<p>hadsed-
IMHO you are investing far too much worry in ruminating about the very best school you can get into for undergrad, and this "theoretical/experiimental/research divide. The best thing is to just pick a few programs (throw Caltech on there for the heck of it if you want), apply, and get started.</p>
<p>For most undergrad degrees at most schools, I believe the Physcis majors will all take the same basic classes, with a couple electives. So it doesn’t matter that much if you want to study general Physics or Astronomy , or whatever. 50% of your program (LD) will be basically the same as every other Physics major, and actually most engineering or physical science majors. 75-80% of the program will be the same for ALL physics majors, no matter what you think you want to specialize in. You can pick your area of focus (or not pick an area of focus) when you get near the end if you like. Granted, if you want to major in “Astrophysics” you may have to take one or two LD astronomy classes, but that’s not a big deal as far as scheduling. These decisions are far more critical and relevant when you actually know pretty much about what you want to do (after your BS or BA) when you enter grad school.</p>
<p>Physics is a tough major with lots of math. For most but the very brightest, it is tough slogging and I don’t care if you are Richard Feynman or Joe Blow, you need to know the math and you need to work problems. At least in undergrad, which is what I know about. For me it was rewarding to get through, but it wasn’t easy.</p>
<p>Here’s the UCLA Physics website. I just picked this as sort of a reasonable Physics dept. Note that the undergraduate concentrations in Physics all require a lot of the same courses-</p>
<p>[Physics</a> & Astronomy](<a href=“http://academics.physics.ucla.edu/ugrad/index.php]Physics”>http://academics.physics.ucla.edu/ugrad/index.php)</p>
<p>Here’s another fun place to look. My alma mater’s website where they still list some homework problems and solutions. It can give you a feel for the type of probs they give Physics majors, again, at a reasonable UG program. The Freshman Physics course for Physics majors is the Physics 4 series. Physics 2 is for Engineers and Physical science majors. THe UD courses are number 100s I believe. I have no way of knowing, but from limited knowledge a lot of these problem would probably be trivial for many Caltech students.</p>
<p>[UCSD</a> Physics – Current Students: Physics Course Web Pages](<a href=“http://physics.ucsd.edu/students/courses/weblinks/]UCSD”>UC San Diego | Term Not Found)</p>
<p>Note- Some links take you to restricted pages so you have to search through. I find these fun challenges, even at my advancing age. Not to work them. For me it is a struggle just to understand a lot of the solutions at my advancing age. I certainly hope I was better at them when I took the classes.</p>
<p>Good luck and enjoy!</p>