Oh please help me. Physics Major.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have looked everywhere.
I can find little on accredited physics colleges.
Or just cheap, close by state colleges.</p>

<p>And I am lost in a sea of... colleges. xD</p>

<p>Physics major, undecided.
I'd like.... Astrophysics, theoretical physics, advanced mathematics (what with the differential equations and such...), SOME astronomy...
Mostly astrophysics.</p>

<p>No geophysics or atmospheric stuff. Noooo. </3</p>

<p>I'm registered on Collegeboard, but they aren't giving me much upfront information.
I'm registered at Fastweb but they also arent' giving me information. They are giving me spam. >___> Not spam, but useless information.</p>

<p>My mother says that MIT is better for Graduate stuffs.
I don't have a good... chance at seeing particle accelerators at the undergraduate level, do I?</p>

<p>My list so far on collegeboard:
Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA $14,400 4yr 2615mi 1<br>
Alabama A&M University Huntsville, AL $4,420 4yr 907mi 6<br>
Alfred University Alfred, NY $20,150 4yr 268mi 1<br>
Allegheny College Meadville, PA $28,000 4yr 391mi 0 </p>

<pre><code>Harvard University Cambridge, MA $30,275 4yr 75mi 2

Princeton University Princeton, NJ $33,000 4yr 162mi 2

Smith College Northampton, MA $30,520 4yr 16mi 5

Yale University New Haven, CT
</code></pre>

<p>Others
RPI
Cornell
RIT
John Hopkins University
UColombia
MIT
Smith
Wellsley </p>

<p>Gaah. Can't spell some of those.
Please help? What other info do you need?</p>

<p>I live in Massachusetts. I'm looking for near mid-atlantic to new england states.
Or, if it's a great college for physics, it doesn't matter and I will love you.</p>

2

<p>EAST COAST
Columbia University
Cornell University
Harvard College
Haverford College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Swarthmore College
University of Maryland-College Park</p>

<p>MIDWEST
Carleton College
University of Chicago
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>

<p>SOUTH
Rice University
University of Texas-Austin</p>

<p>WEST COAST
California Institute of Technology
Harvey Mudd College
Stanford University
University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Santa Barbara</p>

3

<p>
[quote]
My mother says that MIT is better for Graduate stuffs.
I don't have a good... chance at seeing particle accelerators at the undergraduate level, do I?

[/quote]

At MIT, undergraduates are treated like graduate students. Undergraduate research is very important at MIT, and if there's somebody at MIT doing it, you can be exposed to it as an undergraduate researcher.</p>

4

<p>FSU: <a href="http://www.physics.fsu.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.physics.fsu.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>especially: <a href="http://www.fsu.edu/indexTOFStory.html?lead.supernovas%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fsu.edu/indexTOFStory.html?lead.supernovas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>and: <a href="http://www.physics.fsu.edu/undergrads/UndergraduateResearch.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.physics.fsu.edu/undergrads/UndergraduateResearch.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>Hey OP, I'm in the same boat. I'm having no trouble finding reaches, but how many safeties have Astrophysics? I think I'm going to end up applying to a TON of schools. </p>

<p>I made a thread awhile ago. . . got some good results.
Check it out here! <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=348406&highlight=astrophysics%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=348406&highlight=astrophysics&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Anyway, good luck! Maybe we can help eachother out on our college lists.</p>

6

<p>Mudd has one of the best undergraduate physics programs in the nation. You have access to outstanding professors (who really go out of their way to make themselves accessible) and are required to do some form of research as part of your curriculum. In fact, Mudd arguably has some of the best resources for undergraduates of any school in the nation. All students get substantial research opportunities and many publish.</p>

<p>The Apker's Prize for undergraduate research in 2006 went to a student from HMC....
"Stephanie Moyerman is the third Harvey Mudd physics student to win the American Physical Society's Apker Award. The award honors the outstanding physics students in the country. Two awards are made each year, one to a PhD-granting institution and one to a non-PhD-granting institution. Stephanie joins Gwen (Bell) Porter ('98) and Nathaniel Stern ('03) among the Harvey Mudd winners of this most prestigious award.</p>

<p>Because Stephanie is currently on a Watson Foundation Fellowship to study judo throughout the world, and because the Watson Foundation refused to permit her to return to the States to appear before the Apker panel at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and describe her research, competing for the award was a special challenge for Stephanie. To overcome this difficulty, Prof. James Eckert set up a video teleconference from London to SLAC so she could give her talk and answer the panel's questions over a video link. The picture shows Steph explaining her polarized neutron scattering data and fielding the panel's questions."</p>

7

<p>As rocketDA said, HMC has a great physics program.</p>

<p>If you want something a bit closer to home, I would strongly recommend Williams College, which I feel is arguably the best "traditional" LAC for Physics (HMC is not traditional). Other excellent LAC programs are at Swarthmore, Grinnell, and a lot of other great LACs. For the universities, my first choice would probably be the University of Chicago.</p>

<p>One thing about physics - even if you are sure you want to study it, keep an open mind on the kind of option you want to do. I, like you, initially was interested in astrophysics, and now my interests are completely different. A Caltech poster I know of had similar changes of interest.</p>

8

<p>Most of the schools mentioned here have very high standards (and competition) for admission and are very expensive. Muraskii no ryuu, do you know how much you can afford and whether or not you will get need-based aid? Long ago, I was also from Massachusetts and looking into physics. U Mass Lowell and U Mass Amherst are a couple of affordable options and safeties. Worchester Polytech is a good school and does give financial aid. If they think that you can do the work, they usually accept you, so it would probably be a match/safety. At a lot of major universities, physics is a lot like premed- they make it very hard and competitive and many change to other majors. There may even be some deliberate weeding out. You may be better off at a smaller, less intensive place for undergrad. Liberal arts colleges often need more science majors and try to get you to go there. You can always go to one of the top places for graduate school. Electrical engineering is a very good backup major (with much better employment possibilites) for people who like physics, so you might want to consider schools with engineering, just in case physics does not work out or you change your mind.</p>

9

<p>To get the most useful info, you also should post your stats.</p>

10

<p>Penn State <a href="http://www.astro.psu.edu/main/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.astro.psu.edu/main/&lt;/a> and <a href="http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/superlatives/science.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/superlatives/science.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

11

<p>D: I suppose there's no button to change the first post, eh?</p>

<p>More information: I'm in the IB program, final year. (1 of 2 years finished).
I.... My SAT scores are 1820. First time.
I should probably take it again... ne?</p>

<p>I"m working on extra-curriculars. But since I'm in the IB program, that should take care of some of those. I"m also doing soccer things this year, and perhaps track in the spring.</p>

12

<p>anyone know how Upitt is at Physics?</p>