My son is interested in majoring in Physics at UMass Amherst and specifically wants the Commonwealth honors college. I know that you can’t apply unless you are already enrolled, so just checking to see if his stats fall in line. Thank you!
MA student, Private Catholic High school, ski racer, rower.
Budget is 50k or under
Planning for Physics Major
3.8 UW GPA
Not sure class rank
1490 SAT- is taking again this weekend
All honors fresh/soph, ALL AP’s junior/Senior yr.
AP Lit/Lang
AP Pre-Calc, AP stats, AP calc B/C
AP Physics/AP Physics C
AP Euro, APush
5 years of Chinese- will be in AP Chinese this year.
5 AP tests all 4’s and 5’s. 5’s in AP Physics, AP pre-calc.
Varsity crew team member, 8 total seasons, medals in local races, NEIRAs, captain.
USSS Tri-state ski racer, high school ski racer, captain, accomplished in sport- post season placements and accolades.
possibly interested in racing for UMass or joining crew- not sure.
Full-time summer job as lifeguard for three summers, as well as working private pool parties for parents in town.
NHS member
Leadership and retreats through High School
I hope I included- everything. Feel free to ask any questions:)
Are you a Mass resident ? I know school is there but do you reside there too?
I suspect he gets in and I wouldn’t bother with another SAT if that specific school is the goal. He is this weekend and can but with a 1490 - no pressure - is the point. He’s good - IMHO.
My kids with higher gpa and test score did not get into UMASS honors in spite of getting the highest merit amount, it’s very competitive (the only other honors they didn’t get into was Rutgers).
The good news is - if you don’t get in upfront, you can later:
Note that the number and quality of applications for first-year admission affect the selectivity of the Commonwealth Honors College review process. If you are not admitted as an incoming first-year student, you may apply online as a current UMass Amherst student after you have completed one full-time semester with 12 or more graded credits at UMass Amherst.
His goal is to go to undergrad for under 50K a year AND to a college that has a great physics dept. When you search, it’s mostly IVY and top 20, with Umass Amherst and StonyBrook that stand out. He wants a school with green spaces (not a fan of the city at all,) a fun college town and wants to be no more than 3-4 hours from home. We will qualify for zero financial aid and he has a sister that will go to Med school after undergrad, so we are trying to not break the bank.
The honors experience would be great because it would make a large school smaller, the dorms would be better, smaller classes, etc…
The 3-4 hours is an issue - or U of Arizona would be perfect…it’s a top physics school - but let’s be honest - many many many schools will have great physics departments. I wouldn’t worry about a rank. Not sure which ranking you used - there’s many. And they share different things. And with stats like his, you can find solid programs as low as $20K - but - not 4-5 hours. Of course, UMASS gives you the in state tuition advantage.
Does he have a special area - like astro or what not?
What’s his after college thought? Grad school? Work?
If you look at the top PHD feeder list per capita (meaning not the total # but total # vs. school size), you might look at (taken from top 50):
RPI - #10 per capita. Has merit aid.
Juniata - you’ll likely crush $50K with merit - check for distance
Allegheny - check for distance
SUNY Geneseo - will crush $$ - check for distance
Brandeis - likely doesn’t hit $ wise.
Not saying not to go to UMASS - a fine school - but there will be other affordable options as well and if you could go further, even more (and at low cost).
I mention those because while he might not be pursuing a PhD, they are producing grads that are able to.
Best of luck - I hope he gets into UMASS Honors…but even if not, I’m sure he can have a great experience regardless - and as a bonus, he’s going to eat well!! (tops in food).
Wow. Thank you for your insight! UMass seems to tick all the boxes, but I will look into them! Agree about the food too lol!
I just basically Google searched and used Niche, Reddit, etc. He doesn’t have any specialty he’s interested in, I think he can explore that during undergrad?
UMASS is a big public. If he’s into that, great. I don’t know that it’s known for physics - but it doesn’t matter. For most, any school is going to be more than enough!!!
The budget is important - he could go for $20K or $30K or $40K or $50K.
But with geographic limitations come choice limitations.
I think he’s a shoo in for UMASS and will cross my fingers on Honors.