MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I applied to MMSS because I wanted to learn how to use my mathematical curiosity to better understand society and advocate for changes I want to see in the world. Mathematical modeling is an incredibly useful skill in the world of research and advocacy, and I knew MMSS would help me connect those dots.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
MMSS challenged me to write a senior thesis, which turned out to be one of the most important experiences of my college career. I graduated from Northwestern with not only skills but direct experience in developing and executing a fully-realized research project. I look forward to moving forward with confidence in my ability to generate knowledge through mathematical techniques.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
MMSS courses have expanded how I think about mathematical models and their role in the social sciences. I have enjoyed developing a stronger understanding of how data relate with each other to form incredibly useful pictures of social structures and processes. I have worked one-on-one with my professors to figure out how I can apply these ideas to my own work.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I applied to MMSS almost on name alone. I wrote my Common App essay on how I view my political thinking through math equations, and I remember receiving an email letting me know about this program called Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences. I have always learned best through making connections between different fields of study, so MMSS sounded like it would be the perfect fit for me. Without really any more research, I decided to apply to the program. In hindsight, I am surprised with how little I knew about MMSS when I applied, but it fortunately worked out well.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
I have obviously learned a lot of econometric and quantitative skills from MMSS, but I think MMSS has best taught me more general learning and metacognitive skills. The program's courses are front-loaded and challenging, and I definitely felt like I was thrown into the deep end during fall of freshman year with my MMSS classes. However, that challenge forced me to improve my learning habits by taking notes, studying more effectively, and seeking help from my professors. MMSS also really helped me build resilience after initially facing a challenge. In the next years after graduation, I hope I will utilize some of the quantitative skills that I have learned from MMSS, but I know I will be relying on my general learning skills and my resilience that I have grown through MMSS.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
I have enjoyed the classes and the sense of academic community most. I always like to seek out academic challenges, and MMSS certainly fulfilled that role in pushing me to learn and grow. Through taking two classes every quarter for two years with the same 40 or so intelligent and hardworking people, a real community centered around learning and scholarship forms, which is especially helpful starting college during a pandemic where other methods of finding community were more difficult. Whether it was suffering through problem sets together or frantically studying for the next midterm, I have deeply appreciated the friendships that I made because of MMSS.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
My decision to apply to the MMSS program at Northwestern was guided by my passion for math, and more importantly, its practical uses in areas such as economics and political science. I was captivated by the notion of using math as a tool to better understand the world. The collaborative structure of the program was another major factor in my decision. I was drawn to the idea of studying closely with the same group of students, allowing for ongoing teamwork and shared intellectual growth. Additionally, I viewed MMSS coursework as a great foundation for deeper engagement with the STEM fields

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
The MMSS program has been instrumental in my preparation for graduation. The rigorous coursework in mathematics, economics, and modeling during the initial two years equipped me with the knowledge and skills I needed for my subsequent studies in the Kellogg Undergraduate Program and graduate statistics courses. Perhaps more importantly, the MMSS program has honed my ability to collaborate effectively--a skill that is undoubtedly vital in the professional world. By working intensively with the same group of students for over two years, we’ve developed a strong sense of camaraderie and mutual understanding that has facilitated highly productive teamwork

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
Without a doubt, the highlight of my experience at MMSS has been the people--the students, staff, and professors. My peers in the program are not just classmates--they’ve become some of my closest friends, with whom I often engage in stimulating discussions about academics and potential market modeling ideas. My roommates after graduation include two other MMSS students. The faculty and professors have been equally influential in my journey. At the start of our college coursework, we immediately jumped into the deep end with multivariable calculus and turbo microeconomics. The professors, especially Professor Schulz, offered great support in our transition to college coursework. I made it a point to take two more of Schulz’s classes while pursuing my economics major

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I applied to MMSS because I wanted a more quantitative experience in college to supplement my economics education. After successfully completing the MathWorks math modeling challenge in high school, I wanted to learn more about how to apply my mathematical skills to issues in finance and economics.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
MMSS has prepared me for graduation by allowing me to take courses that I would have otherwise not have had access to. The econometrics courses were especially helpful in interviews and my internships

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
What I enjoyed the most about MMSS was writing my senior thesis, “How Market Maker Inventory Affects Options Liquidity.” I was able to apply my knowledge in options market making and quantitative finance in a way that was meaningful and fruitful for both my personal interests and my future career.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I applied Early Decision to Northwestern with the intention of pursuing my interests in mathematics and psychology, not knowing until after I had gotten in that MMSS existed, a program that combined all of my interests. Nothing else felt like the perfect fit—a pure math major seemed too theoretical, while psychology or economics majors on their own didn’t have enough math to excite me. When I found out that there was a program that provided enough mathematical and theoretical education to challenge me, without ever straying too far from the real-world phenomena that motivated me, I quickly applied and the rest is history!

