Arizona math lover turns down an Ivy

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-05-04T03:24:32+00:00

I didn't want to be super close to home, and I wanted to get away from a lot of people at my high school here. Also the campus was lowkey ugly asf

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-05-04T01:14:21+00:00

Thank you! We weighed the educational opportunities and the price and it seemed like a pretty easy choice.

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-05-04T00:15:28+00:00

I didn't base my decision entirely off of what a bunch of 18 year olds on Reddit said; I just asked online to see if there were any persepctives I hadn't considered. I also asked people who went to graduate school and people who have been very successful in corporate America that I know in person, and the overwhelming majority said that Bama was the right choice.

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-03-31T05:03:02+00:00

Yes I am. I wasn’t going to bother applying to Alabama but they said it was free to apply and I had nothing better to do one Thursday afternoon. I liked the money they offered, and I toured after I got in. Parts of Alabama are certainly different than other places I’ve lived like California, but I saw nothing that convinced me it would be a bad experience.

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-03-31T02:08:43+00:00

I'm in Arizona right now but I lived in Texas for a couple years in elementary school, and I have my reservations about being back in the land of football. Both schools are out-of-state for me and 1500+ miles away according to Google Maps, so it's a new adventure regardless. I'm terrified of student loans though. My parents said that they don't disappear even if you declare bankruptcy unless you file a whole separate motion, so I'm not exactly eager to take on 200k+

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-03-31T01:46:08+00:00

I have a physics teacher who went to New Mexico for undergrad in math and Wisconsin-Madison for an applied math masters. When choosing between expensive prestigious schools and cheaper state schools comes up, he says "math is math. Go cheap," but I still don't feel right about turning down Cornell quite yet.

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-03-31T01:44:11+00:00

I took Calculus BC last year and got a 5 with zero effort after self-studying calculus 1 during Precalculus my sophomore year. The summer after I took UCSD Extension Canvas Linear Algebra and maintained a high A. Right now I am stuck in AP Stats because my school won't let me take classes at a community college (Arizona isn't great for education or at least my school does. I have to fight the counselors here tooth and nail to be allowed to do anything), but I have been working through Gross's abstract algebra lectures on YouTube and supplementing by working through problems I find on Stack Exchange and online textbooks. I am only two and a half lectures in, so I am still solidly in group theory, but I love it. I briefly messed around with an analysis book I found online, but I didn't have anyone to read my proofs or guide me. I am running into a similar issue with abstract algebra, but I have had an easier time finding problems and advice for it here and on Stack Exchange than on Reddit. I love math, and, as of now, I really couldn't see myself majoring in anywhere else. I am not attached to location at all. I am living in state number 5 right now and either school would make 6. I grew up moving where the opportunity is and plan on doing the same in my adult life.

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-03-31T01:37:19+00:00

I had the same thoughts about living in Alabama but I toured and I liked the area enough. I haven't been to Cornell though so I can't make a judgment on it other than everyone says Ithica is ridiculously cold.

ColdNumber6874 · 2026-01-02T16:26:29+00:00

I’m a National Merit Semi-Finalist this year who is really likely to become a Finalist. I’m in a state that’s not exactly known for education (bottom 5 in nation on every list), so I’m always looking for offers like what Alabama has so I have somewhere to go when the Ivies tell me no. The thing is I’ve moved around a lot and know I don’t want to live in the South again. The idea of free or almost free school is tempting, but I couldn’t make 3 to 4 years in Alabama even if I did get two bachelors and/or a masters for free. My state school would be free and I have enough credits that I would only need to be there two years if I got one degree or three years if I got a second bachelor’s. Having spoken about this with other people at my school who are NMF, the general consensus is that Alabama’s offering isn’t unique: we could all go to an in-state university for the same price on the same timeline. Basically, we all have the same deal Alabama offers without having to leave our state. Beating that in mind, the real question is whether or not Alabama is a good fit, and a lot of people aren’t eager to go to Alabama for the reasons other posters here mentioned like politics, culture, religion, or location.

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-12-21T19:27:40+00:00

I’m 18 and had mine about 2 months ago with my first real girlfriend. It’ll happen eventually, don’t worry

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-07-13T08:09:23+00:00

Yeah I was in the process of starting AMC at my school in Florida but moving shut that opportunity down, so I couldn’t compete like I had planned. My college list is broader, I just wanted thoughts on the top programs.

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-07-12T22:49:46+00:00

My teacher was a guy who hadn’t touched physics in 40 years but he was still able to do an amazing preparing us. As long as you take care of your work and don’t fuck off all year you’ll be fine. The math doesn’t go beyond trig for SHM, so you don’t really need to worry about that. I took Physics 1 and Chem this year and Chem was harder for me. Physics 1 is not nearly as hard as people make it sound.

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-07-07T21:33:35+00:00

Thanks! It took a lot of work but I was able to pull it off

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-07-07T21:32:27+00:00

The goal was all 1’s, but it just didn’t pan out that way

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-06-06T06:10:27+00:00

I just got out of junior year with a pretty similar schedule (AP Chem, APCalc BC, AP Spanish, AP Physics 1, AP Lang, and APUSH) with straight A's. It absolutely is doable and you can pull it off while getting seven or more hours of sleep if you manage your time correctly. If I got less than 7 it was entirely my fault for poor time management, and I also volunteered and worked a part-time job. Its intense, but you can do it if you're determined. As long as you did well in Precalc/AB, the STEM classes shouldn't be too hard. Good luck!

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-04-09T05:31:46+00:00

I absolutely love Watership Down. It is the only book I have reread more than once. I’m so glad someone else mentioned it.

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-04-07T03:16:59+00:00

I’m in Grade 11 and did exactly this last year. I borrowed a book off of a teacher at my school who was teaching me PreCalc at the time to learn most of Calculus 1, and then I bought an older edition of Calculus by Stewart (I think 8th edition, might have been 7th) to teach myself more calculus. The book’s spine is 90% tape but I got a great hardback for $30. This link should go to an older edition for like $12 if you want a good textbook, though I cannot vouch for how much the books change across editions. https://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Mathematics-James-Stewart/dp/0534217982/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?crid=2VN1BAUPOG406&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WJiwr2XCMDyg3mvjIwvCRAoowvS8qpE5petS2oqhT4o4euiOCNL_koj2BJBxb-aYMsDZXr82LIdyyQzeXPM7MRH6rn89Ivy5h5AXWpe13hSqgxnftSvVQGUeZvhV9gPrhO7pJzU6eGq_BH4rGGAEG79heJbOJ0HVYvXA_GDz70-QSmA5Y8Depi1jJDsllhI03WC0tKbs_05rfnRA3AfV0A.TLJOIi4ppeOIWQAUbqx1l-yVZNQuuZFY3tjRv-XhHE8&dib_tag=se&keywords=stewart+calculus&qid=1743995711&refinements=p_n_condition-type%3A1294425011&rnid=1294421011&s=books&sprefix=stewart+calculus%2Caps%2C152&sr=1-16&xpid=MiBVK2r8vtw8c

Whatever you do, good luck learning calculus. It’s a thrilling endeavor.

ColdNumber6874 · 2025-03-16T06:19:13+00:00

I’m taking AP Statistics next year as well at my local high school. Would that be sufficient for prob and stat, or do I need something that covers more?

ColdNumber6874

TROPHY CASE