Statistic vs. Mathematics

[ComicBookDude]

I'm a college sophomore who is about 6 classes away from a math major. However, lately I've been thinking about switching to a statistics major (purely because I think I would enjoy it more). Does anyone have any information? I know the math major looks harder and would be a bit more impressive. Has anyone heard stats is an easy major?

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[oxeye]

I'm a college sophomore who is about 6 classes away from a math major. However, lately I've been thinking about switching to a statistics major (purely because I think I would enjoy it more). Does anyone have any information? I know the math major looks harder and would be a bit more impressive. Has anyone heard stats is an easy major?

I have a degree in statistics. What do you want to know?

I guess it depends on where you take it, but at Berkeley it was not what I would consider an easy major. It is probably easier than math if you aren't good with proofs because there are less proofs than pure math (but still a significant amount of them).

I enjoyed it more than math. The best part of stat is how applicable it is to other fields.

 

[SpeakLittleB]

i am majoring in statistics currently. i think it depends on the school and the specific classes. my university is very strong in statistics specifically for biostatistics which suits me perfectly and provides a challenging, productive curriculum. of course, it is very different from mathematics in that it is an applied field, meaning much more computation based, rather than theoretical. so perhaps math requires a more theoretical thought (which takes more or less time depending on your ability), as a stat major, you'd spend a LOT more time in things like writing programs and analyzing data.

 

[oxeye]

i am majoring in statistics currently. i think it depends on the school and the specific classes. my university is very strong in statistics specifically for biostatistics which suits me perfectly and provides a challenging, productive curriculum. of course, it is very different from mathematics in that it is an applied field, meaning much more computation based, rather than theoretical. so perhaps math requires a more theoretical thought (which takes more or less time depending on your ability), as a stat major, you'd spend a LOT more time in things like writing programs and analyzing data.

This just goes to show how different schools teach the same subject so differently. The stat classes I took had very little program writing and data analysis. We didn't get to apply it much at all. It was very theoretical - though still less theoretical than upper-level math classes.

We had the option of doing a math track with the stat major or an applied track. I chose to do applied with my emphasis in biostat. I did get a bit more data analysis there. Then I also I did a thesis and that was pretty much all stat programming and data analysis.

Maybe the OP could talk to the department's undergraduate advisor. S/he should be able to give a better idea of what the department's goal is - teaching application or theory, or both equally.

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

Both are difficult as both involve math. I don't think you choose major based on difficulty though, because I would have been a comm major if that was the case.

 

[dr.z]

I'm a college sophomore who is about 6 classes away from a math major. However, lately I've been thinking about switching to a statistics major (purely because I think I would enjoy it more). Does anyone have any information? I know the math major looks harder and would be a bit more impressive. Has anyone heard stats is an easy major?

I think either one is fine. If you like stats more, it might be better to major in stats.