It doesn’t sound like you need much of support but register for it and use it if you need it. I would reach out to all schools your really interested in and ask some questions. You might get a sense of their commitment of support. Few will do the work for you like reaching out to professors etc but with your strong ability to self advocate your already ahead of like 80%of students going to college… You seem really mature and aware and something tells me you won’t have issues anywhere you go. I wouldn’t limit to a small size campus just for support issues. I have seen very large schools with excellent support structures. Many of the schools I listed fit your profile and yes are nerdy and accept everyone and just be yourself. Many on CC have had kids go to some of the schools.
As an example of a college that might suit you (and which has been mentioned), it seems the University of Rochester might be a promising school from which you could begin a list. Also, if you were to consider UR’s athletic conference (UAA), which includes colleges that tend to be similar to each other, then this could generate further ideas (Brandeis, etc.).
Stony Brook University seems to be well known for physics.
If you want a smaller school, be sure to check whether the physics department is not so small that it has difficulty offering the usual upper level physics courses at a reasonable frequency.
Quantum mechanics (2 semesters)
Electromagnetism and optics (2 semesters)
Intermediate and advanced mechanics
Statistical and thermal physics
Intermediate and advanced lab
Of course, additional electives like astrophysics may be of interest.
If you are open to the mid west you might want to also take a look at Grinnell. Added bonus is that they are quite generous with merit awards.
If you get extended time give the ACT a go. The biggest barrier to the ACT is time, the content is typically easier than the SAT so it really favors though with extended tine.
Check out the website for Colleges that Change Lives.
Wherever you attend, make sure to register with the Office of Disabilities (now often called Accessible Education Office or something like that) with documentation, and get appropriate accommodations.
This is my view only but I tend to caution young people not to get too locked in to a major or future career, when looking at schools. I hope you are aware that some science PhD’s and post docs are abandoning academia for private industry. There have been strikes concerning grad student and adjunct faculty pay and benefits.
By all means study what interests you in college. I hope you find some of the schools on the Colleges that Change Lives appealing but others have given you a lot of great schools to consider.
Since you have an interest in astrophysics it would be good to consider colleges which offer that major. And there aren’t that many of them. You ultimately don’t have to major in that, but if you pick a school without that major available, you will eliminate it as an undergraduate option. Here’s a list of East Coast colleges with an astrophysics major:
Wesleyan (Physics with an Astrophysics track)
Barnard
Vassar (Astro/Physics offered jointly by Physics & Astronomy Depts.)
Lehigh
Swarthmore
Haverford
Williams
Wellesley
Tufts
Union (Physics major/Astrophysics minor)
Colgate (Astronomy/Physics major)
Franklin & Marshall
Lycoming
Dartmouth (Astronomy & Physics)
Carnegie-Mellon (Physics major/Astrophysics track)
Emory (Astronomy & Astrophysics)
SUNY Stony Brook
SUNY New Paltz
Rutgers
UMass
George Mason
Florida Tech would give you merit aid for your participation in FIRST robotics and receiving a GS Gold award. You’d also get merit aid for your academic achievement, and maybe athletic aid for being on the XC team (if you pursue that).
It may not be the right school for you, but look for these grants at other schools. Since the school values these activities, it would value YOU.
Definitely a lot of NASA people around the campus and area, lots of jobs in the space industry (internships, co-ops, summer jobs, research projects). It is also just plain fun to see all the rocket launches. Florida Tech has some kind of big telescope they talk about all the time. Meant nothing to me, but they talk about it on every tour, in every brochure, on every sales pitch. They have ‘parties on the roof’ when special events (eclipse, line up of the planets) happen in the sky.
As a general consideration, physics tends to represent the more comprehensive and respected major for an undergraduate interested in astronomy/astrophysics. Choosing electives that would lead to an astronomy minor would balance this approach. If you might be interested in planetary science, you would benefit from geoscience courses as well.
