Physics + frisbee + warm weather ... ideas beyond UNC-Chapel Hill

College Search & Selection
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I don’t know your budget, but if your son would be happy to attend U. of Arizona, then I think that’s a great safety as it’s very strong in physics and would give generous merit aid. I didn’t notice it in the top 25 ultimate frisbee schools list as mentioned in the source linked above, but if it’s on your list, I imagine it makes good sense.

I do like Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo for him as I think it hits a lot of his desires.

These are some other schools that you may want to consider. If I mention that they’re punching above their weight, I’m generally referring to this data on the number of undergraduate alums a university produces that go on to earn their doctorate. If I specify punching above their weight in physics, then I’m talking specifically about people who go on to earn PhDs in physics. Though the source has data going back decades, I only include data from 2000-2018 (the most recent data available on the site). This post also explains more about my use of the data. All of these schools were ranked in the top 25 for men’s ultimate frisbee (D1 or D3) at some point over the last 8-9 years.

  • Alabama-Huntsville: About 7200 undergrads, generous merit aid provided.

  • Colorado State: About 26k undergrads, and much likelier to give some good merit than CU

  • Duke (NC): About 6600 undergrads

  • Harvey Mudd or Pomona (CA): About 5k undergrads in the Claremont consortium, though the individual schools are smaller

  • Missouri S&T: About 5500 undergrads…this is a heavy hitter in the STEM world

  • Truman State (MO): About 3600 undergrads, another school that punches well above its weight overall, including in physics.

  • U. of Mary Washington (VA): About 3500 undergrads and punches well above its weight in physics

  • U. of Southern California: About 21k undergrads, and it’s one of the few Top X schools that still gives some good merit aid out

  • Washington University (MO): About 8100 undergrads

If he does suffer from bad rheumatoid arthritis, then I would definitely encourage him to carefully consider the climate of any school he’s considering.

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