Mathematics

“Great major with potential career in academia or finance/tech industry. Requires hard work and talents”

“- Overall speaking, the curriculum design of Math major in UIUC is awesome. If you are strong in math basis, please consider proficiency exams; many elementary-levels are unnecessary for you. - Honor courses are suggested (including but not limited to MATH 347/416/427); don’t need to worry about GPA reduction! These courses will give you a completely different world rather than regular courses. - The graduation requirement is not that difficult, so please consider what you want to do in future. If you don’t have any special talents in math (i.e. have some real publications before Freshman year), never to think about doing pure math research after graduation. Try taking some courses in CS if you want to focus on CS research or Engineering jobs, or in Economics if you want to do some finance. - Last, internship is really important! This will help you to know anything about your future career path.”

“Study this only if you have natural talent and love working with abstract concepts. Not worth picking math to try and be "flexible" as all you learn is theory, nothing applicable in any industries. Having math on your resume will tank your GPA, and if you aren't absolutely certain you want to go into quant or ML/AI, it will tank your competitiveness in other roles as well.”

“The Math major at UCLA is challenging, fast-paced, and incredibly rewarding if you enjoy abstract thinking and problem solving. The curriculum is broad and rigorous, covering everything from real analysis and linear algebra to differential equations, abstract algebra, and probability theory. Many of the upper-division courses are proof-based, which pushes you to think deeply and communicate your reasoning clearly — it’s not about memorizing formulas, but about understanding why things work.”

“I think it’s very interesting and you get to explore different aspects of what math can do for you and how to find a career!”

“I so far am enjoying my mathematics degree. I love my so I chose to study it and I am having a great time. I’m on track to get both my bachelors and masters in mathematics and possibly pursue my doctorate in it too as well.”