Association for Women in Mathematics - UC Davis.

So you want to go to graduate school in math or applied math? Some of us have experience in just that, so we can help!

To get into graduate school, it helps to have lots of A's, a transcript full of challenging coursework, good math subject GRE scores, undergraduate research experience, and most of all, good letters of recommendation from professors that know you well.

There are TWO (2) standardized tests that you need to take for most graduate programs in math or applied math (without loss of generality) - the GRE General Test and the Math Subject GRE Test. The GRE General Test is automated, and you can take this year-round, once a month up to 5 times in a calendar year. It is similar to the SAT in style, and has three sections: Analytic (writing), Verbal, and Quantitative.

The Math Subject GRE is a whole other subject. It is only offered THREE (3) times a year, twice in the fall (usually October and November) and once in the spring (usually April). It is a written test that you take in person, and covers more areas of math than you have probably taken as an undergraduate math major (especially if you take the test as a junior in spring or even as a senior in the fall). Roughly speaking, the test is

• 50% Calculus (21A-D, 22B).
• 25% Algebra: Abstract algebra (150A-C) and number theory (115AB), linear algebra (22A or 67, 167), and a little high school algebra.
• 25% Additional Topics:
  • Real analysis (25, 125AB)
  • Discrete mathematics (148), logic, set theory, combinatorics (145, 146), graph theory, and algorithms
  • Other topics: general topology (147), geometry (141, 116), complex variables (185A), probability and statistics (135A), and numerical analysis (128ABC)

A free math subject GRE practice book can be found here (on the GRE website).

UC Davis has opportunities for undergraduate research in math, specifically quarterly and Summer research programs with professors in the math department. Outside of Davis, there are many other Summer REU Programs.