How Can I Strengthen My Graduate School Application for Mathematics?

[regginbrow]

I graduated the middle of the last decade with a BS in mathematics. I've been working as an actuary since graduation, and completed all the exams just a few years after graduation. The money is very nice, but I find myself completely uninterested in business, and am kicking around the idea of returning to graduate school for math, ideally on a PhD track. There are a few problems with my application, however, and I'm interested in seeing if there are any ways to make myself a stronger candidate. I don't plan to return for at least a few more years to save up some cash, so there is time for me to improve myself.

First, I never really planned on going to grad school while an undergrad, so I did not take every upper level math course I could (missing complex analysis, topology, number theory). I am very skilled at self-study, so I am confident that I will be able to teach myself this material on my own time, but I don't know how to demonstrate this to admissions. Since I'm working full-time, ideally I'd be able to take courses at night, on weekends, or online and rock an A on all of them, but that doesn't seem to be possible with upper level math courses. The best I seem to be able to do is rock the GRE instead.

Second, I don't have much in the way of research. I did a senior-level honors thesis that did have original research in it, but I am definitely not published anywhere (no REU, etc.).

Third, recommendation letters. I can probably still count on a strong letter from my thesis adviser, but I don't know what to do for the other two letters. I've been out of school long enough that I can't just ask random former professors and expect to get strong letters from them.

I was as strong student, with 3.9/3.6 math/cum GPA, at a top tier liberal arts college. However, I did not gear myself towards grad school, and my CV reflects that. Given that I will not apply for at least 2-3 years, is there anything I can do to improve it? Are there any kind of non-degree math courses that would be available to someone working full-time (nights/weekends/online)? My ideal situation would be to take courses at a nearby school of this variety, ingratiate myself with some professors, and start helping them out on research. Is this even possible, without returning to school full-time for a second bachelors degree?

Thanks

 

[brocks]

I don't know how much things have changed, but about 25 years ago I was in a similar situation. I had been working for about five years (and was ten years older than most grad students, since I started college after military service), and had virtually nothing to show grad schools except very high grades and very high GRE scores. I had gone for breadth rather than depth as an undergrad, so I had a BA in Math, a BS in CS, and a minor in EE, but pretty much the bare minimum in upper division courses, from a mediocre state university. No research, nothing relevant from my job. I doubt that my letters of recommendation, from profs who probably barely remembered me, were more than boilerplate. One of them made it pretty clear that he was not thrilled that I had asked him, but I had no choice.

Despite all that, I got several very good offers (full tuition and a generous stipend) from some top CS PhD programs, including Berkeley. And I'm a white male. So, it can be done, as of 1986 anyway.

 

[regginbrow]

I think that, right now, I could probably get into a PhD program at a decent enough school. Possibly an unfunded masters program at a top 25 school and try to transfer to the PhD program if I live up to it, although I am not 100% confident in that. But, since I do have time before I plan on applying, I would like to work on and improve my application. Like I said, research, letters, and volume of coursework are my biggest hurdles, but I don't know if it's possible to do anything at this point.