Jump to content
Urch Forums

Math camp at Rice Online


hkke

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

 

Let me start be re-introducing myself. I am Hulya Eraslan, the director of graduate studies and interim chair at Rice.

 

As part of the many changes that have gone on recently at Rice (see http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/154291-about-economics-phd-program-rice.html and http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/157291-boston-college-rice-university.html), this year we have instituted an online math camp, in order to be able to cover more material over the summer without necessitating that students arrive in Houston substantially before the math camp starts. Additionally, this allows the math camp to be open to non-Rice students as well who would like a chance to develop their mathematics skills further.

 

As someone who deals with admissions from the "other side", I can see that there are many talented students whose primary flaw in their application lies in having a limited math background or a lack of an ability to formally demonstrate their knowledge of mathematics. Therefore, we at Rice have decided to offer this course during the fall as well in order to give non-Rice students the opportunity to take it and demonstrate their mathematics knowledge prior to applying to PhDs programs.

 

The math camp lasts for a month and is quite comprehensive, providing an extensive overview of real analysis, linear algebra, calculus, and difference and differential equations.

 

The course will run from September 19, 2016 to October 14, 2016 and at the end you will receive a Statement of Completion showing your grade in the course and listing in detail the material that the math camp has covered. A syllabus is attached.

 

For more information, contact RiceOnline@rice.edu.

 

Best,

Hulya

 

P.S. I will be holding a web conference soon in which I will discuss admissions is general (not only specifically related to Rice). If you may be interested in attending, be on the lookout for another post announcing this soon.

Edited by hkke
Typos and formatting
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds interesting. Do you think it's helpful even when applying to other universities?

 

Hi Abdulmohsen,

That is a good question and I am glad you asked it. I expect attending the online math camp to be useful for applying to other universities too. The important thing for application purposes is to be able to credibly demonstrate your math background to the admissions committee at each school to which you apply. Taking this course can help you do so, particularly if you attach the syllabus which demonstrates the topics covered so that an admissions committee unfamiliar with the course can verify its rigor. It would probably also help to mention something about it in your statement of purpose.

 

Best,

Hulya

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Abdulmohsen,

That is a good question and I am glad you asked it. I expect attending the online math camp to be useful for applying to other universities too. The important thing for application purposes is to be able to credibly demonstrate your math background to the admissions committee at each school to which you apply. Taking this course can help you do so, particularly if you attach the syllabus which demonstrates the topics covered so that an admissions committee unfamiliar with the course can verify its rigor. It would probably also help to mention something about it in your statement of purpose.

 

Best,

Hulya

 

Thank you so much for your helpful answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Hello everyone,

 

I received several messages inquiring how to register. Please see the link below for registration information.

Math Camp for Economics PhD Students Rice Online

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

 

Actually there is an issue with the registration system -at least for me using different browsers- the second step shows a wrong class dates and pricing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Abdulmohsen,

That is a good question and I am glad you asked it. I expect attending the online math camp to be useful for applying to other universities too. The important thing for application purposes is to be able to credibly demonstrate your math background to the admissions committee at each school to which you apply. Taking this course can help you do so, particularly if you attach the syllabus which demonstrates the topics covered so that an admissions committee unfamiliar with the course can verify its rigor. It would probably also help to mention something about it in your statement of purpose.

 

Best,

Hulya

 

Hi, I am an international student with a degree in engineering and wants to apply for Economics Master's for 2017 academic year. I have taken a lot of math courses during college but I'm not sure how relevant they will be for econ masters. So, will this crash course in math help me strengthen my profile. Thanks and any comment will be very valuable.

 

P.S Presently, I do not have a detailed description about topics covered in math during college but if it's needed for more through profile evaluation then I can post that at a later date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, I am an international student with a degree in engineering and wants to apply for Economics Master's for 2017 academic year. I have taken a lot of math courses during college but I'm not sure how relevant they will be for econ masters. So, will this crash course in math help me strengthen my profile. Thanks and any comment will be very valuable.

 

P.S Presently, I do not have a detailed description about topics covered in math during college but if it's needed for more through profile evaluation then I can post that at a later date.

 

Hi Sam2791,

 

My background is similar -- my undergraduate degree is in computer engineering and I took a lot of math courses during college. But it was only when I took real analysis during graduate school that I realized I did not have as much understanding as I thought I did. Most schools look for a background in real analysis, at least an exposure to it. This crash course is designed to help with that part of your application package.

