I am a rising senior HS student. I’ve got 3.9 GPA, 800 on physics. Expect to get 1470-1550 in SAT (taking on October 3rd) and will surely get 800 on math II (taking on November 4th). I would be very grateful if you guys could recommend some universities, I got really confused recently. I am low income <20000$. I am interested in Cornell University, Amherst College Williams College (?), Haverford College, Swatmore College. I am looking for suggestions for both ED and RD. Thanks in advance!
State of residency?
Have you run the net price calculator on each college’s web site?
The highly selective schools on your list want to know what you do after school as well. What are your ECs like?
Did you take the PSAT? Are you expecting to get National Merit mentions?
OP if you are low income and high stats, start your college search from the financial aid perspective. What state do you live in? Did you apply to Questbridge, and are you in any college access programs? Have you applied to any fly-ins? Are you a first gen college student or underrepresented minority (this makes you eligible for more fly-ins)?
Cornell is very different from the other schools on your list. In fact, all the other schools combined would still be smaller than Cornell. Would you rather be at a large research university like Cornell or a small liberal arts college like Haverford? If you’re seriously interested in physics and want extensive research opportunities but prefer the scale of a college, you should take a look at smallish research universities like Rice and Brandeis. Their science departments will tend to be larger and better equipped than those at small LACs. Of course, those small colleges do offer excellent programs for their size, but you won’t find the breadth of faculty or courses there that you’d find at a research uni.
Focus on “100% need colleges”,
especially those that meet need without loans (thecollegesolution has a pretty comprehensive list).
Go to college greenlight a website for first gen stusents and apply to all fly-ins you qualify for. Hopefully you’ll get selected for a couple and not only will give you a perspective on what you want in a college but also increase your odds of admission.
What do you do outside of school? It may be something organized at school, church/mosque/temple, Boys&Girls… or it may be a job, taking care of siblings/elderly relatives…
I am an international student, living in Georgia (post-soviet country). I’ve been playing water-polo for past 4 years, I am a frequent hiker (not a member of a club or something), I take part in intellectual games on national level. I volunteer at sporting events (only the ones which interest me, not doing it for application, just something I enjoy). I am interested in research opportunities and looking for a small but still reputable and respected college in the USA. Thank you for your time and responses! Edit: Also heard that Williams College is also great for a physics major, share your thoughts on that as well.
For appropriate suggestions, it would help to know whether you are female or male.
I am a 17 year old male
A word of warning on your assumption that you will get an 800 on the math II test…high school students who are particularly advanced in their math studies often don’t do as well as they expect on this test because it covers material that you last thought about years ago. Thoroughly review several practice tests before taking the real one to help ensure that do great.
If you like Amherst, Haverford, etc add some of the top liberal arts colleges that are outside of the northeast to your list. They often have higher acceptance rates while still meeting full need for international students. Reed is an especially great choice for physics majors. Grinnell and Carleton should be on your list too.
Students from these smaller colleges have received Apker Awards (for undergraduate research in physics):
Williams
Swarthmore
Amherst
Hamilton
Haverford
Harvey Mudd
Wesleyan
Colgate
Reed
Macalester
Middlebury
Oberlin
Franklin & Marshall
Bucknell
Though the majority of these schools would be reaches, at least several might be realistic for you in terms of admission and finances.
As an international student, you need to find schools with either good need based aid or big merit scholarships *for international students *. This criterion will severely limit the choices of US schools available to you.
These smaller colleges appear in a Princeton Review sampling, “Great Colleges for Mathematics Majors,” and might also be particularly suitable for the study of physics:
Bowdoin
Carleton
Grinnell
Hamilton
Harvey Mudd
Haverford
Macalester
Reed
For the unscreened list, you can see post #11 below, which would also include some less selective options:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20695620#Comment_20695620
@formatik, Within the past 10 years, Wesleyan and Williams have been awarded two Apker Awards in physics.
Wesleyan’s physics prize was won against much bigger schools since the Apker is divided into two tracks, one for Phd-granting institutions and one for non-Phd-granting institutions.
Colgate 2007
Haverford 2008
Mt Holyoke 2009
Wellesley 2009
Williams 2010
Wesleyan 2010
Augustana 2011
Franklin & Marshall 2012
Wesleyan 2013
Loyola Univ MD 2014
Williams 2015
If you’re interested in pursuing a Ph.D, using data from the National Science Foundation, the following schools produced the highest percentage of graduates who eventually go on to earn a Ph.D. in physics.
Cal Tech
Reed
Swarthmore
Lawrence
Carleton
Haverford
Williams
MIT
CO School of Mines
Grinnell
Amherst
Princeton
Wabash
College of Wooster
Gustavus
Vassar
Kenyon
Rice
Bryn Mawr
University of Rochester.
Bates
Bowdoin
Carleton
Grinnell
Haverford
Vassar
Wesleyan
Wake Forest
Colby
Cornell
Princeton
Brown
CMU
Yale
Complete list can be found on the Niche website.
Are you currently in the US? If so, do you have a green card?
Sorry for the late reply 
No, I’m not in the US and I don’t have a green card either
So, you’re an international student and wont graduate from a us high school. This is a very important element since criteria for international applicants are different from those for residents or citizens, especially when it comes to financial aid. For example, Haverford only admits three international students who need aid per year. Lawrence requires a minimum of $28,000 from Its scholarship recipients, meaning it’s out of bounds for you.
The fact you play water polo could be a saving grace though if you’re good at it. Are you?
Are you involved in international Olympiads (math, Physics? ) that too can help.
Reed should definitely be on your radar .
I have participated in various national tournaments, got a first place in one, second place and third place in two others, also finished 4th on a “international tournament” (Only foreign team was Hungary), I was team captain in 2014-2015 (the time when we got the 1st place)
^for water polo or for physics?
I get a different list on niche for best colleges for physics. top-20:
Harvard
MIT
Cal Tech
Stanford
Princeton
Yale
Chicago
Bowdoin
Penn
Columbia
Cornell
Brown
WashU-Stl
Michigan
Notre Dame
Berkeley
Ga Tech
Virginia
Wisconsin
CMU
DId you do a different filter?