<p>This has been bothering me a lot-- i’m aiming to get into the top graduate schools for a PhD in physics or math (and when i say ‘top’ I mean the #1 grad schools in that department) am i at a serious disadvantage for not being in an ivy league school? Or a higher ranked school for that matter?</p>
<p>1) Your undergrad school doesn’t make a huge difference when it comes to acceptance into one of the top PhD programs. As long as you go to a well-regarded tier 1 university, then you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>2) UT Austin has some of the most respected math and physics departments in the nation. US News ranks UT the #14 school for both math and physics. That’s better than Northwestern, Duke, UPenn and Brown.</p>
<p>UT Austin have one of the most rigorous math and physics courses from any school in the Austin/DFW/Houston area. The coursework are not a walk in the park and many students spend countless hours just struggling to complete their problem sets. For many classes, doing the homework is not enough. You literally have to know the concepts behind the solutions to be able to score well in the exams. Thus, in terms of academic rigor, IMHO you will be well prepared, if you do well at UT, you will excel at any school, IVY or non-IVY.</p>