Help needed with College Search

<p>So far I have the following colleges on my list:</p>

<p>Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Columbia University in the City of New York
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Cornell University</p>

<p>Intended major is Applied Physics or Engineering Physics with a second major or concentration in biotechnology or similar subjects.</p>

<p>I prefer larger cities, and smaller research institutes but I am open to other options, such as a larger public research college. Also, I am interested in cross country and track & field programs. Apparantly WPI and MIT have pretty good teams, and Columbia has a good team for cross country. </p>

<p>Other colleges I am considering:</p>

<p>Oklahoma State University
University of Oklahoma
Oregon State University
University of Illinois
California Institute of Technology</p>

<p>I've pretty much completed my search of the East Coast, and now I'm moving West. </p>

<p>Things considering in colleges:
1. Cold climate. Winters are fine, but places like Rochester and Potsdam are not ideal locations.<br>
2. Engineering programs. Engineering Physics or Applied Physics is ideal
3. Research opportunities. A must
4. Internship opportunities. Another must. Big reason in consideration of Columbia University SEAS
5. Parties. Party scene is good, but not a huge focus on frat parties.
6. Diversity. + for Columbia and MIT
7. Social Life. Lots to do!</p>

<p>Any suggestions? Comments or concerns are also welcome! I'm hoping to wrap up my list soon so I can start focusing on essays soon. :)</p>

<p>UIUC, Michigan (yeah, the winters really aren’t bad in Ann Arbor, especially since it is so far south in the state), Case Western</p>

<p>Case Western</p>

<p>If you have WPI on your list, you should also consider RPI.</p>

<p>I’ll look into Case Western Reserve University. I live near RPI and never really considered it that much. I will look into it more, but I don’t very much care for the location.</p>

<p>I’ve looked into Case Western Reserve University, which seems like a very good school, but not a good fit for me. I would much rather go to a WPI, and Case Western does not appear to have anything uniquely different or exceptionally better. </p>

<p>University of Michigan - Ann Harbor seems very interesting. Michigan does not seem very attractive (cold weather), so I will check out the average weather patterns for the area.</p>

<p>I would rethink NJIT if I were you… It’s a big-time commuter school, so there’s not much to do on the weekends, and the only parties are frat parties really.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon maybe?</p>

<p>Definitely look at Johns Hopkins. Vanderbilt and Wake Forest may be good.</p>

<p>Other colleges I am considering:</p>

<p>Oklahoma State University
University of Oklahoma
University of Illinois
University of Michigan - Ann Harbor</p>

<p>Wake Forest and Vanderbilt do not offer the degrees that I would like, unfortunately. John Hopkins I do not know much about at the moment, but I’m not sure if it offers Engineering Physics or Applied Physics. I prefer applied physics to theoretical physics.</p>

<p>Colleges Considering:</p>

<p>University of California – Berkeley
University of California – Los Angeles
University of California – San Diego
University of California – Davis
University of California – Santa Barbara
University of California – Irvine
University of Maryland
University of Washington
Duke University
North Carolina State University
Iowa State University
Arizona State University
Case Western Reserve University
University of Arizona
Drexel University
Boston University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Colorado State University
Kansas State University
University of Tennessee
University of Utah
Washington State University
Arkansas State University
Illinois State University
University of Arkansas</p>

<p>big list of schools to look into, mostly I will cut it down by which schools offer my desired major and then move from there.</p>

<p>You should look into Rice.</p>

<p>You should look into Rice. [Rice</a> University Physics & Astronomy Department](<a href=“http://physics.rice.edu/]Rice”>http://physics.rice.edu/) Rice has incredible research opportunities available to undergrads, close faculty-student interaction, residential colleges (so no Greek scene), abundant inclusive social life, multi-cultural student body, beautiful campus and facilities, easy access to resources of 4th largest US city.</p>

<p>Rice is also located next to the Texas Medical Center – the largest medical complex in the world with 13 hospitals and 2 medical schools. Rice just completed a collaborative research center between its campus and the Medical Center – <a href=“http://www.rice.edu/brc/[/url]”>http://www.rice.edu/brc/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;