Well I have an undergraduate degree in pure mathematics and statistics and did well in it, so yeah I suppose I’m good at these branches of mathematics. On the other hand, I’m not very quick with mental arithmetic and not really that good at applied mathematics compared with pure.
TheConquerer said: I'm decent at highschool math, university math is a whole different game from what I've seen.
Yep, different branches of mathematics are each whole different games! I strongly advise anyone considering majoring in pure mathematics to first find out what pure mathematics actually is. Many people taking their first course in pure mathematics have a real shock when they find out it is completely different to anything they have ever done before. Don’t be one of these people! The concepts in pure mathematics are something that you either get or you don’t and this bifurcates the class. High school does not usually teach pure mathematics even if they call it “pure mathematics”. If you like mathematics because you find the concepts interesting or you enjoy doing proofs then you might enjoy pure mathematics.
Pure mathematics is abstract and theoretical, thus requires talent in abstract thinking. It is about fully understanding the concepts, not about knowing how to follow the right method or the right formula like you do in high school. A calculator is not even required in pure mathematics as there is barely any arithmetic involved at all. Some pure mathematicians are terrible at arithmetic and that’s fine because it has almost nothing to do with their work. Conversely there are many pure mathematicians who are good at arithmetic and did very well in high school. Excellent arithmetic skills such as being able to multiply 6 digit numbers in your head in under 10 seconds, effortlessly acing high school mathematics and even getting 100% in first year general mathematics will not help you in pure mathematics because the skills required for pure are completely different.
I’m not trying to put people off getting into pure mathematics, but please talk to people and find out what it is first! If you don’t like pure mathematics, you may prefer applied mathematics as they are totally different. There are also many different majors that use applied mathematics. Consider those too! I haven’t really talked much about applied mathematics because I only did it up to second year. |