Physics at College Park

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
1

<p>I live in VA (northern VA; pretty close to DC), and I’m considering UMD hugely for physics because I heard UMD has good physics grad department. But, is it true to undergrad physics in UMD, too? Not just grad school physics? Because I heard that physics course is pretty much the same for any undergrad (unless the college is not good enough) and that it is important to choose good grad school. Is that true? Then, is it worth going outstate for expensive tuition to Maryland physics undergrad (since the level or rigor is pretty much the same, and similar courses are offered anywhere)?</p>

<p>I also consider UVA because I’m instate. But, I’m not sure which university would be for me between UMD and UVA. I compared courses on the web and found no significant difference in course coverings. They both cover general areas of physics (Classical mechanics, Electricity&Magnetism, Gravitation or Relativity, Quantum mechanics or Modern physics). One good thing about Maryland physics is that it has few more advanced gravitation courses like general relativity. But, on the other hand, it seems like UVA covers more in detail the E&M materials.</p>

<p>My another question is about physics courses at Maryland. I looked up Maryland physics course catalog, and saw many good courses. But I’m not sure which of them are for undergrad and grad (I’m guessing that more advanced courses are for graduate).
So, the courses like Physics 675 and 776(gravitation/relativity)ever offered to undergrads?
What about PHYS 622 and 623 (quantum mechanics)?
If you are physics undergrad or grad at Maryland, it would be really helpful to tell us about the real experience taking courses and general course description(good & bad’s).</p>

<p>So, to summarize my questions into short sentences, they are the followings:</p>

<li><p>Are most of the physics “undergrad” departments pretty much the same, e.g. UMD&UVA, and is it worth paying more to go to higher ranked physics dept?</p></li>
<li><p>Between UMD & UVA, which do you think has better physics course in terms of academic teaching, not regarding the research area? (Also, what about William & Mary? Is W&M too not advanced or short for courses; I checked web and saw only handful of courses)</p></li>
<li><p>Distinguish which is usual physics course for undergrad and grad in U of Maryland?</p></li>
<li><p>Talk about experiences, what to expect, or general impression, etc. if you are a Physics major.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks; Hoping for many good advices</p>

2

<p>I took couples of physics courses for engineer at UMD for undergrad. They are not challenging (I guess because I took the intro ones). The upper level ones might be impossible to get an A, I heard. Bs and Cs are very easy to get if you just do the work. The 600s, 700s, 800s level courses are for grad students. Undergrad CAN take the 600s level courses for credit that will count toward grad. I know people who run out of classes but need to be full time take 600 level courses. Later on, wherever they go, it might / might not transfer as grad credit. If you go to maryland, obviously it will count for graduate credit.</p>

<p>Physics undergrad at maryland has really bad lab equipments i must say. The physics building is old. However, there are many great physics professors involving in big projects (james gates - the string theory, theory of everything, or that nobel prize winner guy on the phD board...). For undergrad, I don't think there's that much difference. You might meet more people who are interested in physics at UMD than say UVA. But I think the courseworks are the same.</p>

3

<p>The physics majors that I know really like their classes. You do take 2 semesters of quantum mechanics as a sophomore or junior and even as an undergrad you can be taught by some really good professors and even do research with them.</p>

<p>I would definitely speak to people at UVA because the OOS tuition at Maryland is very steep and UVA is a very good school.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the replies, chaoses and somebodynew! It was very helpful, and quick too!</p>

<p>@chaoses; thank you for your detailed answer. For the bad labs, it doesn't really matter for me, because I don't like labs anyway. Actually, I'm glad to hear that the lab sucks so that I don't have to spend much time on contemplating about lab works or even be excited about it!</p>

<p>@somebodynew; you seem to be helping almost everyone's reply everyday! I learned a lot from your other past posts on various topics in UMD. Thanks. Do you check for new posts everyday? And if possible, can you ask your physics major friends about more details like what kind of challenges to expect or which courses were difficult to get used to? Thanks again</p>

5

<p>Haha, yeah, I try to be helpful and share my knowledge of UMD. I mean, it's literally been my job for the past two years to do just that, and I guess it's kind of addicting. I'll ask my friends for some more info about physics and get back to you.</p>

6

<p>I can pass along some of the considerations that lead D1 to College Park. She's double-majoring in Astronomy and Physics. She LOVES UMD, and proclaimed several times last year (freshman year) that she couldn't imagine having made a better choice.</p>

<p>She had AP credits for both Physics AP courses, so she did not take the intro courses last year. She did take the first lab course required for all majors, and although it was significantly easy for her, she didn't have any complaints about the experience....like everything, your experience is based a lot on what you put into it, and I don't believe a slick brand-new building is required to have outstanding lab experiences in Physics. This year, I think she's taking Physics - Waves this coming semester, in addition to Differential Equations and an Astronomy class (that follows the first 2 Astrophysics classes). If you are attentive and active in classes, and make a little bit of an effort, you can get to know your professors very well. She was part of the Undergraduate Research program last year, and specifically chose to work outside Physics, just to give herself wider experience. She had an excellent working relationship with a professor in a different scientific area, and redesigned an online course website for him (and a graduate student team working with him) last semester.</p>

