Where should I apply and why?
Looking for small-midsize school that does not rely on Greek Life for social life
Stats? Budget? Geography?
Wesleyan has a very well-funded program:
http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2020/02/17/6m-in-nasa-funding-awarded-to-mission-concepts-projects-by-gilmore/
http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2020/03/17/redfield-receives-nasa-grant-to-study-the-properties-of-outer-space/
https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2020/07/22/new-24-telescope-to-provide-better-research-opportunities-for-astronomy-students-faculty/
Most of these schools* offer a major or minor in astronomy as well as their own astronomical observatories, and some have produced recent Apker Award (the highest recognition for undergraduate research in physics) recipients or finalists (examples in links):
Vassar: 16
Hamilton: 15
Wellesley: 15
Harvey Mudd: 14
Haverford: 14
Wesleyan: 13
Pomona: 12
Williams: 9
Swarthmore: 6
https://magazine.pomona.edu/2019/winter/eric-cooper-18-how-to-win-the-heisman-of-physics/
https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/elise-lepage-18-an-apker-physics-award-finalist
https://physics.williams.edu/articles/augenbraun-apker-winner/
*Listed by total of physics/astrophysics/astronomy “first majors” graduating in a recent year (data from IPEDS, e.g., https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Harvey+Mudd&s=all&id=115409#programs ).
Notre Dame. No Greek life. Friends son is doing engineering/physics. Loves it as far as I can tell. I think they have some nice internships with NASA.
https://physics.nd.edu/research/research-groups/the-astrophysics-group/
This is total number of undergrad Physics majors, the number of graduates per year, or the number of Apkar winners/finalists for each of these schools?
@RichInPitt, please follow the asterisk:
Stats: 1560 SAT
4.8 gpa
No pref on geography
National Merit? If so, UCF Burnett Honors College has premium “learning community” housing for all four years and a great cohort, and huge merit for NMF. https://www.ucf.edu/news/for-those-who-dream-of-space-ucf-is-the-place/ Less than 10% of undergrads are in the Greek system.
If your interest in astronomy includes planetary science, then give additional consideration to colleges with strong geosciences departments.
The best school for what you want to do is, bar none, Caltech. It’s obviously a high reach but worth an application.
Regarding 25 Best Bachelor's in Physics for 2021 …
That ranking’ says that colleges are “ranked according to practical concerns for the student who wants a degree that will pay off: tuition cost, student satisfaction, and potential salary.” It does not actually mention the quality of the physics curriculum and courses as part of the ranking criteria.
WUStL is in the list, but Should I transfer out of WashU? is a thread from a WUStL student who wants to transfer specifically because of dissatisfaction with the quality of the physics and math courses there.
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Those are unreliable rankings as ucbalumnus maybe hints at. First, any physics ranking that has Chicago 24th is suspect. Second, some of the reasons given for why we like the college don’t relate to physics. Here are some:
- Pulitzer prizes
-learn about various cultures - their ranking in US News, either national or LAC, or other rankings, which is a little circular
For the record, the University of Chicago placed 23rd.
I recognize the irony of an entirely subjective ranking of two departments we like to think of as based on objective fact. But, that’s what I find refreshing about it. It’s the sort of thing I can easily imagine a couple of graduate students concocting while sitting around a coffee table in the faculty lounge: a ranking that is less about physics or math, than about the ecosystem surrounding prospective physics and math students.
It’s piquant and whimsical and unlike so many rankings and polls, it contains commentary that is often on the money.
Why is Chicago so low? It’s kind of a silly question because if this were a poll of the Top 1000 Physics and Math departments in the country, a twenty-three or a twenty-five would not seem so bad.
But, the explanation is probably Chicago’s overall low ROI compared to other R1 universities - an unfair metric for many reasons, but one which makes the commentary all the more vital:
The University of Chicago is a research institution that challenges students to think outside the box. With their creativity and critical thinking skills, students learn how to push academic boundaries and pursue new ideas outside of the status quo. Research from the University of Chicago has improved the medical field and other science-centered disciplines. Students often choose this school when they want to challenge themselves and make the most of their skills to improve lives.
Fortunately this ranking does not show up in the first page of a “best physics programs in the US” search, which is what most if not all students and parents will do first. The number one result is best value physics, of which many are public universities, there Chicago is 21’st, which is understandable given the high cost. Many colleges on the bachelor degree ranking ldon’t make the best value ranking because they have lower ROI. These are Yale, Dartmouth, the LACs, Notre Dame, Rice, CMU, WUSTl, Brown, Northeastern, BU, RPI. They’re replaced by Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA etc…
They’re both rankings of course so should be viewed as such. Second result is graduate ranking for US news, not relevant for undergrad, and third is niche which has a good amount of public colleges as well, and Chicago at 7 and Dartmouth 11.
Interesting search engine results. One of the things I learned, or rather, confirmed in my reading, is the sheer ubiquity of physics and math departments throughout the United States. Think about it: they don’t require a lot of expensive equipment; the textbooks are widely available. Somewhere between 20% and 30% of all physics majors began their studies in community colleges.
So, how do we distinguish them all? Everyone has their bias. You evidently lean toward the state flagships. I’m always thrilled to see rankings that include LACs. This one includes six of them out of a total of twenty-five places:
Wellesley - #10
Colgate - #12
Wesleyan - #15
Haverford - #18
Davidson - #20
Vassar - #21
25 Best Bachelor’s in Physics for 2021 – Bachelors Degree Center
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I have a question - if one is interested in astrophysics, does it matter if they focus on astrophysics specifically in undergrad? What jobs right after undergrad can one get having that degree versus a physics degree? Astrophysics seems very specific and I would think a grad degree would be needed, no?
I ask because (1) maybe the answer would help the OP and (2) selfishly because S19 is interested in astrophysics but is at an LAC where it’s not a big focus of their physics department. I just kind of assume he would have to go to grad school if he wanted to pursue jobs in that field specifically.
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There’s little difference at the undergraduate level. A student who wants to study astrophysics needs all the foundational physics that would take years to study. Grad school is a necessity unless he switches to another field.
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