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As you note, most of those are pretty selective. Wesleyan would be an obvious addition to the list, as one of only two LACs with a PhD program in physics. </p>
<p>Bucknell might be more up the OP’s alley – very strong in physics but easier to get into than the above. It’s also quite strong in chemistry and engineering. St. Olaf is very strong in math…my impression is that it’s also good for the physical sciences, but I am not familiar with its physics program.</p>
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This is something I think everyone should keep in mind when selecting colleges. Most colleges estimate that between 60% and 75% of their students change their majors at least once, and the average is three times. (This is totally unsurprising. Most high schoolers haven’t ever been exposed to fields like geography, anthropology, and linguistics. Many prospective students are “sure” they want to major in a field simply because they liked their AP Bio or AP Calc class.) For this reason, I usually recommend using major preference as a last step in the winnowing process rather than first, unless you are (a) extremely confident about your major choice and (b) it’s an extremely rare program.</p>
<p>**darkaeroga - ** Additional info like desired size and location (urban/rural? which parts of the country?) would help posters give you feedback. Yale and UT Austin may be both awesome for physics, but they couldn’t be more different. Odds are that you have at least some idea of what kind of college you’re looking for.</p>