Are you open to women’s colleges? Smith, for example, has top-notch STEM of its own, plus access to all of the 5-college consortium resources https://www.fivecolleges.edu/academics/astronomy This could be a best-of-both-worlds situation in terms of getting the small college experience while also being part of a consortium that includes a large flagship university.
That’s why I mentioned the Honors College, which has only 1700 undergraduates and has its own housing and programming. It’s not the same as a 1700-student LAC, obviously, but it’s worth a look given the merit possibilities and the strength in OP’s area of interest. OP is considering UMiami, which has 12K undergrads, so their interest in small schools only isn’t set in stone.
But my first thought, when reading the initial post, was Smith.
Actually, I’m not sure that’s the case - others said she’d do well in a small school but she seems to have gravitated to schools like W&M and Miami.
But this were her statement - and I’d be guessing a smaller school wouldn’t be good (wouldn’t have the diversity of people) - but that’s why she should go visit schools of various sizes to see:
I’ve been told I belong at a smaller school but I’m open to schools that are big if that’s a good fit for me. I get bored easily, so whether the school is rural or urban, it would be beneficial if the school had a lot of opportunities near or on campus.
I agree, the best advice we got was to just start doing college tours and see what kinds of things you like and dislike about the schools that are close by. After that my daughter just started her list with those initial categories of size shape and feel - she created a spreadsheet with those characteristics and started her list from there. for her it was close to or in a city, under 10k students and oddly enough under 250 acres and then cross referenced by her intended field of study - only 2 were outside of those initial characteristics as safeties
If you’re interested in looking at nearby colleges, then you could start with
Drew (approx. 1600 undergrads)
Seton Hall (approx. 6000 undergrads)
Stony Brook (approx. 18,000 undergrads)
Vassar (about 2500 undergrads)
These are probably all within about 60-90m of your location, depending on where in the NY metro you live. Once you’ve visited these, you might have a better sense of what size might feel best for you.
This isn’t an East Coast school since it’s in the south, but you might want to take a look at the undergrad physics program at University of Alabama-Huntsville.
They have 3 concentration options:
Applied & Theoretical Physics concentration
Optics concentration
Astronomy & Astrophysics concentration
Huntsville has a LOT of space industry employers, which makes getting an internship easier. The university also has a coop program where you can live in the dorms for a semester while you’re working full time in your off-campus “coop” internship.
Every college should have something like a Disability Support Services office. Some colleges are better at it than others. The website for the one at UAH is UAH - Disability Support Services.
When you’re going on college tours, it might not be a bad idea to contact the disabled support office ahead of time so you could stop by and ask whatever questions you might have.
I looked it up a bit on niche. It seems like they have a great program, however the school from what I’ve seen is very conservative. I respect all views as long as people are respectful about mine, however I don’t think I’d feel safe. In the South, specifically Alabama, there’s been a large history of hate crimes against minorities and a flawed justice system. This happens everywhere, but definitely more prevalent there. I’m Iranian Jewish and proud. However I have experienced not only micro aggressions, but straight out hate for my appearance. Even people who don’t know my heritage make comments. I’m also part of the LGBTQ+ community, although I conceal that part of my identity a lot because of all the hate and homophobia that goes on in my area- and I live in one of the most liberal areas in the entire country. I just don’t know if that area of the country is beneficial to my mental well being. Not that everything on the internet is true, but niche listed it as one of the most conservative colleges. IMO, there’s a difference between conservative and hateful. I would self identify as someone who is socially left but fiscally right. I have a lot of family in Florida, I was just there for a week. I go there quite often and I’m never in particularly touristy areas because we stay with my grandparents. I was in a pretty liberal district (for Florida) and even there I saw things that I just don’t see here in New York. It definitely wasn’t enough to deter me from going to college there or living there when I’m older, but Alabama is much more rural and conservative than the suburbs of Miami.
You can also do some searching on the various colleges’ websites to look up the graduation requirements for physics majors at the different schools you’re considering. Each college’s department website will also usually list the research interests of each professor. And you could do some quick searches to find out how extensive (or not) the physics elective options are.