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Is it worth taking math courses in an unranked university as a non-degree student?


contextual

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I just graduated from a top 30 Liberal Arts College and am interested in applying for PhD programs this fall. However, I didn't take Real Analysis while at college and am considering taking it as a non-degree student at a nearby college. Unfortunately, the only option for me is to take the class at an unranked institution. Is there any point in taking this course from such a university? In other words, will adcoms entirely discount my analysis course at this university due to its ranking or lack thereof? Furthermore, can it have any negative impact on my application?
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The only way that RA course will have a negative impact is if you do poorly. Obviously taking classes at a well-known and respected school is better, but you have got to make do with your present circumstances.

 

What would you be doing if you do not take the course? If the answer is nothing, then I say you should go for it.

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By unranked, do you mean that the school doesn't have a ranked economics department, or that it is one that nobody in any program you are applying to would have ever heard of?

 

I do think that you should take it anyway. In addition to the signalling aspect, which will still exist, real analysis is actually useful for first-year coursework.

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The institution as a whole is unranked. It is a very uncompetitive state school in one of the mid western states and I believe it accepts close to 100% of its undergraduate applicants. However, I took a look at the syllabus for the Analysis class and it seems to cover most if not all of the topics that one might expect a rigorous class to cover (I figured out what to look for by referring to previous posts on URCH). Edited by contextual
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The institution as a whole is unranked. It accepts 100% of its applicants

 

While I still think it is worth taking for the reasons above (assuming it isn't a for-profit institution or anything like that), it would of course be better if you could take it a slightly better institution.

 

Do you know anything else about the course? What topics does it cover and what textbook does it use?

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I am beginning to think that I don't necessarily need to get the Analysis class from a good institution for admission purposes. I say this because I have already taken a host of math/economics classes and done well in them at my undergraduate institution. In addition, I should be able to get excellent recommendation letters from professors in the department. These two points make me feel that I don't need to signal my ability to do well in Math classes any further. The only reason I am considering taking analysis then is because it is a prerequisite and I am afraid the adcoms will frown upon me for attempting to get into a program without possessing the required knowledge. Am I correct in thinking that the RA class in this case will not signal my ability to do well in math but will only serve to tick the box for prerequisite knowledge, but this won't be a problem since I have already done well in other Math classes at my undergraduate institution?
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Here are the course topics copied directly from the syllabus.

 

Book to be used: Introduction to Real Analvsis. Third Edition, Bartle & Sherbert, John Wiley & Sons, (2000)

Catalog Course Description: This is the first course of a two-semester sequence which includes a treatment of

calculus with emphasis on proofs of theorems. The topics covered will be selected from: struchKe of the real number

system, infinite series, vector calculus, applications of partial differentiation, integration, and function theory. (Senior

Experience)

 

Topics:

PRELIMINARIES

A. Sets and Functions

1. THE REAL NUMBERS

A. The Algebraic and Order Properties of R

B. Absolute Value and Real Line

X. The Completeness Property of R

D. Applications of the Supremum Property

E. Intervals

2. SEQUENCES AND SERIES

A. Sequences and Their Limits

B. Limit Theorems

C. Monotone Sequences

D. Subsequences and the Bolzano-Weierstrauss Theorem

E. The Cauchy Criterion

3. LIMITS

A. Limits of Functions

B. Limit Theorems

C. Some Extensions of the Limit Concept

4. CONTINUOUS FUNCTIONS

A. Continuous Functions

B. Combinations of Continuous Functions

C. Continuous Functions on Intervals

D. Uniform Continuity

E. Continuity and Gauges

F. Monotone and Inverse Functions

5. DIFFERENTIATION

A. The Derivative

B. The Mean Value Theorem

C. L'Hopital's Rule

D. Taylor's Theorem

6. THE RIEMANN INTEGRAL

A. The Riemann Integral

B. Riemann Integrable Functions

C. The Fundamental Theorem

D. Approximate Integration

7. A GLIMPSE INTO TOPOLOGY

A. Open and Closed Sets in R

B. Compact Sets

C. Continuous Functions

D. Metric Spaces

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Contextual, were your other classes proof-based? If so, the signalling will be less important, provided that it will be obvious to the admissions committees that these are proof-based courses.

 

However, what I can say is that my classmates this year who had not taken analysis wished that they had. It isn't just highly recommended as a signal--it is actually useful.

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Catrina, most of my other classes weren't proof based but were considered to be upper level electives. The only proof based class I took was Number Theory which I unfortunately got a B in. This poor performance was mainly attributable to me doing a bunch of other stuff during the semester and not being able to put in the required amount of time to become acquainted with proof writing. Here is a list of my classes with the grades I received in them.

 

Here is the part of my profile that is relevant to this discussion:

Type of Undergrad: Top 30 US Liberal Arts college

Major: Mathematical Economics

GPA: Cumulative 3.81, Econ 3.94, Math 3.8

Relevant honors: Graduated magna cum laude, received distinction in mathematical economics, and was awarded award for most outstanding senior thesis

GRE: Yet to take but should be able to get 165+ on the quant with practice

Math Classes: Calculus I II III (A-, A, B+), Linear Algebra (A-), Number Theory (B), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Partial Differential Equations (A), Probability Theory (A), Probability and Statistical Modeling (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Numerical Analysis (A).

Econ Classes: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Mathematical Economics (A), Labor Economics (A), International Finance (A), International Trade (A), Environmental Economics (A)

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If you haven't seen the material on that syllabus, then I think you should take the course. While it would be better if you could get a course that also includes analysis in finite-dimensional metric spaces (I'm guessing that is what is covered in the second semester), this is certainly better than not taking it at all.
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Catrina, most of my other classes weren't proof based but were considered to be upper level electives. The only proof based class I took was Number Theory which I unfortunately got a B in. This poor performance was mainly attributable to me doing a bunch of other stuff during the semester and not being able to put in the required amount of time to become acquainted with proof writing. Here is a list of my classes with the grades I received in them.

 

Here is the part of my profile that is relevant to this discussion:

Type of Undergrad: Top 30 US Liberal Arts college

Major: Mathematical Economics

GPA: Cumulative 3.81, Econ 3.94, Math 3.8

Relevant honors: Graduated magna cum laude, received distinction in mathematical economics, and was awarded award for most outstanding senior thesis

GRE: Yet to take but should be able to get 165+ on the quant with practice

Math Classes: Calculus I II III (A-, A, B+), Linear Algebra (A-), Number Theory (B), Ordinary Differential Equations (A), Partial Differential Equations (A), Probability Theory (A), Probability and Statistical Modeling (A), Stochastic Processes (A), Numerical Analysis (A).

Econ Classes: Intermediate Micro (B+), Intermediate Macro (A), Econometrics (A), Advanced Econometrics (A), Mathematical Economics (A), Labor Economics (A), International Finance (A), International Trade (A), Environmental Economics (A)

 

In that case, the signalling from taking real analysis is important for you, as well as the experience. Understanding how to write proofs is important, which is why admissions committee members want to see it. The (basic) real analysis course above should help you to learn how to write proofs, which is something you will need to be able to do.

 

I know that prior to admission, people understandably worry primarily about signalling to admissions committees that they are mathematically competent, but that isn't the only thing that matters.

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