U of Rochester vs Amherst for Physics major

Hi, I’m an international student thrilled to have been accepted at Amherst and U of Rochester. I’m planning to major in Physics (and/or Mathematics & Astronomy) and continue on to the corresponding graduate program (hopefully in an elite university).

I’m seriously torn between the two colleges right now. I’ve listed out some points that I’ve found about them based on several discussions here on CC. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Amherst:

  • Professors more focused on teaching
  • Fewer students majoring in Physics and Astronomy (9 physics 1 astro seniors in Class of 2017)
  • Few professors (about 9)
  • Easier to get opportunities in research?
  • Five college consortium, which I think is awesome
  • More prestigious, but not much famous for my majors
  • Top feeder school for graduate programs, but again, not sure for my majors
  • And I don’t think there’s anyone there from my country

Rochester:

  • High research activities and higher funding for research
  • Professors and graduate students more focused on research
  • More students in Physics, Maths, Astro
  • Options for similar majors (Applied Physics/Math, Engineering)
  • Quite a few students from my country

Both gave me generous aids; my EFC is about $5k. But better chances for on-campus employment would be really helpful.

Visiting might have solved the dilemma, but it’s not an option for me.

I’d be really grateful for any input to help me choose.

Thanks!

Also, I accepted waiting list offers from Williams and Haverford. Should I prefer one of them instead in case I get accepted?

I don’t have kids at either of these schools, but my D who is studying Physics at an LAC did check out Rochester. She had very good visits with a professor and graduate students.

However, for a bachelor’s degree, I’m biased towards LAC for physics - more attention from professors, smaller class sizes, you are not competing for research opportunities with graduate students, etc. And, graduate schools know how good a lot of these LACs are in preparing well-rounded students for graduate school work in the sciences. All of the lists that you see that show the top feeder

Apologies - I tried to publish a link above and I think that violated the rules (I’m still new). But anyways, you can look up the top feeder programs for PhD programs and they are populated with LACs. The one I tried to post showed Amherst ranked ahead of the University of Rochester for sending candidates to graduate programs for Physics.

Good luck!

My friend’s son studied physics (laser optics) at Rochester. He enjoyed his program very much, but he graduated more than 5 years ago so I don’t know if things are still the same. He was not interested in grad school and is actually gainfully employed in a field where he makes peripheral use of his degree skills.

@PianoDad Yeah, I think I’m leaning towards Amherst, too. I’ve talked with students there and they say it is very easy to get into research. And I found one student there from my country (that’s better than zero).

As I usually advise students, if interested in research look online at professors to see specifically what they are researching and see which place has more doing research of interest to you. Schools often differ and studying with a prof who is researching something you like is a great opportunity. U Rochester focuses on undergrad research with approx 75+% of students engaging in it. It’s not at all difficult at that school to find a research position. Then too, I agree that LACs offer nice opportunities. With cost not a factor, it can all come down to who is researching things of interest to you? Choose that school.

I posted a reply to your question on your thread on the other page, but here is a list of the Physics and Astronomy Department at URoc. Take a look at what these profs have as interests - and their websites if they look intriguing - and then compare to the dept at Amherst. Make your decision based upon where your interests lie - which school matches better? Students I’ve had have really enjoyed researching things they like and are rather blase about having to pick from school options when their interests don’t correlate.

http://www.pas.rochester.edu/people/faculty/index.html

Here’s the list to look at for U Rochester:

http://www.pas.rochester.edu/people/faculty/index.html

Check interests on the main page, and websites of those who sound intriguing for more specifics.

And here’s the list for Amherst:

https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/physics/faculty

Looks like you have to click on full profiles for them to get better info, but that’s easily done if you want to compare.

Pick the school that has the most you’re interested in.

@Creekland Thanks! That is really good advice. I’m not sure the specifics of the research I want to conduct, but checking this out might help a lot.

@Creekland thanks! I hadn’t thought of this before.

Glad to help! It’s one of my usual pieces of advice to students who are comparing schools, esp when they get down to the final choices.

Of the students I’ve had (at my school), those who get to research things they love enjoy themselves tremendously and those who have to pick from what a school offers when the offerings aren’t their interest feel rather blase about it.

What one is interested in is not always aligned with the highest ranked place, but getting involved in it often leads to great networking for future grad schools or straight to jobs. Overall ranking is really minimal at best when selecting a school, esp if one has ideas about what they want.

Go to Amherst undergrad. You’ll get so much more attention and mentoring.9 majors: 9 profs+ tons of undergrad research opportunities! I honestly think you’d be crazy not to go to Amherst. You can take engineering at Umass thru the consortium, and it’s a 5 minute bus ride away. You also can eat there when taking a class, and there will be hundreds of people from your country, whatever it is, that you can reach out to if you don’t find your social niche at Amherst.
Haverford also has a consortium, and you can get classes at UPenn or Swat, tho further away and harder to arrange. I’d ditch Williams.
Amherst is a fabulous gift and you should take it. Don’t look back!

@OldbatesieDoc Thanks a lot. Yeah, after talking to current students and others in CC, I’m actually inclined towards Amherst.

You would be out of your mind not to. I live near the U of R and my daughter has friends that attend. They aren’t nearly the same caliber of student. Classes are large and impersonal, and may be taught by grad students. There’s no comparison. Amherst will set you up for the best grad school.

Amherst is a really solid bet. Our science programs, though small, or incredibly well-respected. We place students very, very well in graduate school. Research here (or at other universities) is very common. The internship coordinator for science has really good connections at almost every grad/research program that matters. Also, Amherst has amazing opportunities for on-campus jobs (for reference, at the moment I have 3 campus jobs…)

@boogiedad Thanks a lot for your reply. It was definitely very difficult to pick between the two. But I’ve decided to attend Amherst, hoping that I won’t regret.

Congratulations on your decision @Daorys99 !