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I was wondering if there are any special math scholarships in the United States of America for High School students with high capacity in mathematics. At the age of merely 16, I see great potential in my future mathematics courses as you may be able to tell from my activity on math.stackexchange.com.

Because I am able to perform math that most students my age aren't able to and I am already learning math topics at a fast rate, I already fear that I won't be able to have math courses left by next year if I so chose, which would only be my junior year of high school! I'm quite unsure if I am able to take more math courses as a dual-enrolled student at my local high school simply because such courses don't lend to my high school diploma.

To get an idea of how fast I learn, I taught myself Calculus One in about a month... without neglecting my other subjects. Oddly, I haven't taken Calculus yet, so I think it will be a breeze.

I keep my skills sharp of course, using this site to help me learn and teach at the same time.

I'm also looking towards becoming a math major and teaching a math course as a professor or High School teacher.

Preferably, I'd like a scholarship or grant that is primarily math based but if science tags along I'm ok.

Thank you, Simple Art

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  • $\begingroup$ Perhaps this part, Because I am able to perform math that most students my age are able to, needs to be edited? Also, for what's it worth (and this may be particular to me and not all that common for "mathy people"), lack of classes and such seemed to have little impact on my middle school and high school progression from pre-algebra through linear algebra, some differential equations, and multivariable calculus. Availability of books was the primary issue for me. (This was before the internet.) See my comments here, for example. $\endgroup$
    – Dave L Renfro
    Commented Feb 12, 2016 at 19:41
  • $\begingroup$ @DaveLRenfro I meant "Because I am able to perform math that most students my age aren't able to"... My bad. $\endgroup$
    – Simply Beautiful Art
    Commented Feb 12, 2016 at 21:39
  • $\begingroup$ It's interesting, because I am in the same situation you are :-) I'm graduating this year. My main regret is not having competed in competitions. Since you still have two years of high school remaining, I would strongly suggest you compete and, more importantly, win. It looks really good and it's a lot of fun. Sometimes there are monetary prizes as well. For example, in Canada, we have the Euclid competition hosted by the University of Waterloo. Top performers get $500. $\endgroup$
    – MathematicsStudent1122
    Commented Feb 15, 2016 at 1:34
  • $\begingroup$ @MathematicsStudent1122 That sounds like an interesting idea. And wow, that sounds fun as well. $\endgroup$
    – Simply Beautiful Art
    Commented Feb 15, 2016 at 16:34

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I don't know about scholarships in the USA, but here's an alternative: Consult a maths department at some university (maybe college is more appropriate in USA?), preferably one that is close enough for you to visit.

Two ways to get in touch:

  1. The mathematics teachers at your high school might have connections. Ask them.
  2. Go there, try to find some friendly people or staff members (PhD/doctoral students are a good candidate, since they know the faculty and remember what it is like to be a student, so they also know the courses available there). Discuss your situation with them.

You can also try sending emails without visiting, but that is less likely to be effective.

These two methods are also good ways of learning about any possible grants.

My general suggestion is to study other subjects and learn as much as you can about everything. Physics can give you good intuitions and problem solving skills in mathematics also, and advanced mathematics requires good reading comprehension and some writing skills. Foreign languages are always useful - I've used works in French and German (and Finnish, but I'm Finnish) and a friend has used Russian references in research mathematics. Travelling is also a big part of research mathematics. Knowing foreign languages makes that easier.

If mathematics lessons are too easy, then ask for more advanced material from your teacher (or ask who is the most knowledgeable teacher and ask more material from them) and focus on teaching your classmates. Teaching others will sharpen your own math skills, since explaining to others requires you to understand the subject quite well, and will teach you how to communicate mathematics, which is a crucial skill if you want to teach mathematics or do research.

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  • $\begingroup$ Since most of my friends aren't that into math, I can't really talk with them. Also, I do try to keep my skills sharp with math.stackexchange.com I'm learning Physics right now and possibly will learn French as well. (high five) The most advanced teacher at my school teaches Calculus, which I'm not too interested in. In fact, I want to learn other courses like discrete mathematics and number theory etc. As far as personal learning, I taught myself Calculus I in about one and a half months. :/ Thank you for the tips, I will try to make the most use of them. $\endgroup$
    – Simply Beautiful Art
    Commented Feb 12, 2016 at 21:44

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