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
MMSS has prepared me for new opportunities and challenges more than I often realize. MMSS classes challenged me in ways that fostered my critical thinking and problem-solving skills, encouraging me to look at problems from different angles and work collaboratively to identify the best path forward. The economic and analytical principles taught in MMSS courses shape the ways in which I parse complicated and nuanced issues. And, no matter what industry or path one takes, the technical skills gained from MMSS are unmatched. For example, it hit me recently how useful the program was when it started paying out huge dividends—as I worked on my thesis, I knew way more about the theory behind and implementation of econometric and statistical methods than I realized. When I was asked by a research advisor to help grade an MBA course, I saw how much knowledge I had about topics taught in graduate school and how prepared I would be if I chose to go that route. I’m constantly being surprised by new contexts in which my MMSS education comes in handy.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
It is difficult to pick just one aspect, so I’ll share two. First, I really enjoyed the close-knit community of MMSS. The classes are challenging, but they never felt cutthroat—instead, the challenge of the material encouraged collaboration and support. It is helpful to have a built-in community and structure when you first enter college. The second aspect I most enjoyed was the proximity to brilliant professors. There are fantastic educators throughout Northwestern, but MMSS has a particularly great concentration. It was a joy to get to learn from accomplished professors such as Prof. Jeff Ely, Prof. Eddie Dekel, and Prof. Rob Porter, and I was also blown away by the amount of support I received. Prof. Porter helped me get a research assistant position that I held during junior and senior years, while Prof. Ely supported the various ideas, I had to shape my course of study. The MMSS program is so unique in allowing these close connections with brilliant and highly supportive faculty.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
For myself, I applied ED to Northwestern and found out that I had been admitted. While I was determining what I wanted to study, I came across the MMSS website. From there, I did my research on the program and learned how it provides intense quantitative and mathematical training but does so with an eye toward real world applications. This is what primarily drew me to the program and pushed me to apply. I had enjoyed math in high school, but history and political science courses had been my favorites. So I knew that I wanted to study something in college that would give me a highly applicable skillset, but also exposure to studying important issues

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
Over my four years at Northwestern, MMSS prepared me both academically and for experiences beyond the classroom. On the coursework side of things, I found that the first year MMSS classes particularly set me up for success. The level of rigor and thinking that those classes required early on prepared me to take on whatever quantitative Economics, Computer Science, or any other courses that followed. By the time I was working on my thesis and ready to graduate, I felt that I had really been battle tested by my coursework and was confident in my ability to solve complicated problems. Outside of the classroom, I took an interest in finance and more business-oriented fields. I felt that MMSS helped me stand out as I pursued opportunities on campus while also giving me the confidence to explain more complicated concepts in interviews and internships. I have found in my work experiences, that the value of MMSS is in teaching an analytical way of thinking and giving you confidence that you can figure things out. You may not necessarily remember exactly how to take a Lagrangian but the innate confidence that you passed Game Theory and Econometrics is still there. If you could figure that out, you can probably figure out this Excel formatting issue.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
I have enjoyed many things about MMSS, among which are the professors, the coursework, and of course going through it all with my fellow peers. I made some of my closest friends at Northwestern by meeting them during my first quarter in MMSS. I also had the opportunity to be an MMSS PA which was one of my favorite experiences at Northwestern. Finally, it was also amazing getting to see everyone present on their research in our senior year and see how they applied what we had all learned in their own creative way.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I had always been very into sports but was sadly cursed with a frail little body that often gets knocked over by stiff gusts of wind. Ever since I acknowledged that a life of athletic stardom might not be right for me, I had been looking for ways to break into the sports world via math. I applied to MMSS because I saw that it would give me the tools to make that sports analytics dream a reality.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
MMSS prepared me for graduation by providing me a place to essentially do what I hoped to do in the professional world. My thesis let me do original research on the way professional MLB teams allocate resources, which is similar to what I would like to do for a baseball team some day. I also was given the econometric and machine learning background to take questions I have about sports and use math to figure out compelling answers

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
The thing I enjoyed most about MMSS were the classes on game theory. I don’t exactly know why, but I really fell in love with game theory at Northwestern, and had genuine fun tackling the problems and challanges I’d see in those classes. And of course I really enjoyed the camaraderie I had with all of my fellow victim—I mean students in MMSS, shout out to my study group for saving my behind time and time again!

