Looking to be Matched to a list of Reach, Match and Safety schools
Demographics (location, residency, HS type, legacy, US or Int’l, gender, etc)
Male, Indian origin living outside India.
Not US citizen / resident
Intended Major(s) - Physics / Astrophysics - open to dual with Engineering / Comp Science
UW GPA, Rank, and Test Scores (also weighted GPA for systems like UC/CSU)
Test scores: ACT - 36
Grades - consistently in the top 2-5% of the class. Final GPA likely to be 4
Awards
Gold in Physics and Maths Olympiad organised by UK (only one from the school to win Gold in both this year)
Extracurriculars - (keeping things vague here)
summer course in Advance collegiate level Math & EPSc from a US college last yr - GPA 4
Planning for a research program summer experience this year. Have some offers at hand.
Volunteering for a health focussed organisation (motivation being I suffered from the same health issue as a child)
Advanced diving certified
Have significant experience and expertise in Indian classical music / part of various Western choirs
Certified proficiency in “Intermediate level” of German
Essays/LORs/Other - Pretty good (would rate myself an 8/10)
Cost Constraints / Budget - None
Schools including Safety, Match, Reach (include ED/EA when applicable) - This is where I don’t know where to start!
So there are many different types of US schools with strong Physics departments, so it would help to narrow things down a bit.
First, are you looking for a big classic American research university with major sporting events and such? Small, academic-focused, undergrad-focused college (these can often be very good for Physics undergrad)? Medium-sized research university that fits in between? Two of these but not all three?
Second, most colleges with Physics will also have CS, but not necessarily Engineering, and/or it can be tough to combine Physics and Engineering. So how important is it to you that Engineering be an option?
Finally, any preferences in terms of campus, setting, region? Some campuses feel older (often fake old, given that the US is a new country by world standards), some more modern, some are in cities, some suburbs, some in what I would call semi-urban areas, some are in what are called college towns, some small towns in rural areas, some VERY small towns in rural areas . . . . People sometimes care about climate, proximity to airports, or so on.
Okay with any size of college - but looking for UG research opptys and places where students are not in massive cohort sizes for Physics major. Looking to avoid heavy core curriculum!
Engineering is only optional. Physics is my passion.
Don’t care so much about setting… as long as it’s close (max 1-2 hours away) from a major airport.
I have some colleges in mind - favouring Cornell, Harvey Mudd, Brown
No idea how they match my profile
Those were some very good suggestions for smaller colleges strong in Physics, although many of them are going to be on the reachy side. Notable exceptions would be Lawrence, and Reed (although Reed is a very specific sort of experience not all people love).
Another less difficult admit I would suggest based on your answers is the University of Rochester. They have a very strong Physics department but it is only a medium-sized school, and they have a very loose curriculum plan. Also have CS and Engineering as options. The airport, ROC, is actually pretty well connected:
You might also consider Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Again not an overly large college, not an overly burdensome curriculum structure, also strong in CS and Engineering if desired. Albany’s airport, ALB, is also decently connected:
Yet another to consider would be Rochester Institute of Technology, same sort of virtues, back in Rochester. It is a bit of an odd coincidence all these colleges are in Upstate New York, two in the same city, but it just happens to be a good area for this sort of thing.
Back in smaller colleges, you might check out Franklin & Marshall as well. They actually have Astrophysics as a major in addition to General Physics, which is a bit unusual for a smaller college (although I believe Williams and some others do as well). About 1.5 hours from PHL, and 35 minutes from Harrisburg’s airport, HIA (convenient if it goes where you want at least):
Congratulations on the strong profile you have developed!
As physics is your true love, I focused on schools that ended up having a number of alumni who went on to earn their PhD in physics, and then looked at schools where you would be likely to have a smaller cohort of physics majors. Some schools (like Lawrence and U. of Rochester) have already been mentioned, but I didn’t include as they had already been mentioned (though not exclusively….I looked up Lawrence’s distance from major airports…depending on how you’re defining major).
