Pure Math PhD

These are the only schools that matter. If you aren't doing a PhD at one of these schools then you are a brainlet.

good job, you sure showed all those brainlets in ENS their place

I'll keep it in mind. One of my professors went to one of those and I alreay have a close relation to him from being outstanding in a class he gave me and then helping him with a project.

If I get him to write me a letter of recommendation am I guaranteed to be accepted?

>If I get him to write me a letter of recommendation am I guaranteed to be accepted?
yes, 100% guaranteed.
no dude it's doubtful they even will remember who he is

>no dude it's doubtful they even will remember who he is

Really? I think they will. I mean, he got a PhD there. That is a big deal right? They must remember all of their doctors. That is something important to remember

And in the US isn't legacy valued?

Oh, and I forgot. I am foreign, and my skin is brown (not black though). Does that plus a letter of recommendation guarantee I'll be accepted?

>And in the US isn't legacy valued?
that's not what legacy is. if your professor was your dad that would be legacy.
>Really? I think they will. I mean, he got a PhD there. That is a big deal right? They must remember all of their doctors. That is something important to remember
who is "they"? the school? maybe the PI will remember them sure, but im willing to bet the program dean has changed, same with PIs.
>They must remember all of their doctors. That is something important to remember
i dont know why you think this at all
>Oh, and I forgot. I am foreign, and my skin is brown (not black though). Does that plus a letter of recommendation guarantee I'll be accepted?
NO

how about you get in on merit?

Where are Oxford & Cambridge?

>that's not what legacy is. if your professor was your dad that would be legacy.

Ah damn. Shit.

>who is "they"? the school? maybe the PI will remember them sure, but im willing to bet the program dean has changed, same with PIs.

But my professor must be in some list somewhere. In his letter he just has to allude at the fact that he got his PhD there and then they will fact-check that and then they will think I am great because I am being recommended by their own doctors.

>i dont know why you think this at all
I mean, he spent years and years there. At least someone must remember. How could you forget a familiar face?

>how about you get in on merit?

I have a 3.8 GPA at the moment. I have the merit but I know that merit alone is not enough. People discuss it all the time here. People here say that politics is a big deal in university administration. That even if you are a straight A student, if you are white or asian then you are out. That is why I am looking for more than merit. I want to guarantee I will get into a nice university for my PhD. I want to work with the best.

>they will think I am great because I am being recommended by their own doctors.
what if they didnt think he was great? I really wouldnt put my acceptance in the hands of someone else's name being recognized.
>I mean, he spent years and years there. At least someone must remember. How could you forget a familiar face?
how long ago did he go? faculty turnover.
>I have a 3.8 GPA at the moment.
you're fine, stop worrying, and stop trying to be accepted somewhere you dont deserve.

mit student here. can confirm

currently doing 3 phds simultaneously. pure math, compsci, and physics

really enjoy it.

advisor told me my starting salary is going to be at least, thats right, AT LEAST about $350k

>what if they didnt think he was great?
You wouldn't give a PhD who someone who wasn't great. I know that universities can just kick you out.

>how long ago did he go? faculty turnover.
No idea, probably decades ago.

>stop trying to be accepted somewhere you dont deserve.
Ayy fuck you man. Why do you think I don't deserve a top school?

come on dude, that, that can't be true. y- you're lying :(

>You wouldn't give a PhD who someone who wasn't great. I know that universities can just kick you out.
lol.... average people get PhD's all the time. by not great i mean average/not memorable
>No idea, probably decades ago.
exactly
>Ayy fuck you man. Why do you think I don't deserve a top school?
because you're trying to get by another means than merit. Im not saying that to be a dick to you, im saying that because if you get in somewhere you don't belong, you wont do well.

GPA doesn't matter. If your recommender doesn't work in the field you want to go into or know the people on the admissions committee it won't be such a leg up as opposed to some other recommender.

If you haven't published in a top tier journal then your chance of getting into a top 10 school is almost non-existent unless you have something else going for you.

There is literally no reason to accept you at a top 10, so you don't deserve to be admitted. You have to have something besides a basic project and LoR to tell me why you should be admitted. I'd rather accept the Chinese with several top tier publications over you.

>lol.... average people get PhD's all the time. by not great i mean average/not memorable
Okay, I get that. But he is still in a list somewhere there so it must be that having that letter is better than not having that letter.

>because you're trying to get by another means than merit. Im not saying that to be a dick to you, im saying that because if you get in somewhere you don't belong, you wont do well.

No no no, you are not getting my plan here. See, I can impress the professors there with my grades and other achievements. But then you have to think about how to impress the administration. How to impress the people that manage the university and the people who give you grants.

What do those people care about? They care about politics. I know they are very racist. I know that if they see a brown person doing math they think "Oh look, a darkie doing math. That's cute. Lets accept him".

I am just playing the game with the administration. That letter and the skin color thing is just to woo them. With the professors I can just use my actual merit.

that's cool user

when do you graduate

I guess that makes einstein a brainlet

To fuck with did a double Math & Robotics program in one of the universities in that list.

not lying in the slightest

im telecommuting the phds while i work for the russian space station (im an astronaut). im in space right now

(Message sent from Russian astronaut currently in space)

look i dont care about this anymore user. you're arguing just because you don't like what im saying, but it doesnt change the truth. To answer your question, you are NOT guaranteed to be accepted just because some professor went to that school. Like it or not, that is the truth. But your GPA is decent and a letter of rec from him wouldnt hurt, thats for sure. But i would get letters of rec from people who really know you over some name drop professor.

and you really shouldnt have that chip on your shoulder with skin color. If anything, it's advantageous in your favor, but something tells me if you were to not be accepted somewhere that would be the first thing you would blame

>MIT no.1
>No Cambridge
>No ENS
>No Oxford
into the trash it goes

DO NOT GET A PHD IN MATH

Let me tell you. I'm in the staking bar. I GOT DEBTS. I'm a debaser.

All my life...

it's US only

>im in space right now
Hey man, so am I.
Where are you exactly?

I go to university of michigan (undergrad), take a lot of graduate/PhD level courses in the math department, and I know a lot of people who went on to do PhDs at the schools in the OP. I can assure everyone that every word of this post is lies. Students who get into these schools usually:
-Went to a top 10 math school or elite ivy league school for undergrad
-Did a lot of undergrad research with distinguished professors (but didn't necessarily publish).
-Got very good grades in their major and did VERY difficult coursework (although this isn't universal, there's a PhD student at UCLA right now who failed at least one math course in his first senior year).

Other than that a lot of it is luck of the draw and whether or not they like you in interviews. Tons of people are qualified for these schools, its just that they can only take so many people.

Exactly. Into the trash it goes.