<p>Actually, at the undergraduate level it looks like Yale’s course offerings are quite similar to Caltech’s. However, in science education research is very important; after all, it’s good to know what you might be doing in graduate school (and beyond) ahead of time so you’ll know if you even want to continue doing research. For physics in particular, one course that may be of interest to you is [Ph</a> 11](<a href=“http://pr.caltech.edu/catalog/courses/listing/ph.html"]Ph”>http://pr.caltech.edu/catalog/courses/listing/ph.html). </p>
<p>You noted that you don’t know about Yale’s offerings in terms of research. I don’t either, but I’d be willing to bet that at either school you’d be able to find research during the year. However, that is something you should look into: perhaps you could e-mail a faculty member at Yale or something.</p>
<p>Now I don’t know much about Biology or most of the engineering majors, but Applied Physics at Caltech is getting exciting: next term (this coming fall) the Kavli Nanoscience Institute lab opens. It’ll be a lab with huge capabilities and a focus on nanophotonics and nanobiotechnology (if you don’t have a solid grasp on what those are, don’t sweat it. I didn’t either until last year). With this new, awesome lab space available, I’m pretty sure that it’ll be even easier to get research in applied physics than it has been in the past. </p>
<p>Anyway, I wouldn’t decide on any one school until after visiting their respective prefrosh weekends. I’m glad you’re planning to visit both schools; don’t forget to keep an open mind (after all, you’re spending the weekends trying to get to know more about each school), and good luck with your decision.</p>