applying to school with good physics undergraduate

College Search & Selection
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<p>I am currently a junior at my school and im going to start applying to colleges next year. I want to major in physics and mathematics so I am wanting to go to a university with a good undergraduate physics/mathematics program.
I currently have a 1580/1600 on sat (800M/780CR) 3.8 gpa unweighted a 4.5 gpa weighted
Im already taking ap cal BC, AP physics lab C, ap micro/macro economics (online course)
And I have already taken AP world history and got a 4 on the exam.
The 5 schools I am planning to apply to are
UC Berkley
MIT
Colorado school of mines
CIT
WVU
I have looked around a bit, and it seems to me that a undergraduate physics program at one place is the near same as one at another the only difference being the facilities and professors there.<br>
Now, I live in West Virginia and REALLY want to go to WVU, but I have no idea how good they are in the fields of mathematics/physics. I would not mind going to any of the universities I listed and money is not a problem, its just I go to Morgantown every time there is a home football game and in my option it is the most beautiful places I have ever been. So I guess what im asking is, if I were to get accepted to all of these places and decided to go to WVU to get a undergraduate major in physics and mathematics, would I be a fool for doing that?
And based on my current criteria do you think I could get into the following schools?</p>

<p>PS I would NOT get a graduate degree at WVU if I where to get accepted into the masters program at mit and at WVU I would choose MIT every day!</p>

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<p>No, you wouldn’t be a fool for choosing WVU. If you truly feel that you would be the happiest and most at home there, there is nothing wrong with that. I am assuming that you can get into the honors college there, and it would possibly even be a free ride (even though money isn’t an issue, theres nothing wrong with a free ride).</p>

<p>The important thing with academics is not the prestige, but the opportunity it gives you. In many cases prestige brings more opportunity. Talk to the physics professors and get info on the program. Make sure that if you graduate there with high marks (you sound like you can get a 3.7+ at WVU) you can go to a good grad school. I would assume that if you can manage a 3.7 or above, and get good test scores, then you can get into some really prestigious grad schools. Grad school prestige matters more than undergrad prestige, or so I’ve heard.</p>

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<p>Here’s a similar thread with some info:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/920375-colleges-have-best-physics-program-why.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/920375-colleges-have-best-physics-program-why.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;