Ave Maria University |
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The Mathematics Major: Just the Facts
Table 1. Performance in the 2006-2007 GRE (combined verbal & quantitative scores) by major. [2]
| Major | Average GRE | Difference from Mean | |
| 1 | Physics | 1269 | +211 |
| 2 | Mathematics | 1235 | +177 |
| 3 | Philosophy | 1228 | +170 |
| 4 | Economics | 1209 | +151 |
| 5 | Engineering | 1187 | +129 |
| 6 | Finance | 1178 | +120 |
| 7 | Computer Science | 1167 | +109 |
| 8 | Chemistry | 1166 | +108 |
| 9 | Biology | 1122 | +64 |
| 10 | English | 1113 | +55 |
| 11 | Political Science | 1112 | +54 |
| 12 | Foreign Languages | 1105 | +47 |
| 13 | Anthropology | 1102 | +44 |
| 14 | History | 1099 | +41 |
| 15 | Social Science | 1052 | -6 |
| 16 | Sociology | 1033 | -25 |
| 17 | Psychology | 1017 | -41 |
| 18 | Business | 999 | -59 |
| 19 | Accounting | 993 | -65 |
| 20 | Education | 983 | -75 |
| Overall Mean | 1269 |
Table 2. Performance in the 1991-1992 and 1994-1995 LSAT by major. [3]
| Major | Average LSAT | Difference from Mean | |
| 1 | Physics/Mathematics | 157.4 | +5.7 |
| 2 | Philosophy | 156.0 | +4.2 |
| 3 | Economics | 155.5 | +3.8 |
| 4 | Anthropology | 154.6 | +2.8 |
| 4 | Chemistry | 154.6 | +2.8 |
| 6 | History | 154.2 | +2.4 |
| 7 | English | 153.8 | +2.1 |
| 8 | Engineering | 153.7 | +1.9 |
| 9 | Biology | 153.6 | +1.8 |
| 9 | Social Science | 153.6 | +1.8 |
| 11 | Finance | 152.7 | +0.9 |
| 12 | Foreign Languages | 152.4 | +0.7 |
| 13 | Accounting | 152.2 | +0.4 |
| 13 | Computer Science | 152.2 | +0.4 |
| 15 | Psychology | 152.0 | +0.2 |
| 16 | Political Science | 151.7 | -0.1 |
| 17 | Sociology | 149.3 | -2.5 |
| 18 | Business | 149.1 | -2.7 |
| 19 | Education | 148.5 | -3.3 |
| 20 | Prelaw | 147.6 | -4.2 |
| Overall Mean | 151.8 |
Table 3. Performance in the 2006-2007 MCAT (combined VR, BS, and PS scores) by major. [4]
| Major | Average MCAT | Difference from Mean | |
| 1 | Physical Science | 29.2 | +1.6 |
| 2 | Humanities | 28.7 | +1.1 |
| 3 | Mathematics/Statistics | 28.6 | +1.0 |
| 4 | Other | 27.6 | +0.0 |
| 5 | Social Science | 27.3 | -0.3 |
| 6 | Biological Science | 27.2 | -0.4 |
| 7 | Health Science | 24.7 | -2.9 |
| Overall Mean | 27.6 |
Table 4. Performance in the 2001-2005 GMAT by major. [5]
| Major | Average GMAT | Difference from Mean | |
| 1 | Physics | 609.8 | +81.4 |
| 2 | Mathematics | 592.8 | +64.4 |
| 3 | Engineering | 584.2 | +55.8 |
| 4 | Philosophy | 573.8 | +45.4 |
| 5 | Chemistry | 567.6 | +39.2 |
| 6 | Economics | 566.2 | +37.8 |
| 7 | Computer Science | 565.8 | +37.4 |
| 8 | History | 564.6 | +36.2 |
| 9 | Anthropology | 557.2 | +28.8 |
| 10 | Biology | 556.4 | +28.0 |
| 11 | English | 555.8 | +27.4 |
| 12 | Foreign Languages | 542.4 | +14.0 |
| 13 | Prelaw | 538.8 | +10.4 |
| 14 | Political Science | 538.6 | +10.2 |
| 15 | Finance | 534.0 | +5.6 |
| 16 | Social Science | 531.4 | +3.0 |
| 17 | Psychology | 523.8 | -4.6 |
| 18 | Accounting | 507.4 | -21.0 |
| 19 | Sociology | 505.0 | -23.4 |
| 20 | Business | 504.0 | -24.4 |
| 21 | Education | 490.8 | -37.6 |
| Overall Mean | 528.4 |
Table 5. Top twenty ranked jobs in 2002. [6]
| Ranking | Job |
| 1 | Biologist |
| 2 | Actuary |
| 3 | Financial Planner |
| 4 | Computer System Analyst |
| 5 | Accountant |
| 6 | Software Engineer |
| 7 | Meteorologist |
| 8 | Paralegal Assistant |
| 9 | Statistician |
| 10 | Astronomer |
| 11 | Mathematician |
| 12 | Parole Officer |
| 13 | Hospital Administrator |
| 14 | Architechtural Drafter |
| 15 | Physiologist |
| 16 | Dietician |
| 17 | Website Manager |
| 18 | Physicist |
| 19 | Audiologist |
| 20 | Nonprofit Agency Director |
References.
[1] NSF Characteristics of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates, 2003.
[2] Graduate Record Examination Guide to the Use of Scores, 2006-2007.
[3] Michael Nieswiadomy, LSAT Scores of Economics Majors, Journal of Economic Education (1998), pp.377-379.
[4] AAMC FACTS - Applicants, Matriculants and Graduates, 2006.
[5] Profile of Graduate Management Admission Test Candidates, 2005-2006.
[6] Les Krantz, The Jobs Rated Almanac, 6th edition, Barricade Books, 2002.