<p>Well, the results are in (besides for Princeton...) and I have officially been accepted to CalTech, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Macalester, MIT, Rice, and the University of Chicago. My prospective major is theoretical physics with an emphasis on astronomy-- I want to eventually get a PhD in astrophysics and be a researcher. So the question is, where should I go?? </p>
<p>The best choices for physics and astronomy would probably be MIT, CalTech, and Harvery Mudd... but I know that Rice is good in the sciences too, and I THINK Chicago is too? At the same time, should I really turn down Harvard? But I doubt many people would argue that Harvard's physics department is as good as MIT or CalTech? </p>
<p>Physics brain at my school is going to Caltech which my physics teacher says is hands down the best physics undergrad in the world. He's amazing and I go to a very top school so I believe him. </p>
<p>I have a S who will graduate soon from Harvard with a degree in astronomy. He is a double major with second being in the Humanities.
He has had a great time at Harvard. He didn't apply to MIT because it just didn't seem a good fit at the time. He also will not be going on in astonomy. He did a junior honors thesis in astronomy and now is working on his senior honors thesis. He especially enjoys his relationships with retired professors in the department who love to shmooze with him. He also has taken graduate courses in another Harvard school. Extra curricular activities were very important to him and Harvard afforded him wonderful opportunities in this regard. He took a leave from Harvard for a few years to pursue one interest. Have you visited Harvard, MIT, CalTech? That along with speaking to students and profs in the department should help you decide.</p>
<p>I live in Minnesota and am quite poor... I really don't have the money to visit. I guess I could talk to the schools... sometimes they'll pay for airfare, right?</p>
<p>I think I'm a URM... I'm Native American, that counts, right? </p>
<p>I'll definitely call, anyway. Thank you. Does anyone have any suggestions though, since it'll be a while before I see them? What would each of you pick?</p>
<p>I think you need to ask yourself a hard question -</p>
<p>How well has your school prepared you for a top-level physics program? You should discuss this with your teacher(s), and e-mail the undergraduate advisor at your preferred schools. If your preparation is lacking in some area, how will the college help you succeed? Caltech and MIT can be very difficult environments if you are unprepared. </p>
<p>Be sure you compare all the details of the financial offers. How much will you have to cover in loans, books, extras, travel home?</p>
<p>My one question would be, are you 100% sure of your career goal as a physicst? In some respects, UCh or Harvard would be a better choice because you're not stuck in the world of tech if find out it's not for you without having to transfer</p>
<p>Native American is the best URM to be! Definitely call these schools and see if they will fly you out for a visit. I had a native american student last year, and several schools flew him to their accepted student week-ends. Meanwhile, here are some grossly generalized opinions:</p>
<p>If you are brilliant, and feel confidant that you are well prepared for a world-class physics education, and feel absolutley certain that physics/astronomy will remain your primary interests pick Caltech.</p>
<p>If you are brilliant and well prepared, but think that you might change your mind on major, pick MIT.</p>
<p>If you are brilliant and well prepared, but think that you really want a well-rounded education, not just physics, pick U. Chicago.</p>
<p>If you feel that perhaps your high school is not the biggest power-house in the world, or your academic background is less than other students', and/or you want something more supportive, pick Rice or Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>If you don't need a particularly supportive environment, and think that your career path might change from physics/astronomy to business, pre-law, politics, pick Harvard.</p>
<p>[btw - do you need to factor financial aid offers into the equation? These are all great schools, and if one of them is much more attractive than the others for financial reasons, that could certainly tip the balance.}</p>
<p>My uncle way back when was accepted to MIT, Harvard, CALtech everything.</p>
<p>He picked MIT and his reason was for sciences it is the one known "Globally".
He didn't feel the others had the same reputation if he were to choose to work outside the U.S.</p>
<p>What great choices! mY s chose caltech, but I don't think you could go wrong anywhere. Caltech has wonderful housing system, very supportive environment, research from the get-go, lots of interactions with prof.s The small school gives him much more opportunities to do ECs. By the time you finish CORE courses, you will be able to narrow your future major. Oh, first 2 terms are pass/fail.
I do think they will fly you out for pre-frosh weekend.</p>
<p>Another S who lives in Mass. chose Harvard. Princeton also good in physics. Its the astrophysics interest that makes caltech stand out.
See about visits--with such great choices, only you will be able to tell by attending classes and talking to profs
congrats!</p>
<p>Hey everybody, thank you SO MUCH for all of the great advice. I don't really have any idea where I'm going yet, but I'll definitely call Monday. </p>
<p>To further clarify, YES, I am very sure about the physics major, and though my high school was kind of weak I feel very well prepared. I've taken, by the end of this year, Calculus I and II, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Vector Calculus, Calculus-based Physics I and II, Quantum Physics, and "Astrophysics and Cosmology" at a local university, all with "A" grades except for one "B+". I'm sure these classes weren't as rigorous as at any of these colleges, but I feel that I have a wide enough base in math and physics to know that's what I want to do, and to be fairly confident that I have a good grounding in physics. </p>
<p>I'm okay with working all the time, though I'd also like a social life. I'm not sure. I definitely want to stick with the math/science area, and I'm 90% sure of the astrophysics (though I've read that it's better to get a degree in physics if you want to go to grad school, and a plain "astronomy" degree is next to useless to grad schools). I think I'd really like the sort of place where my social life consisted of hanging out with my friends while we studied. So I think I should go with either somewhere that we work all the time, but there's not too much competition so everyone works together and helps each other, OR if somewhere is competitive and cutthroat, somewhere with a social life where people relax.</p>
<p>I told you about Caltech. S loves the school; to him, working on sets with others is his idea of fun. Kids meet at night for labs, no classes until late morning, gorgeous campus, next to a wonderful city. Go to their website for useful info.
Also, go to parent's forum and ask for Marite; she's extrememly knowledgeable on MIT/Harvard end.</p>
<p>My son's a freshman at MIT. He loves it. His closest friends are his floor mates, with some friends from his advising group. You can stay in the same dorm all 4 years, so there are older students who are willing to advise and help. They study and play together. I may be wrong, but I don't think MIT ranks strudents. He doesn't feel that it's cutthroat at all (so far anyway). Based on what you said I certainly don't think you should rule MIT out. </p>
<p>You certainly have some great schools. Congratulations.</p>
<p>Wow - congrats on those acceptances:
You seem very focussed on what you want to do....
MIT or Caltech would be your best choices. I agree with allrightie that MIT is known better globally, but Caltech has huge prestige within the US. They're two completely different environments - Caltech being (deliberately) much smaller.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently a physics major at Harvard. She thought both offered great science, but she chose H over MIT because of the richness of the course offerings and life OUTSIDE of science. She loves it at Harvard. There must be something behind all those articles we keep reading about unhappy kids at Harvard, but for her it just hasn't been a problem.</p>
<p>First of all, eliminate Rice and Harvey Mudd for prestige/quality purposes.</p>
<p>If prestige is the primary concern of yours, I'd cut out UChicago as well, even though it has an excellent physics department.</p>
<p>If quality and rigor of the physics department is a primary concern of yours, I'd cut out Harvard, even though its the most prestigious school in the world.</p>
<p>The two at the top of your list should be Caltech and MIT. Go with which one you like more, go visit, etc.</p>
<p>If you are not 100% sure about science, then I think at the top of your list should be Harvard (prestige) and UChicago (quality). MIT should remain, but Caltech should probably be dropped as it is not known for anything but science.. MIT has economics and other things.</p>