Summer’s finally arrived after a year’s worth of challenging science and mathematics courses. Who’s up for more math?

A lot of HMC students, that’s who. For more than a decade, HMC students have flocked to the College’s Summer Math Program to get ahead in their studies and pursue topics of interest.

"The Summer Math curriculum is challenging,” says Ginna Kim ’09, who participated in the 2006 program. “But our professors were awesome.”

Adds classmate Leah Anderson ’09: "Although I was definitely eager to get home toward the end of the program, I am very glad I enrolled in Summer Math. It was a really fun experience both academically and socially.”

The College launched Summer Math in 1994 in response to student interest. “A group of freshmen approached the College about starting a summer program so they could keep studying and spend more time on campus with friends,” explains Alfonso Castro, chair of the Department of Mathematics. “The rest is history.”

In its first year, the program offered one four-week course, and six students participated. In 2006, the program offered two semesters’ worth of classes over a six-week period, and 115 students, or 60 percent of HMC’s sophomore class, took part. 

With so many students getting ahead in math over the summer, faculty are able to teach more upper-division courses during the school year.

“Satisfying all of their sophomore math requirements over the summer, students end up with more flexibility in their future class scheduling,” says HMC mathematics professor Arthur Benjamin. “This has been especially popular with engineering majors who do not have as many electives as other majors.”