<p>If you are interested in seeing how many students there are in each major, check out college navigator.</p>
<p>[College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>
<p>dietz199, we’re from NoCal and son got into UC Berkeley but wanted a smaller more intimate experience with a good sense of community, a great quality of life and rigorous academics. We didn’t even look in So Cal because of the air quality, my husband was adamant about that, he reads a load of science magazines. We visited colleges all over the midwest and both coasts, liking quite a few of them. </p>
<p>He’s known pretty much from the beginning that he’s going to end up in graduate school, so he wanted some place that challenged his mind without grinding him down. He chose Whitman College because it offered a superb quality of life and challenging academics without being uber-demanding. He’s loved it there. The students are engaged and very engaging, the outdoor program is very active, the administration is responsive and supportive, great theater, great music, and the students are well prepared for whatever the next step in their lives will be. We haven’t any experience with the 3/2 program, but it’s heartening to learn from saintfan that it worked well for at least one student.</p>
<p>Walla Walla is really very charming, you need to visit to appreciate the whole feel. Also, son is attending with a lovely chunk of merit aid!</p>
<p>It is a somewhat alternative view, but heres my crazy diatribe about why an LAC (W&M in this example) is a great option for a STEM education.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10204148-post11.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10204148-post11.html</a></p>
<p>Just a quick aside, at one point son was considering the pros and cons of a 3/2 program in engineering. I read that students tend to do well in 3/2 engineering programs because they’ve spent the first three years out of high school maturing and having a regular college experience, once they get to the pure engineering classes they know how to study and are more focused.</p>
<p>Re: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10204148-post11.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/10204148-post11.html</a></p>
<p>While LACs commonly have various advantages (e.g. easier faculty contact, more undergraduate focus, smaller classes), the breadth and depth of course offerings compared to big universities is less likely to be one of the advantages. A big university is likely to offer an extensive selection of courses in English literature, English writing and communication, various foreign languages, economics and business, political science, math, religious studies, psychology and sociology, etc. that a small LAC will have trouble duplicating (and some courses may be offered only once every two years at a small LAC even though they may be offered every semester at a big university).</p>
<p>LACs also do not necessarily require students to get a broad liberal arts education. For example, compare the breadth or general education requirements of Amherst to MIT.</p>
<p>DS is a sophomore physics major at a top tier 5000 UG student Research U (with only 20-25 physics majors/yr). He started with one year of non-AP HS physics. First college year was basic Physics sequence (for majors). Some kids with AP started 2nd year physics as a freshman. Now, DS is/plans to take 2 physics classes/semester because he loves learning that stuff and it comes easy to him. He wants to get a PhD in theoretical physics.</p>
<p>Looking over the offerings at Williams (not picking on Williams, just someone posted a link above), they offer 7 standard required physics classes plus 6 electives (of which 4 would be of interest to a physics major and 3/4 of these appear to be tutorials offered once every 2 years). </p>
<p>If a kid wants to take minimum physics classes to get a degree, and take lots of other classes, that’s great. However, I know that DS would have run out of classes to take by his Junior year, and while he’s good, he’s not a brilliant physicist by any stretch of the imagination. And even at his school, where there are 17 classes this year beyond the freshman series, I expect he may end up taking graduate classes as a senior given his particular areas of interest. I know when I was an undergrad, my best courses were the graduate classes I took as a Jr/Sr in what I thought was going to be my field. </p>
<p>So OP, if your son is a physics superstar, or even just really into it, I think it’s quite important that he have access to the higher level classes even as an undergrad. Taking those classes does not automatically lead to ‘burnout.’ In fact, for those like DS who eat this stuff up, it’s actually ‘fun’ to finally get to the good stuff :D</p>
<p>^^^
<a href=“WesMaps - Wesleyan University”>WesMaps - Wesleyan University;
