What are some schools with good undergraduate physics programs I should look into?

<p>I am currently interested in Michigan State, UMich, and UIUC for physics, but I really have no other schools on my mind. I am worried I am missing out on a lot of other schools I should be considering. Can anyone give me some ideas on other schools I could look into? I plan on going to grad school afterwards. Also engineering is another possible major for me so if the school also has a good engineering program it wouldn't hurt.</p>

<p>I don't care about location or anything really I just want to know about some other schools I could consider applying to (safeties and reaches included).</p>

<p>My GPA is a 3.87, ACT is 30 and I am a resident of Michigan.</p>

<p>It may be difficult to switch into an engineering major after enrolling at many schools. Check the change major pages for the desired engineering majors at the schools you are interested in.</p>

<p>What are your cost constraints?</p>

<p>Hey there! Always nice to see someone else from Michigan on the sub. Like you, I’ve been considering physics/engineering at a couple different schools, and this is what I’ve seen: State and Michigan are two really good schools for physics (especially graduate, which you’re likely to do if you do physics undergrad), in fact state has the number one nuclear physics grad program in the country. Both schools also have really strong engineering departments, particularly in the areas of aerospace and nuclear engineering (both physics heavy fields). Any of the UCs are great choices for physics (Santa Cruz, Irvine, LA, Berkeley is also amazing for engineering). Washington, Texas Austin, Penn State, Colorado Boulder, etc. basically any good public school has a great physics program. UChicago is a world renowned school for physics but definitely a reach for everyone, though I encourage you to try. Other than that, the stereotypical top schools (MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton) are all incredible in physics. Look at what you like about the school’s location and culture, because no matter where you go from all of these places you’ll get a good education.</p>

<p>^^ Realistically, I don’t think it is that good of an idea to apply to that many OOS publics, just because the cost of attendance is high and FA is generally geared towards in state students. There’s nothing wrong with having a smaller list, you have some excellent choices being in the state of Michigan (many others would be envious). Stony Brook or Rochester may be two good matches or safeties. Aside from that, look into schools that offer good merit in addition to your major, as with such good instate options, the cost should be equivalant or lower</p>

<p>In addition, Harvey Mudd is a great school for physics. </p>

<p>@shawnspencer I agree, I don’t actually expect him to apply to all those schools, I just wanted to give him a wide variety of options so he could compare the locations, campus life, financial aid, etc. and see what was the best fit for him. </p>

<p>OP, UIUC will cost a bundle OOS. Will your family pay for that (particularly with UMich and Mich State being less expensive)? Go to the Financial Aid forum and look at the pinned threads for some Safety options with merit aid.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the schools! I’m trying not to worry about cost too much right now. I just want to know of some other schools to look into.<br>
Can anyone tell me how people afford private schools? The sticker prices are all so high. Do they usually give out lots of aid? I’d love to go to one, but it seems so impractical…
That is an issue with UIUC Erin’s Dad. I think I will still apply, but the cost will be a big factor in deciding if I would attend there.
I love UChicago, but I always hear about how difficult the school is and it worries me that I may not graduate with a sufficient GPA to go to a good grad school. Is that a logical fear or should I not be worrying about that when looking at schools?</p>

<p>Lawrence is another to consider. In Wisconsin, they give decent merit aid.</p>

<p>When you say cost is an issue, you need to clarify. How much can your family afford to pay? Do you know if you would be eligible for need based aid (what is your family income)? You probably honestly need to start with this information, then figure out what schools you can afford. Most OOS publics won’t give you much if any need based aid, so those may not be a good fit.</p>

<p>Every school has a Net Price Calculator on their website (usually financial aid page) to help you see what your cost of attendance would be. Run some with your parents to see what they look like for the various schools mentioned here.</p>

<p>You really do need to think about costs early in the process.
Once you’ve identified some schools you like, the online Net Price Calculators can help estimate your costs. collegeabacus.com allows you to build estimates for 1-3 colleges at a time.</p>

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<p>Short of winning the lottery, usually by one or a combination of the following:

  1. Their families have high current incomes and don’t live beyond their means
  2. Their families start saving/investing enough for college when the kids are small
  3. They get admitted to selective colleges that cover all or most of demonstrated need (and can cover the balance from current income or savings)
  4. They get admitted to colleges that offer big merit scholarships to students with their qualifications (which means applying to schools where their qualifications are well above average)
  5. Their parents take out big private loans (not a good option in most cases)</p>

<p>You’d need to figure out which (if any) of the above scenarios best fit your situation. If you’re worried about this, then chances are #1 or #2 do not apply (your parents aren’t rich and they haven’t saved $200K for college). You want to avoid #5. So you need to figure out if you’d have a good shot at adequate need-based or merit aid from any private schools that you’d prefer over your in-state public schools.</p>

<p>Here is a list of colleges that claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need:
<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014&lt;/a&gt;
Almost all are private. Most are very selective, but some are quite a bit less so than UChicago. For your stats, Macalester, Grinnell, and Oberlin are midwestern colleges that might be within reach. However, none of these have engineering programs. Notre Dame, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and WashU all have engineering programs, but would be fairly big reaches for your stats. USC might work (if you’re willing to travel to CA.) Tulane, URochester, and Case Western are a bit less selective (but also cover less of students’ average demonstrated need.)</p>

<p>The Kiplinger’s “best value” rankings show merit aid averages at ~200 private universities and LACs.
<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php&lt;/a&gt;
Private schools that offer enough merit aid to make them competitive with Michigan or Michigan State for price won’t necessarily be more desirable in other respects.</p>