Why did you apply to MMSS?
Upon applying to Northwestern, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to study. I’d always enjoyed math throughout high school, though I knew nothing about MMSS until I got an email from the program after I’d listed math as my anticipated major. I did some research and came to understand how unique the program was, with a focus on bridging math and various social sciences in a way I’d never seen done before. I realized the incredible learning, preparation, and community that it provided students with, really setting them up for entry into a number of interesting and impressive careers, and I decided that it was definitely something worth being a part of!

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
MMSS offers a really valuable and multi-faceted foundation for any sort of analytical career. There is very little (if any) math you’ll be asked to do later on that you haven’t been introduced to or worked with in the MMSS curriculum. The double-major aspect also offers a really holistic educational experience. I paired MMSS with Psychology and am so grateful for all the exposure I got to different fields of study and for the perspective I developed, finding so many ways that math and psychology connected. MMSS has also allowed me to pursue other non- quantitative interests in social science fields; I have enjoyed taking a number of history, philosophy, and sociology classes at Northwestern, which gave me many opportunities to improve my writing and qualitative analysis. I know that the broad and significant development that I experienced because of MMSS will serve me well as I earn my MBA in the coming years and in whatever professional role I find myself in later on. MMSS surrounded me with like-minded and hardworking students who were both enjoyable to get to know as well as encouraging and helpful to one another in the challenging MMSS coursework.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
The most enjoyable aspect of MMSS for me was the network of bright and capable individuals within the program. Taking two of your typical four classes every quarter for two years with the same cohort of people means you get to know each other very well. I am so grateful for the friends I made in MMSS as well as for the networking conversations I’ve had the opportunity to have with MMSS alumni. The community is such an impressive and supportive group of people!

Why did you apply to MMSS?
My sister’s friend graduated from MMSS and said it was difficult but an awesome opportunity to learn a lot. The combination of rigorous mathematics and economics/political science really spoke to me, but truthfully I did not fully know what I was getting into. Despite being even more challenging than promised, the program managed to exceed my expectations.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
MMSS prepared me for graduation in multiple ways. Certainly, the academics helped prepare me for the job market, but more importantly some of the classes helped shape my way of thinking about the world. Additionally, the thesis requirement gave me hands-on experience working with real-world data and helped me build confidence in interpreting the world around me.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
What I appreciated most about MMSS was the collaborative nature of my peers. The small class sizes with a consistent group of students allowed me to build close friendships and bonds with others. Despite many of the classes being very challenging and on a curve, students would help each other without hesitation.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
Answer 1

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
Answer 2

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
Answer 3

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I applied to MMSS because I was fascinated by the idea of solving social science issues through mathematical frameworks. Quantitative reasoning brought a new perspective to problems that, until that point, I had largely read about in words. However, the element of math that I loved most was not about the results, but about the process of taking a complex situation and logically dissecting it into component proofs. I was excited by a program that used both the operations and the methodology of quantitative thinking to solve the questions and issues I was most passionate about.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
First of all, the knowledge I have gained through the MMSS courses has been incredibly beneficial. Take-away’s from intersectional courses like econometrics and game theory have taught me principals that have been applicable across work experience in a variety of industries and roles! Arguably more than the content-based knowledge, MMSS has best prepared me for graduation by stretching and solidifying my work-ethic. The fast-paced courses and academic rigor of MMSS challenged me to work extremely hard. In doing so, I learned much about dedication and perseverance. These process-oriented lessons are the ones that I cherish above all else, for they are applicable in any situation life may throw my way.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
Aside from the courses, I have really enjoyed being part of the MMSS community. My fellow peers, professors, and alumni have been some of the most remarkable, intelligent, and helpful people I’ve met during my time at NU. They both challenge and support me, and have grown into friends and mentors respectively.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
Early in my college career, I realized I wanted to study some form of mathematics applied to social issues and the social sciences. Pure math was too esoteric, and applied math seemed to be more focused on hard sciences and engineering. Economics as a discipline is dedicated to using mathematical tools to analyze economic behavior, but the economics program here isn’t as math-heavy, and I wanted something that looked more broadly at the social sciences. And so, I found myself in MMSS

