Hopelessly torn between my college options - need help

College Search & Selection
1

I feel like whenever I learn towards one of these options that I’m making an awful decision in not going to one of the others. Here are my options. (I am intending to be a physics major)

UCSB CCS
Pros:
Best for physics
Nice location
CCS is awesome
Cons:
Arguably the weakest in other majors
65k/year :frowning:

USC
Pros:
Solid if I change my mind to certain majors (engineering/compsci)
Really nice location
Got presidential scholarship so 45k/year roughly
Cons:
Physics is supposedly their weakest major and I’m not sure how to feel about that
Don’t even take first physics class until spring semester under their schedule

Penn State
Pros:
25k/year
Still solid for physics
Well rounded in other majors
Cons:
Not great location
Somewhat demoralizing to end up here
Somehow waitlisted for honors
Less ‘intellectual’ (sorry) student body

None of these require us to go into debt - but obviously they bring drastically varying levels of financial comfort for us. I feel like there’s a really obvious decision in one of these 3 but which one I don’t know - I’m hopelessly torn. I have no read on USC or Penn State’s graduate school outcomes for physics majors because there’s no data available on it. USC is ranked really poorly in physics and I’m not sure how much that should factor into my decision. I always thought that I’d be in a position where my choice in school would be very easy, but I am genuinely lost here.

2

Penn State. A BS in Physics is standardized enough that it’s not worth an extra $160k.

3

Congratulations on being admitted to three excellent schools!

Here’s what I would do: contact the directors of undergraduate studies (DUS) of the Penn State, USC, and UCSB physics’ departments. Ask them to provide you a list of grad school placement for the past 5-10 years. Most of them should be accommodating, especially if you let them know you’re an admitted student with an interest in physics.

For what it’s worth, I think Penn State is the best option. If you’re planning on going to grad school the extra 80-160k will be invaluable. And I’m sure there are plenty of ‘intellectual’ students at Penn. It’s a big place, and there are plenty of excellent students from Pennsylvania who go there for the low (relatively) in-state tuition. Unless the grad school placement is noticeably poorer than at USC and UCSB, it seems like the obvious choice.

4

@Aspiringacademic Went ahead ahead did the email thing to USC and PSU - already had an idea of UCSB’s grad placement.

How thoroughly do you think I should be factoring in the potential that I might be switching major here?

5

As far as physics, if you major in physics and go on to grad school, every single PhD program worth doing will pay you a living wage, you will not pay a cent to earn a PhD in physics or any engineering subject, so be clear, IF you want a PhD in the physical sciences, students get payed a modest salary for five to six years, to do that, usually a combination of TAs, teaching assistantship where you grade and teach a recitation section, and RAs, research assistantship, where you do research in a lab, or theoretical work under the guidance of a professor, will pay about $32K to $35K a year plus full tuition break, so there is no reason to save $$ for grad school in the sciences.

Penn State is very solid in physics , do not go to USC for physics at the price you have, sad but its just
not the same caliber as Penn State. USC engineering and computer science are very well respected though.

Santa Barbara is excellent, but you can apply for summer physics REUs undergrad research programs that will give you free housing and pay you about $5000 stipend, from Penn State (or any college) and boost your chances for getting into graduate school that way. you do not need to pay extra for Santa Barbara.

See Physics REU programs, usually can get into one after both sophomore and junior year of
an undergraduate physics program.
https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=69

Do not feel any shame about Penn State in physics, and don’t worry about honors. Take as much math as you can, double major in math and physics, if you can, and you will get into many good PhD programs from Penn State.

I think placement in PhD physics programs depends on three things -

  1. your curriculum and grades (Santa Barbara has a small edge over Penn State, USC, don’t go there )
  2. Your Physics GRE subject exam score, you must study in junior and fall of senior year for this exam
  3. Your summer research activities, apply to REU’s from any school, or DOE labs too.

Santa Barbara is excellent for computer science, physics, materials science and some other engineering fields,
it but the price tag is a lot for out of State students and its pricy to fly to Santa Barbara,
there are now direct flights from Denver, at least.

Penn State has similar engineering strengths. You cannot go wrong by staying in Central PA.
Its got skiing, football, leaf peeping, hiking, and all around strong curriculum, that will get you to the next step.

6

Crime and theft around USC campus is another reason not to go there. USC is not in the best part of Los Angeles.
Housing is very expensive in LA. I wonder if you have budgeted everything, so USC may turn out to be more expensive than your calculation.

I have never heard of Santa Barbara’s student body being called “intellectual”, but I think you can find intellectual students at all three schools. All are big enough that you don’t really need to worry about finding your physics tribe. Santa Barbara is known as a “beach” culture, so not very intellectual, but happens to have a very high powered physics program, along with solid CS and engineering.

7

Depends on the possible majors you may switch to and the likelihood of switching to them. Check if the other majors are good at the school, and whether it is difficult to switch into them.

However, why would Penn State be “Somewhat demoralizing to end up here”?

8

“Not great location
Somewhat demoralizing to end up here
Somehow waitlisted for honors
Less ‘intellectual’ (sorry) student body”

Wow.