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Colorado School of Mines (about 90m from the Denver airport)
Gustavus Adolphus (MN): located about an hour from the Minneapolis airport
Lawrence (WI): located about 1h40m from the Milwaukee airport or 2h40m from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
Likely (60-79%)
St. Olaf (MN): located less than an hour from the Minneapolis airport and can cross-register at Carleton.
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Brandeis (MA): Located in the Boston area. I heard it might be starting its own engineering program, but it also is part of a consortium with Boston College, Boston U., and Tufts, so you could take classes at the other schools as well.
Oberlin (OH): Located about 30 minutes from the Cleveland airport
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Case Western (OH)…but you will need to show a lot of demonstrated interest. Located in Cleveland. Can also cross-register for classes with local colleges.
Vassar (NY): Located 1.5-2 hours from New York City’s 3 major international airports
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Carleton (MN), located less than an hour from the Minneapolis airport and can cross-register with St. Olaf
Johns Hopkins (MD), located in Baltimore and can also cross-register for classes with local colleges.
Rice (TX), located in Houston
Swarthmore or Haverford (PA )…both are part of the same consortium just outside of Philadelphia. Can also take classes at Bryn Mawr (women’s college)
U. of Chicago (IL)
Washington U. (MO), located in St. Louis
If you have a school that is a clear first choice and you don’t care about seeing offers from multiple schools, if you apply Early Decision (ED), it is likely to improve your chances for admission by at least one category.
If those Ivy League colleges/top tier colleges is what interests you that is great! Being some of the top colleges in the country, they will, of course, also have some of the top physics programs.
Earning a gold in two Olympiads is wonderful and I’m sure these colleges will be impressed with having such recognizable awards. Congratulations!
Volunteering, language, and creative (music) are extracurriculars that these top tier colleges somewhat expect. Again your ACT, grades, and gpa is what they would like to see.
I think you have a good chance at some of these colleges but it would help if you go more in depth with your extracurriculars and awards.
It’s easier to determine if you are a competitive applicant if there are 3-5 awards and 5-10 extracurricular I can see.
Great job you have an amazing application!
Are you currently in the UK? If you could share your preference on where you would like to go to college (US, UK, India, etc.) it could help narrow down the lists.
My D24 has similar stats and also aspires to major in physics, albeit she also wants to study philosophy and thus is seeking to strike a balance between STEM and humanities. Of note, she was not interested in west coast schools.
Based on her search, the following reaches with smaller class size might be of interest to you: Brown, Carleton, UChicago, Harvard, Northwestern, Princeton, Swarthmore, Vassar, Washington U (St. Louis),Yale
In high school she has been fortunate to participate in truly amazing programs at Fermilab (America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory). You may find their undergraduate co-op program of interest: Undergraduate Cooperative Education Program | Internships
Physics courses can serve as service courses for engineering majors. For this reason, colleges without large engineering programs may offer more engaging classroom experiences and research opportunities for physics majors.
That would only apply to lower level physics courses, not upper level courses and undergraduate research in physics.
Physics departments also have to provide service courses for biology majors and premeds, although these are typically less calculus or no calculus versions separate from the courses for physics majors. But they can take instructional resources in competition with courses for physics majors in small departments.
With his grades and test scores I think the OP would almost certainly get into Case Western if he demonstrates interest and indicates he would likely attend. The risk with Case, is they might defer him and ask that he apply ED II because the AO thinks he is using them as a safety.
You do not, however, provide info about your course load, specifically AP or IB STEM classes. Given your interests, ACT score and GPA, I’d bet you are taking advanced Calc, Physics, Chem, etc.; is this correct? If so, how have you scored on AP exams?
Have you considered Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh? It is ranked higher than many of the schools suggested here, it is relatively small (~7,000 students), and if you want to branch out into engineering it is very strong there. In fact, CMU is highly ranked in a wide array of fields ranging from Comp Sci and Engieering, to Musical Theater and Industrial Design. It is like Case, except it ranks higher in everything, is far more prestigious, and it has amazing resources.
CMU would be a reach (it is for everyone), but with your grades and test scores you are definitely competitive.
