<p>i’m know the question has been asked in many forms already, but i’m looking at ucd vs. ucsb vs. ucsd. :P</p>
<p>ucsd doesn’t seem like my type of school, and i don’t want to go that far, even if it’s the best school to which i’ve been accepted/best school i’m considering.</p>
<p>my real dilemma is between ucd and ucsb…i’m going to major in physics and DEFINITELY go to at least a doctorate or even postdoctorate level in theoretical (particle) physics, most likely. </p>
<p>at ucd i would have free housing living with my cousin, lots of friends (including one of my best friends), the smaller town atmosphere i’m comfortable with, much nearer to home (than ucsb, 2 hours vs. 4 hours), and opportunities to change my major to a wider range of options, if i ever wanted.</p>
<p>i’ve heard that ucsb has been ranked as high as #10 for physics in the nation, though i’m not sure whether that’s for undergrad or grad. party schools are NOT my thing, but if it’s really that good for my major i’d be willing to go. </p>
<p>help? i’m 50/50 torn between the two, wondering
a) does ucsb have that strong of a physics department?
b) how much would undergrad matter for my major? would it be that big a difference between ucd and ucsb? (when i’m definitely going to grad school)?
c) where do i go :(?</p>
<p>I don't understand why everyone is making a big deal out of UCSB being a party school. The parties aren't as big as everyone makes them out to be, and you can surely breeze on by without going to any parties or being affected by them. We probably know how to have more fun than other UCs is all. </p>
<p>Yes, we do have a strong physics department I believe for both undergrad and graduates. UCD even uses our text books which our professors write. We have two recent nobel laureates in theoretical physics and another professor of physics who earned a nobel prize in chem., currently at our school researching -- they've definitely had an influence, and we've got to live up to that name some how. Stephen Hawkings visits our campus regularly also. Physics is a big thing and a forte at UCSB. </p>
<p>I took physics from Roger Freedman, the man who authored University Physics and he's one of the best professors i've ever had in my three years here, and i'm not even a physics major (I took it for requirements for computer science.) </p>
<p>Undergrad studies are very important for grad school. As for where you want to go, it's up to you.</p>
<p>Andreas Albrecht, Ph.D., has been a professor of physics at UC Davis since 1988 and led the buildup of the cosmology program there, which is now one of the top such programs in the world. Albrecht has been at the forefront of developments in cosmology since he helped invent the theory of cosmic inflation for his doctoral thesis at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1980s. During his career he has held positions at major centers of physics and cosmology research in the U.S. and U.K. Albrechts current research focuses on the mysterious dark energy (which comprises 95% of all the matter in the universe, yet behaves radically differently from any matter we have ever observed in the laboratory), and on how the latest theories of quantum gravity could help us understand the very beginnings of the universe.</p>
<p>collegemom16 talking about uc davis again.... what a surprise. every school would be lucky to have someone rep their school like you rep uc davis. while i dont think uc davis is near the school you make it out to be, you sure love it.</p>