College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Stanford University
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins
• Carnegie Mellon
• Duke University

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• UC Berkeley
• University of Washington
• University of Chicago
• University of Pennsylvania

Classes in the Major

Computer Science. Computers are important. No kidding, right? You're reading this on a computer, probably while playing a video game on another computer. Plus, there's a third computer buzzing in your pocket to let you know Nana is calling. For statisticians, computers are even more important somehow, and that's not because they're super into Candy Crush. Well, not just because of that. The quickest and best way to collate a lot of data is by using a computer. A thorough understanding of your most effective tool is pretty much required.

Calculus. There's no higher science or math degree that doesn't require some calculus to be thrown in the mix. It's like cilantro and upscale Mexican restaurants. What's this calculus doing in our horchata? The dangers of mixed metaphors. Anyway, calculus is how math expresses change, and change can be an important part of statistics. You don't want to be the only math major at the math party who doesn't know calculus. Trust us, it's no fun.

Probability Theory. Probability theory is an in-depth look at how random events really work. This is important: "theory" means something different for scientists. For the public, a theory is basically a guess. For scientists, it's the closest they'll get to calling anything a fact. So this isn't a study of probability guesses, because that doesn't require a class. Seriously, you can just guess at the probability of something. You can do that right now. What's the probability that you'll buy and eat that entire roll of cookie dough? (We'd venture 97%, based upon the available data.)

Statistics. You didn't think you were going to get through a major without taking a class of the same name, did you? In this case, you'll be learning the basics of what you're going to do out there in the weird, wild, and woebegone world of professional statistics. This is where you'll learn the most important skill of all: how to crunch numbers. We don't even really know what that means. We always have our numbers with milk, which softens them right up. The first couple bites are crunchy, but that's about it.

Differential Equations. This is yet another way to represent the real world with math. Since that's what statistics is all about, it's no small wonder that differential equations should be important. In this case, they usually apply to physical qualities, which is something that can also apply to statistics. The nice part is that these play a big role in other scientific disciplines and give you a good command and entry point into some of the others. Plus, it's unlikely that any of your relatives do this kind of thing, so it can be fun subject to bring up at Thanksgiving to confuse everyone.