<p>I'm about to start applying to colleges, and honestly there's a lot I'm still trying to figure out. I mean, I've never applied to college before.<br>
Really I'm a little late in the game because I still don't know exactly where I want to go to school. I'm lacking in the "safeties." I really need to figure out some schools that I have a very reliable chance of getting into. Please. </p>
<p>I definitely want to major in science, probably Physics. But I don't think I want to go to a tech school. What are some good schools for Physics? Colleges with strong science programs? Any advice? </p>
<p>Quick stats: GPA--4.0, ACT--34, honors and AP classes, pretty good E.C.'s, small rural HS.</p>
<p>I'm kind of starting to stress out, seeing as how I still don't know where I want to go to college. Help me, please.</p>
<p>waterbed, What grade are you in? If junior, relax. If senior, well, a little panic is appropriate, but don't let it paralyze you. You have great grades and scores and being from a small, rural HS is actually a plus these days. </p>
<p>There are plenty of people on this board who will help direct you, but first please answer some questions.</p>
<p>Are you also, by any chance, the first generation in your family to go to college? </p>
<p>How's your family's financial situation? Will you be able to pay tuition etc? Will you qualify for need-based aid? (I.e., would you family be considered low income?)</p>
<p>Would you be interested in attending your state university?</p>
<p>Although it's always good advice to have a good balance of reaches and less selectives, your starting point shouldn't be "where can I get in?" but rather "where do I want to go?" Determine the type of college that appeals to you -- large, small, medium; rural, suburban, urban; sporty/arty/political; coed, single gender; geographic location. Then find reach/match/safeties in the same general ambience.</p>
<p>There are many, many non-technical colleges with excellent sciences including physics. Tell us more about what you like and we'll come up with plenty of suggestions.</p>
<p>I'm a senior. I've lived in NM my whole life and I'd like to get out. Both of my parents had some college but no degrees.</p>
<p>I will need aid and I'm pretty sure my family will qualify for some need-based aid. Let's say <$50,000/year income. I'm not exactly sure if that's "low income." </p>
<p>No, I'm really not interested in New Mexico State or UNM. I'll pass. ;)</p>
<p>I think I want to go to a medium sized school, in a city but not too huge (I don't think I could handle a place like NYC or LA), preferrably coed. Don't really care about a sporty atmosphere, political would be nice. </p>
<p>So far, if I could go anywhere I would choose Yale, but I'm not relying on that. I am considering Wesleyan U, maybe Tufts, Clark is sounding alright...?</p>
<p>I think state schools are fantastic safe choices for sciences. They generally have great science curriculums. In Texas, at least, good state schools are Texas A&M, University of Texas. If you are out of state, good state schools that come to mind (and which should be pretty accessible given your ACT schore) are University of California at Berkeley, University of Virginia, University of Minnesota. Good luck!</p>
<p>waterbed, Yale, Tufts, Wesleyan, with Clark as a less selective, is a good start. I'd suggest that you look at Brown, Swarthmore, Haverford, Carlton, and Pomona. If you are female consider Smith as a high value, lower selectivity choice. Hamilton, Williams, Kenyon, Grinnell are not urban but have very strong science. Physics is not my area of expertise, but I understand that Williams' department is excellent.</p>
<p>Geographic diversity is a valid hook and I doubt that any of these schools get many applicants from NM. At ~$50,000 your should do okay on financial aid, but have your parents experiment with an on-line aid calculator to get a better indication.</p>
<p>How about the University of Chicago? We have a top-10 physics program and we're about as far away from a tech school as you can get. We're also medium-sized, very political, and not very sportsy. Although we're obviously in Chicago, we're about 7 miles from downtown, so although you definitely have the urban feel, it's not necessarily right in the middle of a huge city.</p>
<p>Momrath gave some excellent suggestions among LACs but they may not be what youre looking for (medium sized school, in a city but not too huge). Haverford and Swarthmore are quite small but do offer good access to Philly. Pomona is similarly sized but feels bigger thanks to the 5 college consortium (dont know how much LA is an issue for you, though). Carleton, at 2,000 kids, is the largest of the group but still not medium sized by most measures. It sits about 45 minutes outside Minneapolis/St. Paul, a fun and not overwhelmingly sized metropolitan area. All these schools will offer excellent physics programs sending among the largest percentages of their undergrads on to PhDs in the field (Carleton in particular, in this regard).</p>
<p>But if youre really interested in larger schools that are not intensely inner-city based yet city accessible, you may want to also consider Stanford, Northwestern, Wash U, and Princeton. Dont sell yourself short. With solid grades, an excellent ACT score, and your New Mexico origins youre a great candidate.</p>
<p>To phuriku: I wouldn't exactly call UChic a safety :) that is what the applicant was looking for. I fyou are not looking for safeties, great schools for physics are:</p>
<p>MIT
Cal Tech
Princeton
Stanford
Northwestern</p>
<p>Like wbwa said, that is an impressive ACT score, cast your net broadly if possible.</p>
<p>Humboldt state in California is a small liberal arts college that is very strong in the science. It would be a drastic change in weather from NM, which might be good for you, but the small size would not be overwhelming, and decent-sized cities are easily accessible as is the redwood forrest.</p>
<p>waterbed, have you taken any SAT II (subject) exams yet? While applications for regular decision round are due soon, though not immediately, some schools of interest to you may require SAT II exams. While some do not require them of students who submit ACT rather than SAT I, I believe some schools have changed their policy and do want the subject exams now.</p>
<p>waterbed- Although anecdotal sugestions are great, also do a top-down search for candidate schools to develop a list. Use collegeboard.com plus other sites with collee seach capability to develop a list based on your criteria and stats. Then screen that list down.</p>