Last minute college search. Please help! (physics major)

College Search & Selection
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<p>I have a day to decide on last minute college application decisions and I am in need of advice! I feel like I didn't apply to enough good school choices.
I've already finished apps to:
UChicago (first choice, deferred EA), Johns Hopkins (not expecting to get in), Carnegie Mellon (it's expensive, though), University of Rochester, University of Virginia (unsure if I will like it if I get in), Rutgers New Brunswick SAS Honors Program (accepted, in-state tuition with additional scholarship, my "safety" school)</p>

<p>I am an asian female applying to a physics major and possible philosophy second major. I have good extra-curricular activities, with a focus on leadership and initiative. I've participated in research. I have competitive test scores. My weakness is my GPA. I have Bs and B+s in many honors and AP classes, including mathematics and science. But I've also gotten As before, too. Again, it's my grades which are a serious weakness. My college essays are sincere and show my passion for science.</p>

<p>What I really want is an intellectually-stimulating environment. I want a school with a culture not for partying, but for thinking, creativity, and interest. I want to be surrounded by inspiring, mature, and cooperative students and professors. And I want to be in a good physics/science program.</p>

<p>I'm not aiming for Ivy Leagues or the REALLY competitive schools. I'm looking for something of Rochester to Carnegie Mellon level. I'd prefer if it were not located way out west.</p>

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<p>State schools with very good physics programs include Maryland, Michigan and Illinois. Other ideas are Case Western and Cornell. Also, my oldest son attends UVA and is majoring in physics and math and likes the physics department there. The professors are good and available to students (a hallmark of UVA) and the grads usually go onto top jobs or grad schools.</p>

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<p>What are your test scores? What about one of the women’s colleges? They tend toward being a little more serious academically. Say, Mount Holyoke.</p>

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<p>Maryland and Illinois. However, OOS with your grades you have a better shot at Illinois than at Maryland. Grades are also a problem at Michigan OOS too but not as bad as at UVA.</p>

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<p>2200 SAT. 5 on AP Chem, AP English. 3 AP French. 740 Math II, 750 Chem.</p>

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<p>OP: What’s the CR/M/W breakdown on SATs?</p>

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<p>750 m, 760 w, 690 r. And probably a 3.58-3.60 UW GPA? My school only releases weighted, but I remember manually calculating my UW GPA before.
Again, my extra curricular activities and a certain letter of rec are good/impressive. It’s just my school performance which is bad.</p>

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<p>Your safety, Rutgers, is very good for both physics and philosophy.</p>

<p>Stony Brook is also very good for physics and is relatively inexpensive for an out of state public school.</p>

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<p>The Rutgers campus & environment, however, is not necessarily ideal or intellectual. I feel that my achievements can take me to a better place, potentially. I just want to have options and I’m not primarily motivated by the idea of having a secure career or making lots of money. I really just want to immerse myself in science and in learning.</p>

<p>Another point-- I live in NJ. But is Harvey Mudd a good choice? I mean, I am a female applying to physics. Distance is a major consideration, but if I could get merit based aid from them, would it be worth attending if I were admitted? How are the chances for that? Or any California schools? </p>

<p>Otherwise, feel free to continue making other suggestions. Thank you!</p>

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<p>I don’t believe Mudd has merit aid, sorry. I’d suggest Case, or any of the RIT, RPI’s.</p>

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<p>“What I really want is an intellectually-stimulating environment. I want a school with a culture not for partying, but for thinking, creativity, and interest. I want to be surrounded by inspiring, mature, and cooperative students and professors. And I want to be in a good physics/science program.”</p>

<p>“I am an asian female applying to a physics major and possible philosophy second major.”</p>

<p>What would be ideal for OP is the University of Chicago where she was deferred EA. What she should consider are:</p>

