<p>OP–I agree with bovertine here. You really are making mountain out of molehill re: where you’re going to undergrad and the theorist/experimentalist paradigm. (The difference really more of a continuum rather than a either/or.)</p>
<p>He gave you good advice. Take as much math as you can. (A minor at least. A second major would be better.) Take all of the required basic coursework. (E&M, mechanics, QM, thermo, stat mech) Those courses are pretty much the same everywhere. You’ll also need C++ programming and MATLAB. (Theorists do alot of number crunching.)</p>
<p>Master these skills then worry about specializing in grad school. </p>
<p>Also if you really want to look into summer research–look at the National Laboratories. They all have summer (and year round) undergrad internships for physics and engineering students. (BTW, the DOE–aka the National Labs–are one of the largest employers of physicists in the US.) </p>
<p>[Department</a> of Energy - Labs & Technology Centers](<a href=“http://www.energy.gov/organization/labs-techcenters.htm]Department”>| Department of Energy)</p>