I count ~20 classes per semester for a school only slightly bigger than Williams (not counting lab sections and “Physics for Future Presidents” which sounds as if it’s designed for non-majors.) Just saying. :D</p>
<p>ihs, I think it depends on the kid and the learning environment that s/he is looking for. I count (roughly)24 physics and astrophysics courses per semester in the Williams catalog. Some are introductory, some are independent study, some are for non-majors. In 8 semesters most students at Williams will take between 16 and 20 classes in their major. Tutuorials are a hallmark of Williams. Different topics are offered each year, but usually one tutorial is available.</p>
<p>I’ve known some very smart, brilliant even, physics majors at Williams. They didn’t run out of challenge. Again, the small LAC education isn’t for everyone, but for a kid who has already expressed an interest in Pomona, I’d definitely look further into Williams. I’d put Amherst, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Carleton and a few others in the same academic category, but I’m just not familiar with their physics offerings.</p>
<p>The number of physics classes is only part of the equation. If the goal is to get a more rounded education the LACs have another advantage. If you are physics major at a big U and want to take a psychology or anthropology course your only choice is probably that 400 person lecture course. At an LAC there are no 400 student classes. The humanities of the liberal arts education are much more accessible and interesting for a STEM kid at a smaller school.</p>
<p>Check the American Physical Society for Apker winners.</p>
<p>These annual awards are given to a student from a LAC and another student from a university. The alma maters for these students would be worth a look. They have the synergy between faculty and student to develop high quality research.</p>
<p>Also, read the students’ abstracts to see if their area of research is one that interests your son. </p>
<p>I’ll echo Momrath about Williams. And, her suggestions about other LACs. I can answer questions about the experience of majoring in physics and mathematics at Williams. I can also describe the process my son went through when deciding where to apply and how he decided on Williams. Just PM me.</p>
<p>2010 Apker Prize results:
[Prize</a> Recipient](<a href=“Prize Recipient”>Prize Recipient)</p>
<p><a href=“Prize Recipient”>Prize Recipient;
<p>Have to agree with the LAC boosters on this thread. The numbers bear out their arguments. Professors are about twice as likely as would randomly be predicted to send their own kids to LACs over unis. The PhD production data overwhelmingly documents the insanely high relative proportion of LAC grads to go on to PhDs.</p>
<p>Many of these kids are very high performing types having turned down the usual Ivy suspects. They generally don’t come close to exhausting offerings at their schools (albeit schools that are known for science strength - e.g. Carleton, Pomona, Wesleyan, Williams, etc.). This is especially true for a field like physics that is augmented by heavy loads of related math coursework.</p>
<p>One of the 14 2012 Churchill Scholarships (just announced) went to a Carleton senior, a double major Physics/Math, who’ll be heading off to Cambridge. With more than a trimester to go before graduating, he already has 3 authored papers and 7 co-authored papers to his name. What these schools lack in size, they more than make up for in quality, rigor, and individualized attention.</p>
<p>[Carleton</a> College: Carleton News: News: Coughlin '12 Wins Prestigious Churchill Scholarship](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/news/news/?story_id=815459]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/news/news/?story_id=815459)</p>
<p>OP Here…I’ve just caught up with all the posting and am starting a spreadsheet 
Thanks for all the leads!</p>
<p>To followup to what 1190 said, in S’ physics grad program (his research group), all but one of the grad students went to a LAC; the other went to an Ivy.</p>
<p>FWIW, my NoCal nephew recently graduated from Carleton and loved it. He managed the weather just fine.</p>
<p>I think you need to learn more about Caltech and MIT before ruling them out. My son’s ECs were in the humanities. Like Blossom’s son, he grew tired of physics after 5 courses and never ran out of courses in CS and NS. Just as Mathmom wrote, he could take Lit class in sci fiction, writing for scientific publications, etc.</p>
<p>If you look at the grad programs in physics, you will see who the current students are and where they went to UG. Just don’t expect your DS will stay with physics major and not shift to aother STEM field.</p>
<p>CalTech is not a LAC; it makes me wonder if you are looking for a smaller school with both strong STEM/research and strong liberal arts. CMU, Case Western, most Ivy-league schools, Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, etc. can give you that, plus the option of switching to engineering. if that turns out to be his interest.</p>