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Sam2791,

 

My background is similar -- my undergraduate degree is in computer engineering and I took a lot of math courses during college. But it was only when I took real analysis during graduate school that I realized I did not have as much understanding as I thought I did. Most schools look for a background in real analysis, at least an exposure to it. This crash course is designed to help with that part of your application package.

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

 

Hi Hkke,

I looked into the syllabus of Math camp, but I don't understand how in one month course all those topics be covered. Also is there an option to take only a specific part of the entire course i.e. modules such as Real Analysis and Optimization Techniques. I feel that I have covered most of the courses at undergrad studies. Although the course may not be as intensive as offered at masters level. I also wanted to ask if there is any scholarship or partial waiver offered for the course, as it is very highly priced for international students.

 

Regards,

Sam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Hkke,

I looked into the syllabus of Math camp, but I don't understand how in one month course all those topics be covered. Also is there an option to take only a specific part of the entire course i.e. modules such as Real Analysis and Optimization Techniques. I feel that I have covered most of the courses at undergrad studies. Although the course may not be as intensive as offered at masters level. I also wanted to ask if there is any scholarship or partial waiver offered for the course, as it is very highly priced for international students.

 

Regards,

Sam

 

Dear Sam,

 

The math camp is designed to serve as a really intensive introduction to each subject, which, while less comprehensive than a full-semester course in each subject, is designed to cover both the essential subject material as well as develop the essential skills (proof-writing, etc.) that would be developed in a semester long course.

 

It is not possible to take only part of the course. The cost for the Fall ($250) is already discounted from $500 that we normally charge during the summer to make it affordable for international students. It is actually quite low for a college course in the United States.

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hi everyone,

 

After considering the comment by Sam2791, we decided to waive the PhD application fee for students who pass the math camp. We also decided to move the start date of the math camp to October 24, so if you are still interested, it is not late to sign up. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at the email address which I posted in my original post.

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

So now that some time has passed I thought I might offer a brief review of this course for posterity. The TLDR version is three main points: 1) I thought the class offered excellent preparation; 2) I'm not exactly sure how strong a signal it was, but it was definitely non-trivial; and 3) The work load is very high, so if you are working do some preparation in advance.

Some elaboration:

1) The course covers a wide range of material, including analysis, linear algebra, advanced calculus, optimization, and difference/differential equations. The readings, homework problems, online organization were all very well done and it did really feel like attending a class, just online. Because of the demanding amount of time and deadlines, it was considerably more active (and useful) than many self-paced math related MOOC (I've dabbled in a few). There were some minor glitches with typos in questions and so on, but they were small, corrected quickly and honestly you get plenty of that in classroom courses as well. The lecturers, professor, and RA were very good and very helpful. Over all, I learned a lot. Some material was mostly review, like some analysis and linear algebra, but I was able to fill in some gaps and get some practice. Other material, like optimization, was completely new for me. All together I feel considerably more prepared for graduate level economics than I did before the course and to me that was its greatest value.

2) It is impossible to determine exactly how strong of a signal it was for ad coms, but I applied to a wide range of schools last year and fell pretty short on what I think was mostly a thin math resume. I am still waiting to hear back from most schools after reapplying this year, but so far I have already gotten in a couple schools I did not last year, with out much else changing in my application. Will it replace earning As in a bunch of math classes in college? Of course not. But my best assessment is it significantly reduced a red flag in my applications. One thing to note is that its a bit difficult to know how to include it in applications. In my cover letter I mention taking the course, what it covered, and how I did, and where possible I tried to upload the certificate and syllabus to "supporting documents" pages, but often this was not possible: many applications only let you upload documents related to a school you register and so on. Probably 75% of applications I was able to submit all the documents, some I tried to mail the admissions people and ask them to include it, and so on.

3) As mentioned above, the coursework was very demanding. I presume it is designed based on the in classroom version of the course for incoming PhD students. Those people are full time students, so aspiring to do the course in a short time while working is not very realistic. The course was offered in a 4 week and 8 week pace, but the 8 weeks completed after applications were due. I presume if they offer it again in the future they will start it earlier to avoid this because initially the course was supposed to start earlier and then was pushed back. Though I did the 4 week course, I knew I wouldnt have time for it so read all the material and did practice problems in the month preceding it, effectively making my own 8 week course. Even then, it was very challenging and demanded a lot of self-discipline to do it on top of work. So make sure you have time and choose the 8 week if they start it early enough. Of course, all of that depends on your background. Math college majors likely don't need to do a bunch of prep, but if you're a econ student like me with a handful of math courses that you did okay in then definitely prepare in order to keep up if you are going to do the 4 week version while working.