9

@bjkmom @ucbalumnus A lot of students feel that way about their in state flagship in fact. Think about the horrid scandals at Penn State. I guess its easy to judge on here, when no one knows your name. Many students don’t realize how expensive college really is, as do we really teach students about money early on? No, we tend not to. So its pretty much 90% of Colorado students feeling exactly like the OP about their in state choices. Its hard to get perspective. And the bad publicity about the local school is like a drum beat around here! I felt pretty bad about our local choices and sent my kids elsewhere. Also, many students need to recreate themselves and not hang out with high school clique. Penn State, its possible, but still running into the bullies from high school? I can see OP’s hesitation. My friends in Chicago will not send their students to Northwestern after the steady news about fraternity scandal after scandal. Its hard to shake the crappy image that the press likes to report about colleges.

Of course USC has plenty of scandal, so there is another angle to avoid USC !! It often comes down to emotions with college choices.

10

Because you can afford UCSB without going into debt, admission to CCS makes it an interesting option. Either you want CCS or you do not. If not, then you know your two other choices.

11

@bjkmom I apologize if that came off poorly, but the justification that others provided is more or less why I feel that way. Admittedly, the location is not great relatively speaking - that’s undeniable. The demoralizing part comes from the fact that I’ve wanted a new experience for a while and to go to the same school as so many of my less academically motivated friends is a bit frustrating, which is also where the intellectual stereotype came from. That being said, I’m still fully considering it.

12

Less intellectual students are unlikely to be choosing to major in physics.

13

@WhyDoCatsBark

If you think the people at Penn State are less intellectually motivated or academically ambitious, then it should be all the easier to stand out and establish yourself as the star of the department. That can be very beneficial for graduate study, since it will make it easier to cultivate relationships with professors, obtain stellar letters of recommendation, and receive research opportunities.

14

Huh. I’ve heard people describe Happy Valley as stunning.

And really, do you expect UCSB to be exceedingly different from PSU? It seems that the only difference is that the less academically-motivated students would be CA natives rather than PA natives.

15

@PurpleTitan Is that a joke? Central PA? Have you been there? I mean Ithaca NY is stunning with waterfalls,but central PA not so much. Its boring and pretty rural. For anyone from a city , Central PA is not fun, and freezing cold, and no good skiing, really. Its not a location many people would favor, but yes, great leaf peeping, how many 17 year olds are into that? And how many have cars to enjoy it? I would feel trapped in Central PA myself, but still might choose it, for physics, given the cost of Santa Barbara for OOS.

Also Penn State is the quintessential drinking college, if you are from back east, which maybe you are not. Anyone from NJ understands why Penn State is not really a place one yearns to go. All my Penn State friends refused to let their kids apply. Is it a great school in physics ? YES. Is it great in meteorology ? Absolutely. Is it a boring location. Yes.

16

@Coloradomama, I’ve driven through there. That was how a Moroccan friend described it. Might be the contrast to what he is use to. shrug.

17

Note that OP didn’t just get into UCSB, he got into CCS (the UC’s “graduate school for undergraduates”).

So, OP, do you WANT the CCS experience or not? Are you ready for such a stringent curriculum? How ahead are you in math and physics? How sure are you about Physics? How self directed are you and how do you know the answer to this question? Do you want a more traditional undergraduate experience with gen eds and social clubs, or would you rather skip pre-reqs and be surrounded by students for whom taking 18-25 credits a semester (including graduate courses) is typical? Are you ready to jump into a research project/lab? The Physics program is one of the very best in the country and it’ll be very intense.

USC shouldn’t factor in - really, it’s Penn State v. CCS.
(Did you get into Schreyer?)

18

How would you pay for college? Can your parents afford it or would you have to take out loans?

19

@WhyDoCatsBark Your description of locations shows your hand. Many people would not agree with you about where USC sits but it is in Los Angeles. Penn State is out since you don’t want to feel “demoralized.” UCSB’s cost doesn’t justify its pros. Enjoy becoming a Trojan and prepare for the next four years in the City of Angels.

20

A parents perspective:

My two sons felt the same way about going to PSU in state. They ended up going elsewhere.

With that being said, if PSU had the things they wanted (#1 is at UMD for CS, which he felt was a stronger program than PSU’s, and #2 wanted to run track in college but was not quite fast enough for high D1, so he is at UChicago), they would have went there. Trust me, even though your parents won’t go into debt, that money would definitely be nice to have to maybe 1> accelerate their life post kids education costs and 2> maybe to enjoy life a little more while paying for your education. Of course they are going to tell you all the things that you want to hear. It’s your choice, go where it’s best, they will appreciate you putting a ton of weight on the cost differential. As a parent, it is also nice to be close enough to see your kid once in a while. I see the UMD kid once or twice a semester when he comes home or we drive to DC for a day. We never see the Chicago kid while class is in session. Parents like to see their kids.

State College is remote enough to be far enough away from your home to make it inconvenient to return home all the time. Close enough you can if you really need to.