Aspiring Astrophysicist - College List

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm a senior getting ready to apply to colleges and nervous about having a final list. I just thought I would see what other schools I can consider. </p>

<p>Okay you guys are going to want my stats but I really don't want to post them on the internet. I need help mostly finding schools that "fit".</p>

<p>As the title suggests, my #1 college selection priority is an Astrophysic program. However, I want a school that has #2 strong humanities (Liberal arts/ Core curriculums encourage), since I plan on pursueing grad school at the doctoral level and want my undergrad experience to be well-rounded AND science focused.</p>

<p>Though I have looked at Cornell, my favorite size is about #3 5,000 undergrads. Willing to be flexible here, but anything with 20,000 is out I think. I live in Buffalo, and would love to #4 Live in the city, if possible, which is why MIT and Chicago are topping my list. </p>

<p>I have looked at Harvard, and was not as impressed as I was by Chicago or MIT. I am looking for a challenging, intellectual atmosphere (which is probably so cliche on CC), with a little quirkiness- personality-wise. Somewhere where students work hard and aren't afraid to do something crazy. I know there are arrogant people everywhere, but a generally down-to-earth place, where students aren't obsessed about getting ahead of their class (though not unmotivated of course!). Discussion based classes would be lovely. I love to talk. And somewhere where I can learn to evaluate myself instead of being so competitive.</p>

<p>As for extracurriculars, it won't make or break a college, but I'd love it if there was good musical theater and some sort of non-varsity women's hockey team. </p>

<p>Not afraid to party, but I do want to stay a virgin and not do drugs, though I won't mind having my first real beer. </p>

<p>My colleges thus far
Reaches- MIT
- Swathmore
Reachy Matches
- Rice
-UChicago
-Cornell
Matches
-Carnegie Mellon
-Bryn Mawr
Matchy Safeties
- St. John's College
-U Rochester
Safeties
-U Pittsburgh
-SUNY Stonybrook</p>

<p>I'd really like to find a "safety that isn't really a safety"- AKA high admit rate, but intellectuall-ness. </p>

<p>Having general issues finding the "real deal" with schools. Except for a few, they all seem the same, and it's way hard to figure out if I'd fit in.</p>

<p>So I'm looking for things to delete, and also "Hidden Gems" to add. Not willing to go to CA/West. Rice is on there because I got an app waiver (from PSAT). Midwest/South fine too. Don't want to stay in Buffalo, but wouldn't mind staying in New York.
Planning on applying to many schools. </p>

<p>I hope these specifications weren't too "idealistic" or whatever. I don't need all of them to be fulfilled. I think Chicago and MIT fit the bill (I really see more similarities than difference between these two- seems strange but both seems perfect).</p>

<p>Thank you so much!!!!</p>

<p>-Katia11</p>

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<p>Dartmouth.</p>

3

<p>brandeis ?</p>

4

<p>Middlebury? I don't know anything about astrophysics in particular, but I know that it's a really strong science school, but also extremely well-rounded. I think you'd like it.</p>

5

<p>Gourman Report undergrad astrophysics ranking:</p>

<p>MIT
Caltech
Princeton
Indiana U Bloomington
U Minnesota
Harvard
Purdue
U Penn
UVA
U Oklahoma</p>

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<p>Gourman Report undergrad astronomy ranking:</p>

<p>Caltech
UC Berkeley
Harvard
Cornell
U Wisconsin Madison
MIT
U Arizona
U Maryland College Park
U Michigan Ann Arbor
UCLA
Yale
Case Western
U Illinois Urbana Champaign
U Texas Austin
UVA
U Washington
U Kansas
Indiana U Bloomington
Northwestern
U Penn
Ohio State
Penn State University Park
U Minnesota
U Oklahoma
USC</p>

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<p>lol i loved how you said "reachy matches" and "matchy safties". it's like you're talking to a five year old</p>

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<p>lol- there are reaches and then there are REACHES. I wanted a spectrum!</p>

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<p>katia, It's another reach, but I'd suggest that you take a look at Williams. It offers everything on your wish list (except "live in the city"). Excellent sciences including, physics and astronomy, AND humanities, very strong track record for top grad school admissions, plus good theater and ice hockey. </p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how you do.</p>

10

<p>I like your list, although I'm rather apprehensive about defining MIT and Cornell to be as well-rounded as the other colleges you have listed. Also, I doubt you will get many discussion-based classes at the above-mentioned universities. At Chicago, where I attend, you'll sometimes even find math classes where class participation is 33% of your grade.</p>

11

<p>phuriku-
Is class participation a good way to measure how much students learn? I don't think so. Do you like that kind of class? Do students learn very much from talking to each other?</p>

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<p>Case Western might be a good safety for you. And, it's close to home.</p>