<p>1) Reed College in Portland OR. The environment exactly matches OP’s specifications and is one of the leaders in producing science and physics Ph.D.'s. [REED</a> COLLEGE PHD PRODUCTIVITY](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html]REED”>Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College). It is extremely well known in the physics world as the textbooks written by Professor Davis Griffiths in Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics, and Elementary Particle Physics are THE standard textbooks used everywhere (from MIT to state). Other than Harvey Mudd, which is a science college more than an LAC, Reed has the best undergraduate physics for any LAC in the nation. Reed also a two year Humanities program (second year optional) that is very similar to the Humanities and Civilization portions of the Chicago Core prior to the 2000 revisions. If OP likes philosophy Reed is a great place to pursue it along side physics. At both Reed and Chicago, many people say that the two schools have very similar academic cultures.</p>

<p>2) Barnard College in NYC. As long as OP is comfortable with a women’s college, this would allow her to do her physics major across Broadway at Columbia. However, this is a very expensive place to go to college given the cost of living in NYC. Barnard tends to have women that are interested in creative writing or careers for women and isn’t any intellectual hotbed. The faculty at Columbia tends to be very arrogant and not too concerned with the quality of instruction. Barnard would be essentially a backdoor to Columbia for OP.</p>

<p>3) Cornell Engineering as an engineering physics major. This would be a reach for OP. It is much easier to get admitted to Cornell engineering than to Cornell A&S especially as woman. Cornell allows the substitution of almost all physics department courses for the engineering physics ones. Both physics departments are excellent. OP would be able to take non-technical electives in philosophy as an engineering student.</p>

<p>Lastly, Harvey Mudd is very much like Caltech and OP would have great difficulty being admitted with her test scores and especially her grades. Case, RIT, RPI, CMU, UVA and other state universities, and JHU, which is heavily pre-med, don’t match all of OP’s needs.</p>

<p>OP stands a very good chance of at Reed and possibly less at Barnard.</p>

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<p>However, physics and philosophy majors tend to have a more intellectual leaning than students in most other majors. You should be able to find intellectually-minded students among your fellow students in those departments. Note that Rutgers physics and math departments offer honors freshman/sophomore sequences for the more intellectually minded students.</p>

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<p>Reed sounds like a great choice actually, but it is still a reach and has a writing-focused admissions process and curriculum. Just so the OP knows.</p>

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<p>I love your list. CMU admission is a bit easier for science than for engineering and way easier than for computer science. I wouldn’t assume that you wouldn’t get in. </p>

<p>You should get into Rochester, and it’s a terrific school for science. They are 29th on the NRC physics ranking, but the difference is that at Rochester, you will definitely get personal interaction with professors. It has many of the qualities of a liberal arts college but is a tier 1 research university. It’s a powerhouse in anything optical. </p>

<p>A lot of people in the northeast like Tulane even though you have to take a plane to get their. </p>

<p>Women’s colleges can be a great idea. However Barnard is the last one I’d pick for science. We toured and found that science is an afterthought. It wasn’t just the tour guide, it was the information session and everyone we asked about it. The tour was basically “this is the science building and if you really want to see it we can arrange it”. At Barnard science seemed to be equated with premed. I would say of all of our college visits with my daughters, Barnard’s stock dropped the most from pre to post visit. </p>

<p>Consider Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, Mt Holyoke and Smith.</p>

<p>Other liberal arts colleges popular with people from the northeast between Rochester and CMU in terms of difficulty of admissions that are strong in science are Oberlin, Vassar, William and Mary, and Bates.</p>

<p>Other smaller universities with a science bent are Brandeis, Case Western, Lehigh, RPI. Brandeis has the nice intellectual atmosphere that you want and is between Rochester and CMU in terms of degree of difficulty of getting in.</p>

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<p>Thanks, everyone! And, I’m starting to really like Rochester more, too. It was good to hear what you had to say about Rochester @classicrockerdad.</p>

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<p>Check out The University of Dallas in Irving, Texas.</p>