I think you're right that pure math is hidden too long, and with too many "applied" detours along the way. When I was getting my BS in math, I started hearing c

I think you're right that pure math is hidden too long, and with too many "applied" detours along the way. When I was getting my BS in math, I started hearing concepts my junior/senior year that would have done a lot to clear up the motivation and context for lower level classes, even if wouldn't understand them fully until later. Particularly in regards to linear algebra. I did go the Actuarial Science/applied math route in the end, so your comment rings true, but I'm not sure I would characterize it as a bad thing. I wasn't going to be a world-class researcher and the marginal return on a graduate degree in pure math wasn't there. That said, there was a small feeling of "And now the time for fun and games is over" when I stopped studying pure math. I enjoy my job, but math provides a certain satisfaction that business problems do not.