<p>It should be noted that the University of Michigan’s Physics department (ranked among the top 10 or 15 departments in the nation) is extremely undergraduate focused. The Physics student to faculty ratio is under 4:1 and the labs and research available to undergraduate students is impressive. </p>

<p>My family income I believe is around 80k, but this is only my mom. I am unsure about my dad because I do not live with him. I know any instate tuition shouldn’t be a problem, however, I was talking to my mom and she was unsure whether UIUC was affordable or not. So I’d say somewhere like UIUC would be at the top of my price range unless the school offers good merit aid.
I am aware of UMich’s great physics program. I am trying to look elsewhere though because I am unsure whether I will get in or not.</p>

<p>How is Penn State’s, Purdue’s, and the University of Minnesota’s physics programs and do they give decent aid?</p>

<p>The Big Ten schools tend to be very strong in both Engineering and Physics.</p>

<p>UW-Madison is top-20 in both. </p>

<p>But your best state school bets are going to be schools in Michigan. U of Mich is outstanding, of course, and MSU is pretty solid. </p>

<p>Echoing another poster, you might also look into LACs and private universities that offer strong fin aid. (Though LACs do not usually offer Engineering, they do tend to offer Bio, Chem, Physics, etc.)</p>

<p>Those schools don’t give good aid to a Michigan student. You can look at the Midwest Student Exchange. <a href=“Institutions | Midwest Student Exchange Program”>Institutions | Midwest Student Exchange Program;

<p>Like some other posters, I’m thinking UMich is your best bet for excellence and affordability. The weakness I see in your app there is your ACT of 30. Could you break that down for us, please? Are you giving any consideration to taking it again?</p>

<p>It really is time to have The Talk with your parents about what they can provide you. The schools won’t give a toot whether one or both parents doesn’t want to contribute their share to the EFC (Expected Family Contribution). There will be an EFC and somebody is going to have to pay it.</p>

<p>Because your parents are divorced there will be some resistance to having this conversation and exposing to each other their assets and income. This can open up a whole can of worms, but it has to be done because they will each have to fill out the federal and school financial aid forms in December whether they want to or not. Getting that ball rolling now will give them time to adjust to the idea and give you a chance to create a list that is realistic. </p>

<p>Here’s what you need to know: if the EFC at a particular school shows that your family will have to pay 20K/yr the first year and your parents only want to pay 12K between them, YOU are going to have to make up that 8K; chances are the EFC included all the loans you can take out, $5500, so you cannot borrow the 8K. You have to decide if there’s a way to pay the 8K (don’t ignore inflation) each year from savings, work, inheritance, whatever. If there is not a way to pay that 8K, all of it, you cannot go to that school. It’s that simple. </p>

<p>That’s why you need to have The Talk now. You need to find the 100% meets need schools and the merit schools that won’t leave you with a large gap that you cannot pay. You’ve got to have that hard number from your parents of what they will promise you each year and the EFC for each school to know if you should have that school on your list.</p>

<p>English - 28
Math - 29
Reading - 30
Science - 32
I wasn’t planning on taking it again, but I might be able to improve it if I did some studying (I hardly did any studying). I don’t think taking any classes for practice would be an option for me due to how expensive they are though. Isn’t a 30 the median ACT score at UMich? Is their median still not giving me that great of a chance at getting in?</p>

<p>I think I will sit down with both my parents and figure out what we can afford now. Unfortunately I’ll have to try to motivate them to look into it because they are not as motivated as me about college.</p>

<p>That’s good for you to know going into the conversation with them. This is a chance for you show them that you’re not just their child anymore, that you have a life that is going to go on into adulthood even though they’re divorced. This child maturation process is familiar to humans as long as there has been a nuclear family, but divorce does often complicate the process. You be the one to bring up the subject with them separately, talk to each about the financial aid info you’ll need (W-2 forms, latest tax returns, info on savings, checking, and investments, home equity, home value, etc.), ask them to gather their papers, and then ask your dad for an evening when you can come by and pick up copies of the information you need. Then set up a time to sit down with your mom and plug her info into the computer. After you get you mom’s info in, go to your room and add in your dad’s info. You can in this way keep the one parent’s info separate from the other’s, at least temporarily. They may some day appreciate the mature and thoughtful way you handled this uncomfortable business and kept your plans moving forward–something they want to happen.</p>

<p>As for the ACT, if you want to get into the physics department you’re going to need a higher math (and science) score, at least. I know what UMich’s average ACT is, but the admissions officers will know how tough the physics program is at UMich, that it accepts very few students because of this (the reason they have a 4 to 1 ratio :D) , and they will not want to allow you admission only to find out you cannot keep up. If you can get that GPA up to 3.9 that too will help.</p>

<p>How many APs do you have, and are any of them in chem and physics and calc? any SATIIs back yet?</p>

<p>In addition to @tk21769‌’s good advice about need-based financial aid, allow me to suggest some non-Michigan schools that will offer you significant MERIT aid: see the Financial Aid button in the column on the left of this page. Click it. Check out the threads at the top of that page about automatic full tuition scholarships.</p>

<p>Notice, for instance, that the University of Alabama would offer you an automatic admission and tuition scholarship, leaving you with residual costs of about 13K/yr. With 5500 in loans, some year-round work, and help from mom and dad, you may be able to swing that. UAlabama is not UMich, but it is on a par with MSU certainly and it has some new STEM facilities and a lot else going for it. Alabama itself has a lot of aerospace engineering industry and NASA has its facility in Huntsville. Check it out.</p>

<p>And check out the other threads for competitive full tuition scholarships. That’s where that higher ACT is going to pay off. Remember this is only in addition to the opportunities that tk mentions.</p>