Attending the University of Chicago in 1892, Mary was one of five fellows (and the only woman) in the math department during the university's inaugural year. This experience would eventually mirror her time in Germany as one of the only female attendees. The beginnings for the University of Chicago are not unlike that of Kansas State University (then KSAC) where Mary would eventually work. Both schools were coeducational from their establishment onward. Chicago would prepare Mary for her later experiences of being oftentimes the only woman in male-dominated circles and faculty groups.
Chicago was also the launching point of a new goal. She claimed she had been "bitten by the German bug."
When the announcement was made that the Association of Collegiate Alumnae was offering a scholarship for a year's study in Europe, I made up my mind to apply. We had two German professors in the department, both very fine men and very clear lecturers: Prof. Bolza and Prof. Maschke. "You will go to Klein," said Prof. Bolza, when I asked for a recommendation, as if I already had the scholarship.
At the time though, Mary did not know that Professor Maschke--who had been one of Klein's former students--had written to him about her.
...She has...talent, thinks independently, and at any rate, is above average...Bolza and I hope to convince her...to go to Göttingen, and at the same time we are urging her not to go to Berlin in order to preserve her from becoming rigid. Now there is first of all the question, whether female students...will be admitted at Göttingen, or whether, if this is not the case, you believe that through your influence you could succeed in having an exception made in this case.
Mary did not receive the coveted Association of Collegiate Alumnae scholarship, but other events worked in her favor.
Professor Felix Klein was in Chicago attending the World's Columbian Exposition during the summer of 1893. The University of Chicago mathematicians had organized an International Congress of Mathematicians to take place in conjunction with the exposition and it was Klein who gave the opening speech.
Called "The Present State of Mathematics," Klein's speech contained a "manifesto" for the future international cooperation of mathematicians--something he was a large proponent of.
Following the Congress, Klein gave a colloquium at Northwestern University in Evanston and delivered twelve lectures on recent mathematical research. Mary, who had already written to Göttingen for admission to the university, was a registrant at the colloquium. She welcomed the chance to personally speak with Klein as to the matter of her admission to the university.
Mary met fellow mathematician, Christine Ladd Franklin, also at the colloquium, who had been struggling for women's right to earn PhDs in the U.S. and Germany. When Christine heard that Mary had applied to Göttingen, she offered Mary $500 for her expenses during year first year in Germany.
When Mary talked with Klein in Evanston, he did not tell her she could be admitted to the university. She believed, however, that he was certain she would be admitted but did not wish to be quoted as saying so. "That is only my opinion," Klein told her. He suggested that if her application should be turned down by the Ministry of Education, she should go to Zurich or Leipzig instead.
However, in mid-September of that year, Mary boarded a train to New York and then, on October 5th, set sail on a Belgian steamer, the S. S. Westernland, for Antwerp. Her voyage was largely a leap of faith as Mary was traveling to Germany before being accepted to the University. Hope fueled her journey across the ocean.
Mary at Göttingen
