Changing Major Interests Mid-Admission Season

What MYOS1634 said. That is the gift of the LAC. When you get your acceptances choose the one that feels best to you, not for the major.

As ucbalumnus points out, the “physics major” is very standardized: virtually all of the accredited colleges have agreed a set curriculum that will satisfy the requirements of the accredited grad school programs. So, unless you choose a terribly weak college, a physics major will cover all the bases. The difference will be the range of extra/optional courses available and of course the standard of teaching- but that is variable within colleges as well as between them.

That said, if you are torn between the colleges you have to choose from, there are a couple of things that you can think about.

First, many LACs have undergraduate grants for summer research, which are a great way for students in quite small LACs to have a hands-on experience.

Second, if you continue to be interested in physics (or another science), the NSF-funded REUs (which give 10 week paid research opportunities over the summer to undergraduates) prioritize students from smaller schools whose opportunities in their home college are more limited.

As an example, my D2 is currently in her second year at a very small (2500ish) LAC. Last summer she did paid research work on campus; last week she was in San Antonio at the National Physics Conference (paid for by the college), where she presented the research that she did; that week she also found out that the paper of the research (forwhich she is a co-author) had been accepted for publication.

Third, if possible go to the re-visit days colleges that are in your top 3, and make a point of talking to the physics people. One thing about a small school is that there won’t be as many people in each department, so the more important difference may be how you interact with them. Be cautious with this one- sometimes first impressions can be misleading! but if you get a strong positive or negative feel, that might be useful information. Also, remember that physics is very very mathy, so look at the math side as well.

Right now “STEM” is a big deal, and a lot of colleges are beefing up their science offerings. As viphan, look at your options and see how they do for physics/sciences. But don’t build your whole college choice around a major for which you have taken one class.