Harvard Math Ph.D Requirements: Straight A's & Perfect SAT 800 in Math?

In summary, graduate schools for Ph.D. programs in mathematics at Harvard are more interested in undergraduate research, letters of recommendations, and the courses you take, rather than just your test scores and grades. It is also important to keep an open mind and explore other fields in addition to mathematics. The criteria for admission to graduate schools can vary greatly between different schools. While test scores and GPA are important, they are not the only factors that determine admission. Additionally, being published as a first author on a paper is not a requirement, but it can help strengthen your application. Overall, it is important to focus on doing well in your undergraduate studies and preparing for the GRE, but also to keep in mind that
  • #36
G037H3 said:
What part of it, the triple bachelors at MIT? I just accepted it as true because I've seen some of the other posts by the person who posted it and he seems like a pretty decent guy. o_O

Haha, glad to know that I'm a decent guy. *shrugs*
 
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  • #37
That resume had a lot of extraneous information though. Who puts down stuff like "National AP Scholar" and "valedictorian at high school" on their resume after grad school other than to list as many awards as possible? Not considering the graduate work/scholarships/distinctions, I'd say http://web.mit.edu/yufeiz/www/cv.pdf still has a better undergraduate resume. Three-time Putnam fellow!? That's all you really need.
 
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  • #38
G037H3 said:
What part of it, the triple bachelors at MIT? I just accepted it as true because I've seen some of the other posts by the person who posted it and he seems like a pretty decent guy. o_O

No, it was the massive list of awards that made me think it was a joke, both because it's so implausible for someone to get so many awards and because it's silly to list some of the ones that were listed.
 
  • #39
Wissner-Gross seems more impressive to me than Zhao, but that could be because Wissner-Gross is a fellow Germanic. :approve:
 
  • #40
Well, I'd argue that if you've managed to clinch top 5 in the Putnam competition once, you have good odds of repeating the feat (and certainly why they'd select you into the team for the next year!) and I wouldn't be surprised if you have some other mathematical publications/experiences/awards. This is a trend with IMOs as well. More classic examples (who got in the Harvard 'mathematics PhD' program, to stay on topic) if you really like the Putnam:

http://web.mit.edu/rwbarton/Public/resume.pdf
http://www.math.harvard.edu/~dankane/
http://www.claymath.org/fas/research_fellows/Manolescu/cv.pdf

On the other hand, AWG's CV is sort of like a career grand slam.

But of course, this is all in light-hearted discussion and to have some fun looking at other people's resumes. I don't mean to start a serious discussion on what awards garner most prestige, which is a rather silly endeavor.
 
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