<p>String theory has fallen on a bit out favor lately since there seem to be some irresolvable problems with. Don’t fall in love with the field.</p>
<p>Since you’re just a sophomore, you really haven’t had any exposure to most of the areas of physics. No QM, no condensed matter, no elementary particles… D hated physics and in fact switched majors because she was sure she was too dumb to do physics, but later came back and fell in love with quantum mechanics. Took both undergrad and grad quantum, won the Feynmann Prize at graduation for best QM student. (Not that there actually any jobs for quantum theorists…hence why she’s applying to medical school.)</p>
<p>UC Boulder has a great undergrad program. So does UMaryland. OOS aid at Colorado schools is generally awful. Don’t know about the SUNYs or College Park.</p>
<p>If you grades are strong (3.5 or higher) might look at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Not the best ranked school around, but its does have offer good aid to OOS transfers. The physics dept has one Nobel prize winner and one of the founders of the field of quantum computing–and sent one 2009 graduate to CalTech to work with Kip Thorne last year. (It was a big deal as there are only about 15 physics majors/year, including BAs.) Plenty of opportunities to work in the various labs, and there is a brand new nanoscience program that has TONS of funding and is co-managed with NM’s two National Labs (Los Alamos and Sandia).</p>
<p>[UNM</a> Physics and Astronomy Department Web Site](<a href=“http://panda.unm.edu/]UNM”>http://panda.unm.edu/)</p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Scholarships :: Scholarship Office | The University of New Mexico](<a href=“http://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/transfer.php]Transfer”>http://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/transfer.php)</p>
<p>With the Amigo, COA at UNM would be around $17,000</p>
<p>Another school is New Mexico Tech. Small school, excellent reputation, plenty of opportunities to get in the lab. Ranked as one of the best buys in college education. Sends its graduate to some very highly ranked grad programs all over the US and Europe. (One 2007 grad is now at CERN. He went to HS with D1.)</p>
<p>COA for OOS is $26,400/year. Some transfer scholarships worth $2000-$6000/year available.</p>
<p>BTW, the Nation Radio Astronomy Observatory/VLA staff shares facilities with NM Tech–in case you’re into radio astronomy and astrophysics.</p>
<p>[New</a> Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology: Science Engineering Research University](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/]New”>http://www.nmt.edu/)</p>
<p>And New Mexico has lots of mountains. Not as cool as Boulder in the summer, but alot warmer in the winter. Some of the best sites for sport rock climbing in the world.</p>