<p>Can someone tell me how good physics is at williams?</p>
<p>The physics department is highly regarded, one of the reasons my daughter decided to attend. She expects to declare a Physics major soon. Not being of a scientific bent, myself, I can't really speak to its status relative to other specific schools. The physics homepage is quite informative (see below), and includes email links to current physics and astrophysics majors, so you could ask some of them directly for their feelings about the program. From the "news" link on the website: </p>
<p>"The American Physical Society selected Nathan Hodas '04 as one of only two winners of the 2004 LeRoy Apker Award. This national award is the highest honor for physics research by an undergraduate student in the United States. Nathan was very productive, working with Prof. Daniel Aalberts on a number of projects related to DNA and RNA. These include designing and implementing an algorithm that computes optimal binding of two RNA molecules, characterizing and modeling how RNA pseudoknots fold, and studying the properties of a polymers with stacking interactions. He joins Apker winners Brian Gerke '99 and Charlie Doret '02, boosting our department's record to 3 Apker Awards in 6 years."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.williams.edu/Physics/%5B/url%5D">http://www.williams.edu/Physics/</a></p>
<p>I should add that the Math Department is truly outstanding, and complements the Physics Dept. perfectly.</p>
<p>Great post, Driver.</p>
<p>The Physics department is highly regarded nationally and I've heard only good things from students here. I think the fact that 25% of the top physics research award winners in the ENTIRE country have been from Williams really speaks for the strength of the department. I'd be surprised if any other College has done better.</p>
<p>And yes, the Math department is also great. The science lab facilities are new and quite wonderful. The equipment is top-notch and very easy to get access to use as an undergrad across all sciences (unlike at many institutions, the equipment is there for the undergrads primarily).</p>
<p>Actually,
I just looked at the American Physical Society site, and here are the results for Apker Awards for the past 11 years:</p>
<p>Williams 3
Princeton 2
H. Mudd 2
Swarthmore 2
U of FL 2
CIT 2
U of Chic. 1
UC-Berkely 1
U of Rochester 1
Illinois State U 1
MIT 1
Harvard 1
Stanford 1
Haverford 1
Middlebury 1
Hamilton 1</p>
<p>Thanks driver, and haon...those stats were really enlightening. </p>
<p>Haon, are you applying ED to williams too? What do want to major in?</p>
<p>I think Haon is a sophomore at Williams.</p>
<p>yeah..it was only when I went through some of his other posts did I realize my mistake...Sorry haon...anyways, what are you planning to major in at Williams</p>
<p>are there differences in course matter in williams (and other LACs) and universities?</p>
<p>Yes, I'm a Sophomore at Williams. As of right now I'm probably going to be declaring my major as Philosophy come spring. </p>
<p>What do you mean "are there differences in course matter in williams..."</p>
<p>What I meant was ...will Physics 302 at williams be different from Physics 302 at princeton or Yale?</p>
<p>Obviously the course numbers at different schools don't always match up with course titles, but here's a description of Physics 301 at Williams, which is "Quantum Mechanics."</p>
<p>"Format: lecture, three hours per week; laboratory, three hours per week. Evaluation will be based on weekly problem sets, labs, a midterm exam, and final exam, all of which have a substantial quantitative component. Prerequisites: Physics 202 and Physics 210. No enrollment limit (expected:15)."</p>
<p>I think the key thing to note is that you will be in a class of about 15 (at Williams) for three hours of lectures and three hours of labs per week. That's a lot of close personal attention for a Physics undergrad to have with a professor. Some research universities do much better than others in making sure that undergrads get serious attention....and Princeton is one of them, and is obviously a Mecca for Physics and Math. Don't think Yale is in the same league in those disciplines.</p>
<p>I have to say, I was unfamiliar with the Apker award prior to the latest PR release from Williams, but I think it's telling--since it is an award for <em>undergraduate</em> research in Physics--that top LACs did so well.</p>
<p>I agree. I think the biggest difference between Quantum Mechanics at Williams and Quantum Mechanics at Princeton/Yale will be the class size and amount of time you spend with your professor. Williams will tend to have smaller class sizes than Princeton/Yale and Williams profs tend to be more undergraduate-focused than Princeton/Yale profs (obviously there will be exceptions). Additionally, undergraduate research opportunities will tend to be better and easier to get at Williams than at Princeton/Yale. Princeton/Yale will tend to have more internationally known physicists than Williams (although Williams probably has better teachers), and Princeton/Yale will tend to have more research facilities than Williams (although Williams has facilities which are more than good enough for any undergrad researcher).</p>