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
The advanced coursework in microeconomics and econometrics are obviously great stepping stones for graduate courses in the same subjects. The thesis program also give students a hands on approach with independent research and allows them to present their findings periodically in front of their peers — just like in graduate school.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
As someone who wants to research microeconomic theory, getting to study under Professors like Prof. Ely, Prof. Rogerson, and Prof. Porter is really invaluable. They're amazing academics who actually use game theory in their research — the tools you’re learning about are something your instructors use every day on the job. And even outside class, these Profs are free to help out eager students — for example, even though Prof. Ely wasn’t my thesis advisor, he helped me brainstorm how to design a game theoretic primitive for my senior thesis.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
I applied to MMSS because the program's goals aligned well with my interests, combining mathematical rigor with applications to social sciences. The small class size and selectivity of the program also appealed to me.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
I really enjoyed my time in MMSS. The classes were rewarding and prepared me well to face future challenges, but even outside of class material, I learned valuable skills like how to work collaboratively with others and how to do research. MMSS faculty also provided great academic and professional advice which I believe will be very helpful going forward.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
Two experiences from MMSS really stand out to me. The first is the sense of community. Taking classes with the same group for two years, as well as the many program sponsored events, really allowed me to get to know my classmates well. At the end of the day, I feel like I really identify with the MMSS program. Second, I appreciated the senior thesis experience. It was challenging and gratifying to pursue a self-directed project, and I learned a great deal about research.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
MMSS first caught my attention because it was so rooted in the real world. When I was considering applying I browsed the thesis library on the website and saw how broadly I could apply what I learned -- people had analyzed data on every topic under the sun. I wanted to be able to use data from the real world to answer questions and make discoveries. That was probably the biggest factor in my decision to apply.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
Interestingly, the thesis projects that drove me to apply to MMSS in the first place ended up being instrumental in my job search. Nobody had to wonder whether I could take what I learned in the classroom and apply it in the world, because I already had done so in my thesis.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
One thing I came to really appreciate about MMSS was the small size of the program. I never felt like just another face in a sea of students, and I was able to get to know all of my classmates. I feel like the program responds to the students as well; in my case I had a non-traditional major pairing (MMSS and linguistics) and Professor Ely took the initiative to support students like me.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
There were 2 main reasons I applied to the program. The first reason was purely academic. I wanted to take classes that demonstrated how to apply mathematical modeling to different social questions. I considered double majoring in mathematics and economics, but I realized I would miss out on many applied math concepts since the upper level courses in both majors are highly theory based. However, the MMSS classes fit my interests perfectly. The second reason was community based. The MMSS community is known for being close and there are many opportunities and resources within the community.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
Freshman year I took multi-variable calculus and an economics class and for me, the coolest part of my coursework was seeing how I could use mathematical modeling to explain different social phenomena around me. In addition to explaining core economics questions, math could be used to help model anything from election outcomes to the likelihood of war between two countries to the psychology behind choosing a university to attend.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
I enjoyed the classes most about MMSS. Not only are they challenging, but they force you to think critically about the world around you and how you can use the skill set you learn in MMSS to make an impact. I've also enjoyed being a part of the MMSS community. If you need advice on anything from job recruitment to course selection, you can always reach out to MMSS students, alumni, or staff for support and they are incredibly willing to help. These are the two components of the MMSS program that I appreciated the most.

Why did you apply to MMSS?
While reading articles from places like FiveThirtyEight, I was curious about the current problems in various disciplines like economics and political science, and how math and statistics could be used to understand and address those problems.

How has MMSS prepared you for graduation?
My MMSS experience has been nothing short of fantastic. All the classes in the MMSS program are very challenging but interesting, and the professors are very accessible and willing to help answer any questions.

What have you enjoyed most about MMSS?
My fellow classmates have become some of my best friends at Northwestern. From the quarterly dinners to working on the senior thesis, my interactions with the MMSS family greatly enriched my experience. For anyone thinking of applying to MMSS or entering the MMSS program, I would definitely suggest interacting with students and professors as much as possible. Everyone is so smart here, and you'll definitely learn a lot!