equations after getting through CH1. The chapters are getting better. The examples are very diverse. I had to review some integration by parts strategies!

[chrisallen]

4:53 “Size does matter”
Me: Damn… 😔
The Math sorcerer: …for graduate schools
Me: So you’re saying there’s a chance…

[MultiAndAnd]

For undergraduates the best is having good teachers, which are not always the best matematicians. One should look for "the best places" just when one looks for a phd or a post doc in order to learn from the best and be "pushed" a little.

[bookert]

I went to Berkeley in 1970 for grad school - people told me at the time Cal Tech had a smaller program which might limit one’s thesis topic choices. My experience was not the best - with 300 or so students, there was great competition to impress potential thesis advisors, leading to people not asking questions in class (you don’t want display any weakness) and professors who naturally sped through material to get to the ‘advanced’ stuff. It wasn’t Berkeley’s fault, it was mine for not realistically assessing my abilities at that time. I had my NSF Traineeship renewed for the second year, but I turned it down and got my PhD in a smaller program at another UC. Even though I had gotten straight A’s, taking 3 math course and German during my last 2 years as an undergraduate, I can’t agree more with the advice you should take a hard look at who you are as a student/learner when deciding on a graduate program.

[jloiben]

I think this is even more important at the PhD level. The specific professors at the school is so important at the PhD level. It is hard to do the specific research you are interested in doing if no professor at that school does that research

[raulca]

You mentioned Texas A&M. How can undergrads know how schools rank and which schools are good in what before they begin a search.

Also maybe include a typical day for a math grad student at your university. Classes taking, classes instructing, meetings, studying, etc

[srikanthtupurani]

If students want to do lot of courses and want to learn math in the first 1.5 years of phd going to mit is better option than princeton. It depends on many things. Undergraduate students from mit are too good. They are capable of finishing phd in less than five years. They learn things in a hard way in their undergraduate course.

[joshbullis]

I’m a senior rn about to finish my BS in math. I’d like to go to earn a masters/PhD but I’m scared I wouldn’t be able to handle difficulty of the program