University selection for Maths and Physics

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I'm from India and I've graduated my secondary school. I'm planning to attend a BS Physics (and/or BS Math) course in the US for the Fall 2008 semester. The following is my basic academic profile:-</p>

<p>CBSE XII - 80%</p>

<p>SAT:- </p>

<p>Critical Reading - 570
Math - 690
Writing - 680</p>

<p>Total - 1940</p>

<p>I'm basically looking for good education worth the money I'm paying. I don't plan on getting into the "top most" schools. I just want to attend a university that will help me in my path of discovery, give me exposure to and make me feel comfortable in the academia while letting me mingle with other intellectually curious minds in an active environment. As for the specifics, I'm looking for a school with:-</p>

<p>Academically stimulating atmosphere,
Less outrageous tuition fee (somewhere around $25,000 or $30,000 OR lesser!)
Good amount of funding/scholarship from the university,
Good amount of emphasis on pure sciences and research in it,
Medium stundent body,
Decent student to faculty ratio,
Decent amount of reputation,
Good exposure to research</p>

<p>By the way, though I didn't have much information about them, I already applied for the following universities (and even got admitted in the first four):-</p>

<p>Illinois institute of technology, Chicago
Old Dominion university, VA
Montana State university, Bozeman, Montana
Polytechnic university, Brooklyn, NY
University of Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama</p>

<p>Is the above list of universities right for my needs?</p>

<p>Also, can any experienced person please give me a list of universities (apart from the above mentioned) that I should be keen on? </p>

<p>If you have any idea, can you also tell me what realistic expectations I should have if I'm gonna study in the US?</p>

<p>Regards.</p>