<p>Current students and grads, how is Princeton for physics as an undergrad? I am trying to encourage S to look at Princeton, but he is currently focused on Stanford, Rensselaer and UChicago....</p>
<p>If at all possible, we would appreciate candid evaluations of class sizes, opportunity for undergrad research, and accelerated placement.</p>
<p>princeton is plenty good for phsyics as an undergrad. there are - food for thought - FIVE nobel laureates in physics on princeton's current faculty and staff.</p>
<p>After he fled Europe, Albert Einstein chose to be a prof at Princeton. It's not exactly current, but it still says something good about Princeton.</p>
<p>Wyogal, I think you're wise to encourage your son to take a look at Princeton for Physics. Princeton is indeed quite renowned in this field, and the ratio of Physics faculty to Physics majors is approximately one to one. </p>
<p>Independent research is one of the strengths/benefits/hallmarks of a Princeton education; all students do independent research, under the guidance of faculty, in both their junior and their senior years. There are lots of opportunities for summertime and further term-time research as well, and funding for it. </p>
<p>Hopefully your son will take a look at the Physics Dept. site at Princeton.edu. (On the left side of the homepage, go to Academics, then Departments and Programs, then Physics...) In the undergraduate section, he can read course descriptions, "frequently asked questions", and find contact info. in order to contact faculty with any other questions he may have. There is also a "virtual interview" with a member of the Physics faculty that gives a lot of info. about the Physics program and about Princeton in general.</p>
<p>If he can visit, I would encourage him to arrange to sit in on classes.
He may also want to look into the new integrated science program. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>When your son visits he can tour the Princeton plasma physics lab, which is a U.S. Dept. of Energy program: <a href="http://www.pppl.gov/%5B/url%5D">http://www.pppl.gov/</a></p>
<p>I can vouch that physics at princeton is one of the best. MIT, Harvard, and Princeton are on par #1 on undergrad physics.</p>