<p>I've been accepted to University of Illinois UC, Illinois Institute of Technology, Grinnell, and Reed. I love the idea of Reed and Grinnell. I feel that I would fit in best there and that I would be happiest at either of these two schools. However, the other two schools seem to be more geared towards physics and engineering. I'm not sure if I am interested in engineering or not, but I know I love math and physics. UIUC is probably out of the question simply because it will probably be the most expensive of the four colleges, and I probably would rather go to any of the other schools before it. IIT seems to have more opportunities in my interests than Grinnell or Reed, but my hippie-like, nature-loving personality points me to Grinnell and Reed. Would I have a significantly different academic experience at any of these schools? What would be the pros and cons of each? The costs of IIT, Grinnell, and Reed are all going to be close, IIT being maybe a few thousand dollars a year cheaper. Personally, I'm leaning towards Reed or maybe Grinnell, but it seems like as a student who loves physics and is maybe interested in engineering, I should go to IIT. Then again, it seems like with a great school like Grinnell or Reed, I couldn't go wrong.</p>
<p>You may want to go through the course catalogs on each school’s web site to compare the breadth and depth of courses in physics and other subjects that you are interested in.</p>
<p>Will you have completed college level math beyond the AP calculus BC level upon graduating high school? If so, you may want to pay particular attention to the breadth and depth of math offerings, since students two or more years advanced in math are likely to want to take graduate level math courses as undergraduates.</p>
<p>Reed does well in producing physics phd’s, and every physics major there will take part in at least one intensive research experience (unlike at bigger schools, where some luck or at least assertiveness is involved). Of these choice,s I would suggest Reed (plus you get a great liberal arts education to boot). </p>
<p>UIUC is also awesome for physics (one of top 10-15 in country), but probably better for grad school.</p>
<p>Grinnell all the way</p>