On UCB
Another interesting post to the UHME mailing list, this time from Zach, is making me consider just how much I’ll have to put into it if I want to succeed as a mathematician:
It should be noted that UCB is the top rated graduate school in the country for Mathematics, and it’s for a reason. The competition there is so fierce that unless you enjoy having your ass handed to you on a plate on a bi-minutely basis, I would advise against attending UCB for graduate school. A large majority of their entering first year grad students get financial support. Of these, two-thirds get cut after the first year. Sound fun? It isn’t. Realize that you’ll be competing against Harvard graduates, MIT graduates, and people who took graduate level Real Analysis when they were 14 (no, I’m not exaggerating. I know such a person.)
Lastly, they don’t expect you to know it ALL before entering grad school, just before taking the PhD qualifying exam, which I think you have to do by the end of your first year (although I may be mistaken about that).
That was in reply to my posting a message about the latest edition of the Berkeley Problems in Mathematics being available at the library. In light of Zach’s comments, I’m going to have to really do my research to figure out which universities I can gun for, and which are probably off limits. Not to mention, it seems like I shall have to study a lot more, and review my basics– that not so much because of Zach’s comments, but from looking at the problems in the book. Maybe this summer is the perfect opportunity to ask about math grad school.