Real analysis

[asianeconomist]

Originally Posted by italos

Btw in my university calculus was called Mathematical Multivariable Analysis and Real Analysis was called Real Mathematical Analysis.Can the difference be understood from an Adcom?

If you remove the "Mathematical" word from the course names (which are pretty useless anyway) then you end up with pretty standard course names.I guess adcoms will see through the charade.

[treblekicker]

Is it acceptable to submit course catalog descriptions and text book lists when applying, even if they aren't asked for?

[israelecon]

i think that it is acceptable, but i don't really think it will make that much of a difference. if they don't ask for it, they are likely not to read it.
besides i think that course descriptions and books aren't that useful, because the same material can be taught at different levels. a lot the same things are taught in calculus and real analysis, but the syllabus won't necessarily reflect the fact that those same things are now taught rigorously with proofs etc.
i think it is more valuable to have the LOR writers describe the level of your math ability rather than a syllabus which is not always clear or reliable for that matter.

[italos]

Originally Posted by asianeconomist

If you remove the "Mathematical" word from the course names (which are pretty useless anyway) then you end up with pretty standard course names.I guess adcoms will see through the charade.

I guess they were calling it "Mathematical" just to distinguish it from the statistical multivariable analysis.I suppose with these two courses pus linear algebra and maths for econ I am ok.

[asianeconomist]

Originally Posted by italos

I guess they were calling it "Mathematical" just to distinguish it from the statistical multivariable analysis.I suppose with these two courses pus linear algebra and maths for econ I am ok.

Point taken. I never thought of it from this perspective. Your decision seems tenable too.

[buckykatt]

Originally Posted by treblekicker

Is it acceptable to submit course catalog descriptions and text book lists when applying, even if they aren't asked for?

Some schools will tell you not to send anything they don't explicitly ask for, while others will tell you to go ahead and include supplementary material. In the latter case, I'd definitely go ahead and include a one page summary of the course descriptions, texts used, etc. for your key classes (especially if you're an international student or coming from an unknown US school).

Here's why I think this is a good idea. When I was in grad school the first time around, I worked for the adcom one year. My job was to go through all the transcripts and summarize them in a big spreadsheet, so the actual adcom members didn't have to waste time poring over transcripts to see whether a student had taken multivariable calc and the like. I remember scratching my head a lot trying to figure out what some of the courses actually covered, especially for the Chinese and Korean students, and course descriptions might really have helped. I don't know how many adcoms have a grad student or secretary do this, but I'm guessing that it does happen and that extra page in your application packet could be worthwhile.

[Econ+]

I think it is a good idea to digest Math as much as possible. It will pay even in the end.

[breakz]

Any books recommended for studying RA in my off time, so I can guarantee myself a good grade when I finally take the course?

[asianeconomist]

You can start with Apostol.

[breakz]

Originally Posted by asianeconomist

You can start with Apostol.

He's got a couple...whats the relevant one called?