<p>I doubt if there's a real substantive difference between UVA and UMD in terms of course offerings/professor quality/etc. In addition to looking at the online Catalogs, you should definitely look at the actual class schedules at the schools you are considering. At smaller schools with a more limited # of faculty, you will find that physics courses at the jr/sr level aren't offered every semester, which makes it more challenging to schedule your courses to graduate on time. (i.e. some of the smaller schools that D looked at only offered specific courses she knew she'd have interest on spring or fall semesters only, or in extreme cases something like spring semester of even years, or something goofy like that). Again, I'd expect that UVA and UMD would be comparable.</p>

<p>D chose UMD (over UNC-Chapel Hill) primarily because of its proximity to a large city (i.e. Washington, DC) as opposed to the smaller surroundings of Chapel Hill; She also specifically wanted to get away from the large # of kids from her high school who'd all be heading to Chapel Hill. (This is a common complaint of kids heading to UMD from in-state, as well---something about being able to "reinvent yourself" and get away from petty high school stuff). She was impressed with the honors program at UMD---the honors seminars, the honors housing, etc. In reference to her particular interests, the proximity to the research opportunities at NASA's Goddard Space Center was a big consideration (and she will be working there part-time starting in September - YAYYYY!!!) </p>

<p>She also got merit scholarship $$ at UMD, which made the cost of going there OOS more reasonable. It is still more than UNC-CH, but it softened the blow. Had she NOT got $$ there, she probably couldn't have justified to herself (or US) the difference in cost. That said, however, if she had been accepted to MIT...her first choice....we would be paying a heck of a lot more money every year. </p>

<p>At this point, she is not planning on staying at UMD for undergrad. Her (current) top choices are MIT, CalTech, or Cal-Berkeley, but again, that is based on astrophysics Ph.D. programs. Who knows if that's where she'll be in 3 years, but she is confident (and her professors have confirmed) that she'll have solid undergrad experiences at UMD to set her up for any of those choices.</p>

<p>Whew, that was a bunch of stuff. pm me if you want me to get any specific info from her for you. FWIW, her sister is a hs senior this year, and not at all physics oriented, and UMD is probably her #1 college choice, based on all the positive experiences her sister has had....and older sis is campaigning heavily for her to come to College Park. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Thanks, astrophysicsmom! Your long-detailed answer gave me clear info that I wanted!</p>

<p>Your detailed description makes me really want to go to Maryland! But, as OOS, I'm not sure if I can get in with my standardized scores. And, also, even if I get in, I don't know if I can pay OOS tuition. Can you tell me what score range (especially of Crit R.) would be safe to get in as OOS? And how much score do you think will be needed to get scholarship $$? If I can't save money, my parents wouldn't probably be able to afford it.</p>

<p>Also, just to make sure, what exactly is the OOS cost (including tuition, room, food, books, etc.) in general? I've checked CB web and Maryland website, and it said around about total 36,234. Is this true value for general OOS student? And, if one gets scholarship $$, approx. how much would be saved in general?</p>

<p>For reference, here is my quick SAT scores/ records to chance me if possible:</p>

<p>SAT I: 590 CR, 790M, 650W [just to make sure, I should pick the best scores from each sections, right?]
SAT II: 800 MathII, (will take Phys in Oct.)
GPA is around 4
considerable am't of EC's (but not a lot; 2 of them I spent many hrs & efforts)</p>

<p>Thanks again; your reply has been really helpful! And Congrats for your D's success!</p>

8

<p>To get into the honors program, the general rule of thumb is around 700 on each of the CR and Math sections, with GPA and EC's to match.... The real merit $$ is in the Banneker/Key Scholarship, which can be a full-ride, or a partial scholarship, which is what D1 got. As I said, we justified the cost (kind of) by saying that with the merit $$, it made UMD comparable to tuition at UNC-CH....had she not gotten merit $$. However, she did get a scholarship offer from UNC, but not one of their highest ones....had it been a full-ride, she would have gone there; we couldn't have walked away from that for Undergrad. So, yes, we're paying more at UMD than we would be at UNC-CH, but I'm convinced that it's worth it for D.</p>

<p>So, you need to see if you can bring your SAT CR up...significantly so for merit $$. Of course, there is need-based $$ available, if you qualify, that could also help you.</p>

<p>Bottom line, I think you'll do great at UVA, but you should apply (and visit) UMD. Just be prepared to go to UVA if the $$ difference is too much for your family. In terms of quality of the Undergrad physics depts, they are probably very similar.</p>

9

<p>Ok, I really want to thank you to everyone who responded. So, there is maybe one last chance left to bring my CR up really high if miracle happens. If no scholarship $$ but financial matter works out, I might go to UMD with at least a bit of guilt :).</p>

<p>Just asking out of my last hope, how much does Maryland consider SATII if I have a good score?</p>

<p>BTW, if your D1 majors in both Astronomy & Physics, what does she like better? And what particular area of Astro&Phys does she want to study for advanced courses? These are just personal questions, so you don't have to answer it if you're not comf with it.</p>