Hi, I just wanted to know which would be the better college to major physics in. Both seem to be great schools but I couldn’t find anything that compared them side by side. I want to know if UCBS would be worth attending for physics compared to StonyBrook since I’m a resident of NY and I would have to pay out of state tuition. I’m a cc student, so no matter which college I end up in, I’ll only be there for a few years. I’m currently interested in astrophysics, so maybe that would help. And if you know any other colleges with good physics programs, feel free to leave a response. Any help is appreciated and I’m not transferring yet, just doing some research. I also hope to attend graduate school. Thanks
Well, the biggest comparison is probably the $60,000 or so difference over two years.
UCSB is great for physics because there are 4-5 Nobel Prize winners in Physics. They should be able to attrack talent to the school. But I don’t know about the price tag though.
In my experience as a physics professor, there is very little difference between undergraduate physics programs across the country. This is particularly true for large public research universities such as UCSB and Stony Brook. Yes UCSB has Nobel Laureates but undergraduates will have very little to do with them or the consequences of the research faculty they attract.
You can get an excellent physics education at both schools, including valuable research experience that will serve you well if you choose to go to graduate school. The most important factor in my mind is the cost and you should minimize any debt that you or your family take on. The minimal difference in the physics education is not worth the extra cost.
Then does it make no difference in my education, if I were to attend a cuny such as ccny or hunter?
Stony Brook has a really strong program, and at undergrad level UCSB would not have anything (except weather…) that would make it paying OOS fees for, particularly b/c astrophysics = grad school. SB has it’s own URECA program (10 week, paid, summer research internships) and then there are NSF REU’s as well. So no, for undergrad the extra $$ to be OOS at UCSB.
Does it make no difference to your education whether you go to Stony Brook, Hunter or City? of course not. They each have different strengths, and would be different experiences. Stony Brook is ranked for Physics, but you can get all the physics you need to get into a good grad school from any of them.
Posted to fast…meant to add:
Review all aspects of each one, and especially look at the physics/astrophysics department. Figure out what courses you would be taking and whether there are more astrophysics people at one than another. Look up the research interests of the professors in the department- does any of their work look particularly interesting to you? Treat it as a dry run for grad school researching, where those questions will be critical.
A large public research university such as Stony Brook is more likely to offer a variety of upper level undergrad physics course, as opposed to smaller departments at Hunter or CCNY. This in turn gives a better background for grad school. Upper level undergrad courses at a place like Stony Brook will also likely be more competitive, and will give you taste of the type of rigor you can expect at a respected graduate school.
Some folks prefer the personal contact with profs that would be better obtained in a smaller department. So it is a different experience… You can compare the list of courses offered in the schedule of classes at all these places to get an objective overview.
Another consideration is the opportunity to do research. Most schools realize that research opportunities need to be available for undergraduates but research universities such as Stony Brook, will have opportunities to work alongside graduate students that might not be available at smaller or non-research oriented schools.
There could be differences in physics departments where a very small department, or one that is mainly tasked to providing service courses for pre-meds but which attracts few actual physics majors, may not be able to consistently offer the full set of advanced physics courses. But that is not a concern for either Stony Brook or UCSB.