<p>Hi there!</p>
<p>I'm going to apply for Harvard and MIT. I would like to develop my passion studying physics. Please list me about 10 colleges which would satisfy my requirement so I can get into them if I don't get into Harvard and MIT. I think of Princeton, Caltech, Yale, Columbia but I'm not sure if they provide high level of physics.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance for replies.</p>
<p>Berkeley could be a good backup, esp. if you’re in-state.</p>
<p>You should certainly add UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, University of Illinois, and if you’re into Astronomical Physics and Astronomy, add Texas, Hopkins and Penn State, plus maybe Chicago.</p>
<p>Not sure why Yale and Columbia are on your short list. Physics requires an enormous amount of capital, so the list of top universities is not long.</p>
<p>Also, be aware that even in larger research Universities, the number of students graduating each year in Physics is usually under 75, as compared to over 500 in Bio+BioChem, and perhaps 1500 in Business or Econ. That’s why it’s tough to fund first class facilities in this not-that-popular major.</p>
<p>Hmm. I’m from Poland and I want to emigrate beacuse I love physics and here physicists mean nothing and income is very poor.</p>
<p>Do you mean that USA is not good place for physics passionate to develop?</p>
<p>No, the US is a fine place to pursue Physics. Just understand that there aren’t a lot of well equipped universities for Physics research, since it requires hundreds of millions of dollars to set up – that’s why you will find top 10 universities like Yale and Columbia that haven’t invested as much in Physics as as they have in other areas.</p>
<p>Princeton and Caltech are two of the finest places in the world to study physics. </p>
<p>The UCs are also wonderful, but I see that you are looking for financial aid. That makes the UCs unaffordable for you, as you are an international student. UC only offers need-based aid to in-state students, and offers very little merit aid. </p>
<p>Concentrate first on finding schools which will be affordable…and then look at those to find physics departments that offer undergrad research opportunities.</p>
<p>The NRC periodically ranks PhD programs and the most recent ranking came out this past year. While DunninLA is correct in saying that physics is smaller than bio, business, econ, etc., there are still many universities are have physics programs that are funded well enough to support PhD programs. And while you can get a good undergraduate physics education at schools that do not support PhD students, there will be a greater variety of undergrad research opportunities at those that do. Here are the top 40 physics PhD programs according to the NRC. This represents about a quarter of the schools that were evaluated.</p>
<p>HARVARD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
YALE UNIVERSITY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
PURDUE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY
BOSTON COLLEGE
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
DUKE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES</p>
<p>Cornell clearly.</p>