I’ve spent a good amount of time searching for colleges, I could use some help. My end goal is a PhD in astronomy/astrophysics. I used https://aas.org/learn/college-departments-offering-astronomy-related-degrees to find colleges, but I’m still indecisive. For now cost, grades, and or anything else don’t apply as I want to find just some good colleges. I’m looking preferably for a smaller college, in north east or Midwest. Thanks
This should help to point out some possibilities: http://www.collegerank.net/amazing-college-observatories/
Colby has a recently (last 2 years) majorlly upgraded observatory (and central Maine is a good viewing location).
Case Western is a mid-size national university with a great program
There is a big difference between research universities and liberal arts colleges that have strong Astronomy programs. There are three primary factors you should consider. 1. Undergraduate access to facilities. Generally speaking the smaller schools will give you much greater access to equipment and co-authorship of papers. 2. Research interest of faculty. If the faculty is mostly interested in extrasolar planetary transit studies or T-Tauri star formation then rest assured you will likely work on their work so make sure its something you are interested in. 3. Facilities and strength of program.
The second point you can research yourself. Points one and three you need to visit and or speak with current students or faculty to get a sense of it. PM me if you want much more detailed personal perspective. Oh and make sure the Astronomy department is its own department and not a subset of the Physics department, as that tells you really how dedicated the school is to the program.