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<p>If you're looking at MIT, you should probably consider Princeton, especially if you like class discussion. This was certainly the case in my astrobiology class.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Is class participation a good way to measure how much students learn? I don't think so. Do you like that kind of class? Do students learn very much from talking to each other?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>My comments on discussion classes were from the following comment from the OP:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Discussion based classes would be lovely. I love to talk. And somewhere where I can learn to evaluate myself instead of being so competitive.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And I do believe that discussion is a good way to measure a student's learning, even with subjects such as math. If you knew anything about college classes, you'd know that especially with problem sets in science, the teachers will always encourage students to do the problem sets together to exchange information and ideas. This is exactly what discussion does... allows individuals to see different points of view, and this is not only important in the humanities, but also in physics and mathematics.</p>

<p>In mathematics in particular (I use this example because I'm a math major), we deal with abstract topics such as metric spaces, and metrics on metric spaces must comply with certain axioms. Now, most textbooks in analysis (Rudin, Apostol, et al.) will certainly not give you examples of metric spaces, so the individual must create example metrics on metric spaces by himself. Some students have problems with taking first steps, so discussing it with other students who may be able to create examples by themselves will definitely push them into a state where they will be able to create metrics on metric spaces by themselves. (I must note here that once you get into higher sciences, you will not be able to find such information online or via many other sources.) This isn't too great of an example, though. Some of my university's classes are taught via the Socratic Method, which makes discussion very useful.</p>

<p>Ask any graduate student, and I can guarantee you that he'll tell you that consultation with peers is one of the most important elements of research and learning.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the input guys! </p>

<p>I visited MIT with the mentality that it was a crazy school with ALL science- but what I saw there was a school focused on science that didn't forget everything else- in fact, the management school is really famous (not my cup of tea, but shows well-roundedness). </p>

<p>And I've always had a bit of an infatuation with Cornell (though Chicago is my #1 favorite). </p>

<p>If anyone could clue me in to the 'feel' of any of my schools (though I've visited MIT and Chicago), I would be most obliged. Most schools seem like just a name and a location.</p>

<p>As to the class discussion, I'm a little confused with the conversation above me. I like the sound of your math class phuriku!</p>

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<p>
[quote]
As to the class discussion, I'm a little confused with the conversation above me. I like the sound of your math class phuriku!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>We're just going off on tangents. You can ignore our chatter.</p>

<p>If it wasn't obvious by my location and the types of classes my university has, I attend the University of Chicago. I know a few people who got into MIT, but decided to matriculate into Chicago instead. I think these people have the same mentality that you do, and most of these people say that Chicago's discussion-style classes creates an atmosphere where you're no longer just a face in the crowd. I certainly think science classes at MIT tend to be lecture-based, whereas Chicago science courses tend to be half-lecture-based, half-discussion-based.</p>

<p><a href="http://timeschedules.uchicago.edu/view.cfm?dept=PHYS&term=72%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://timeschedules.uchicago.edu/view.cfm?dept=PHYS&term=72&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Click the link, search for "quantum mechanics" and look directly under it. There's a discussion section for practically every physics course, and you'll certainly have trouble finding a discussion-based quantum mechanics course elsewhere in the United States.</p>

17

<p>Case Western:
The Astronomy department at Case Western takes extraodinarily good care of its undergraduates -accessible profs, research ops, and so on. If you scroll down the following link, you will see a listing of research by undergrads:</p>

<p><a href="http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/dept/research.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/dept/research.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I have visited all three - and IMO Case is somewhere in feel between Chicago and MIT, but not quite as intense as either. </p>

<p>Astronomy in General:
If you have a particular area of interest, you will want to carefully review departmental websites to see who is up to what. You will also want to verify that the department is associated with a variety of research venues and consortia, and that it has an active program of colloquia and guest lecturers.</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
I certainly think science classes at MIT tend to be lecture-based, whereas Chicago science courses tend to be half-lecture-based, half-discussion-based.

[/quote]

The intro science classes at MIT tend to be lecture-based (although they do almost always break into smaller recitation sections where discussion is encouraged). There are plenty of opportunities to talk your head off in non-intro classes, though -- some of my favorite classes at MIT were basically graduate-level paper-discussion seminars that were restricted to undergraduates.</p>

<p>And of course, basically all humanities classes at MIT are small and heavily discussion-based.</p>

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<p>I'm a big fan of MIT, as I'm an alum. ;) And I knew a lot of astrophysics kids there, though be aware that there is no "astrophysics" major per se - you'd either be a physics major (course 8) and take a lot of astro electives (there's an astronomy minor), or you'd be an earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences major (course 12) and do the planetary science track.</p>

<p>For another possible school...I have a dear friend who was an astrophysics major at Wellesley. There are very few of them, but the few that exist, and their comrades in astronomy, seem to be a very tight-knit community with dedicated professors, and they can cross-register for MIT classes. They have a lovely observatory right there on campus (I've been in it), and while it's a suburban atmosphere, it's a short distance from the city. And my friend received a good enough education to get into MIT's planetary science PhD program.</p>

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<p>Again, thanks for the imput! I've thought about Wellesley too. . just didn't put it on ths list. </p>

<p>I have no problem with majoring in physics as long as there is some sort of concentration in astro.</p>

<p>Matches would be most appreciated! Those ones that are easier to get into without compensating academics.</p>