University of Colorado at Boulder and U Washington at Seattle should be solid safeties, Wesleyan and Haverford could be target,
4 Likes
I was going to suggest looking into CU Boulder as well.
1 Like
UMN-TC and Lawrence, WI would both be solid safeties (likely merit but show interest) with strength in Physics + located another region of the country.
This may help you with UCs:
Recalculate your HS GPA with GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub . Use the weighted capped version for the table below.
Fall 2020 admission rates by campus and HS GPA range from Freshman fall admissions summary | University of California :
| Campus | 4.20+ | 3.80-4.19 | 3.40-3.79 | 3.00-3.39 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | 37% | 14% | 2% | 1% |
| Davis | 86% | 55% | 16% | 7% |
| Irvine | 60% | 38% | 9% | 1% |
| Los Angeles | 38% | 8% | 1% | 1% |
| Merced | 98% | 97% | 95% | 88% |
| Riverside | 97% | 90% | 65% | 30% |
| San Diego | 78% | 39% | 8% | 1% |
| Santa Barbara | 81% | 40% | 9% | 2% |
| Santa Cruz | 92% | 82% | 59% | 26% |
These are for the whole campus. Different divisions or majors may have different levels selectivity (usually, engineering and computer science majors are more selective).
But not sure why you’d want to be full pay there when there are so many other choices in CA or WUE that will be safeties and much cheaper. I’m always perplexed by the rich Californians who choose to pay nearly twice as much for Boulder as Utah, when Utah has much the same experience (and both better snow and better football).
I don’t see UW as a safety for an out-of state student. Even in-state students don’t consider UW a safety.
4 Likes
A solid match/Safety for him would be Florida State University.
FSU is also home to the National Magnetic Lab
You stated cost not an issue, with your sons stats its not guaranteed but but I believe he would be a lock for an out of state tuition waiver which brings tuition down to about $6500 per year
1 Like
Definitely look at the University of Rochester since Physics/Science (and presumably research) are his thing. It seems like an ideal fit. I’d see him as a likely for admit.
If you want a safety many kids of that caliber use, go with Pitt (if he likes it) because they’re rolling admissions and you’d have your answer quickly. While many students use it as a safety, a fair number of those find it becomes their #1 choice once they visit. It’s a good school. But between the two, Rochester is superior for Physics IMO. Pitt would just be a true safety even though I expect he would get in at Rochester.
3 Likes
Most CSUs are commuter schools and the ones that are not usually fall into the match category or higher — SDSU, SLO. Chico State is not commuter and would be considered a safety, but in my opinion is not a peer with University of Washington. Most of the others would not be either.
University of Arizona will give him a $35k annual scholarship for the UW 4.0, and their honors college is 30% School of Science majors and definitely on the rise after big investment. https://frankehonors.arizona.edu/
UofA is also one of only 62 schools in the AAU https://www.aau.edu/ so it really is the ideal ‘safety’ for your aspiring physicist (easy to get into), and yet possibly even a top choice once you dig in.
My one caveat is assuming scholarship levels do not change, since he is only a junior this year. ASU slashed theirs for incoming 2022-2023, but so far UofA has held to large generous scholarships for 2022-2023. Types of Aid: Incoming First-Year and Transfer Tuition Scholarship Awards | Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid
1 Like
Agree with another poster that physics grad programs should pay your son through TA or RA jobs that ideally would have a tuition waiver. Otherwise many would advise not going.
You might want to try posting your question on Physics Forum’s Academic Advising site.
1 Like