SMI is an all-women's program. Even the professors were women. This was great because the math community has few female role models for us. It was a real confidence booster to see many successful women--professors and students alike--studying mathe matics. additionally, many students felt more confidence about discussing math in the seminars. They had previously felt pressure to hide any ignorance and not ask questions because they were the sole females in a male-dominated atmosphere. At mills we tried to not be afraid to ask questions or preface them with: "this may be stupid, but...". We also spent time discussing other issues relevant to a woman's role in mathematics--such as raising a family and dealing with sexual harassment.

Of course, we spent most of our time studying math. This is not an REU. We didn't conduct independent research. We attended seminars and colloquia. However the opportunities are there to make of them what you will. For instance, I challenged myself outside the seminars by talking with graduate students. Most of the other s tudents didn't have as strong a background as one can get at Harvard. Hence, the pace in the seminars was a little slow. (Which is not to say it was boring! there's always more one can do outside the assigned work.) There was a mixture of pure and appli ed math.

The other students there were just wonderful! They are bright and fun and friendly people. We worked together often, and also went on many excursions into San Francisco and the surrounding area. There wasn't the pressure of grades, so we really took the weekends off to have fun!

Applications are due in February. If you have questions, ask me or see Svetlana for an application. I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who wants to do some good math this summer and see what life is like for people beyond the undergraduate level. But if you're looking to do really high powered math or research, I would recommend applying to some REU's.
--Monica Vazirani