A small note: Some of the books used, like Rudin, Sundaram, and Simon and Blume are classic texts and if you are going back to a PhD you will probably need to own them anyways. Some however, such as the books used for the linear algebra and differential equations portions of the course were (in my opinion) needlessly obscure and expensive. Obtaining them (which regretfully I did) was very expensive, a hassle, and honestly they were not my favorite texts. Most of the material in them could be sourced more easily elsewhere. Frankly, in my opinion the course should probably just use the Angel de la Fuente as it has all the content they want to cover in one easily obtainable book, but regardless, my point is just to be cognizant that getting the readings is nontrivial.

Anyways, I am not sure if they will be offering the course again, but in case they do I wanted to provide some perspective before I forgot. In sum, I thought it was very challenging, but extremely good preparation and also a modestly useful signal. Cheers.

Edited by win
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick review based on the points mentioned by win.

 

1- For me, the course was extremely useful. Right know I’m taking micro and I’m seeing things I thought I won’t see again when it was taught in the camp.

2- I don’t know how helpful it will be in this regard, however, at least it will indicate that you know what kind of math you need in order to succeed in graduate courses.

3- If you are working or still taking classes in college and you aren’t already familiar -to good extent- with the topics they cover in the course, you might have hard time staying on track even with the 8 weeks’ track.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For applicants who have already taken significant mathematics coursework, would this course be superfluous or would it help further signal that the applicant is really prepared for a PhD program?

 

If you already have taken classes that covered the topics in the syllabus and you still have it at the top of your mind I would say you don't really need to take it. If you didn't cover all the topics or you kind of forgot good part of it, I would say go for it, especially if they keep the price at $250. (which I really doubt it since I think it's severely underpriced in my opinion.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
A minor update here. After hearing back from most schools, I am upgrading my assessment of the signal from this course. As I mentioned, my case is probably not fully indicative because I think I had an overall decent profile with good research experience and letters of recommendation, so a sparser math background was a uniquely weak part of my profile. Nonetheless, most everything about my application was the same as last year, but I ended up getting funded offers from multiple schools that turned me down a year ago (I also had one more year of being an RA, but after having done a couple already I suspect that provided only a marginal contribution). Of course, this course does not replace doing well in numerous math classes, and I still think the courses best value is in the education and preparation rather than the signal, but in my best judgement it also made a significant difference in my two application rounds. If they offer the probability and statistics version of this this summer, I’ll probably enroll just to prepare for school.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hello everyone,

 

A new thread I started announcing our summer math and stat camps is still not showing up, and so let me try my chance here. See the message below.

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

 

 

--------

 

Hi everyone,

I am the Director of Graduate Studies at Rice University. Some of you may recall that I posted last year about our new online math camp (see here: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/157763-math-camp-rice-online.html). Following the success of last fall's math camp, we are offering both math camp and stat camp online again this summer.

Students who sign up to take either the math or stat camp this summer will take the class alongside our newest cohort of Rice graduate students. At the end of math camp, you will be awarded a certificate indicating that you have successfully completed the math camp, and also have the opportunity to earn a certificate with distinction for excellent performance.

In addition, all non-Rice students who sign up for math camp will be given a waiver of the application fee if they choose to apply to the Rice economics PhD program.

The link to sign up for the math camp is here: Math Camp for Economics PhD Students | Rice Online Learning

The link to sign up for the stat camp is here: Stat Camp for Economics PhD Students | Rice Online Learning

Best,

Hulya Eraslan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello everyone,

 

I started a new thread on our summer math and stat camp offerings. Since that post was not showing up, I posted the same message in this thread but that message is not showing up either. I suspect it is because of the links in my message. Since the start of our math camp is nearing (May 10), let me recommend googling "Math camp for Economic PhD Students Rice online" for those who are interested for finding the enrollment links and more information about the camps. I am also happy to answer questions over email.

 

Best,

Hulya Eraslan (DGS at RIce Economics)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...