<p>I am currently a very undecided Physics or Chem major that has a tough decision on his hands. I have been accepted into UChicago and Northwestern(accepted into their Integrated Science Program) as well as Wash U. I feel myself really drawn towards Wash U and its atmosphere and the campus. In addition, my dad is a professor at Wash U making it about $20,000 a year cheaper than the other two. But I worry about how much lower Wash U ranks in comparison to the other two schools in the Physical Sciences. Is this something to worry about or is it merely overblown when it comes to rankings? Anyone with personal experiences from the undergraduate Physics/Chem departments at Wash U?</p>
<p>Max:</p>
<p>What’s your dad’s view on how much a ‘ranking’ is worth. He’s a professor, and part of academia, so he probably has some view.</p>
<p>I realize that rankings are just a number calculated in an obscure way through things that might not matter. But my dad does not know enough about the Physics or Chem departments to make some sort of a judgement on them. I just want to know whether i’d learn Physics or Chem just as well at Wash U as I would at some school where it is more of a specialty.</p>
<p>To clarify further: The ranking, per se, doesn’t bug me at all. I just worry that I might not receive as good of an education, and thus be hurt for grad school, at Wash U as I might at another school. Is my worry unfounded?</p>
<p>ISP is worth it IF you are into it. I think last year, 3 ISP majors won Goldwater. It’s difficult to have 3 winners from any school, even the top ones, let alone a single department. You can finish ISP in 3 years if I am not mistaken and if that’s the case, the cost would just be the same as WashU. Most ISP stay for four years though and have a second major, with chemistry being the most popular. Perhaps it’s because NU’s chemistry program kicks a*s. Keep in mind ISP is intense (think of it as Cal-Tech).</p>
<p>Max:</p>
<p>If we’re putting aside rankings, whatever rankings mean, then I’m sure you can get a quality education in the sciences at Wash U (or any one of 50-100 other schools). When you think about it, the undergraduate curriculum in the sciences is basically the same at most places, so it comes down to quality of teachers and quality of students, which determine the pace and depth at which a class can proceed. Wash U has a top-rank student body in all departments, and I haven’t heard anything uncomplimentary about the teaching in any department.</p>
<p>What you may want to do, however, is make an appointment with the career center, and possibly the departments. They should be able to provide you with statistics about what kind of jobs people get coming out of the school, and what kind of graduate school placements they get. Since you’re local, this shouldn’t be too hard. It will take a bit more research to determine similar information from the other schools, but it’s doable. </p>
<p>The real question, is either NU or UC worth $20,000 a year more than WU is, unfortunately unanswerable.</p>
<p>Having said this, FWIW, my view is that while a higher reputation school may not provide better opportunities, it certainly would not provide worse. All other things being equal (and there are MANY other things) you can’t go wrong with the school with a better reputation, if you can afford it. However, $20,000/year is a LOT of money).</p>