Physics Undergraduate College Search Advice

xraymancs
Wed, 23 Jan 2019 04:43:15 +0000

@tgrswmr - sorry about the delay, the semester just started and I am teaching the second semester of our quantum mechanics sequence with a revised text. More work for me in the short term, preparing lectures on new material but a welcome revision nonethless!

I agree with @ucbalumnus. The important courses are the ones listed. That being said, OSU and OU have perfectly good undergraduate physics programs. Most physics curricula are the same at the undergraduate level. The most important thing is to be in a program that fits your personality well. In that way, you will be able to get the most out of it.

Some students like a smaller program where they get more attention from faculty. Liberal Arts Colleges do this very well. Other students insist on being in a school with a graduate program which has opportunities to work on research with graduate students on funded projects. The big state universities do this well. This can also be done in programs which have small class sizes too if the university is one of the smaller private technical universities such as those in the AITU (http://theaitu.org) with a Ph.D. program in physics. Another advantage of a school with a Ph.D. program in physics is the availability of graduate courses that an advanced undeergraduate can take to get a head start on a graduate degree. The bottom line is the choice of an undergraduate program is very much a matter of fit and finances because graduate programs take students from all sorts of physics programs.

When prospective students come to visit me at Illinois Tech, I tell them exactly this. That they can get an excellent physics education in many places and they are visiting us to make sure that we are a good fit and that we are a viable financial choice for them. I don’t want students in my program who are struggling to pay the tuition, room and board. This can impact the student’s academics and eventually prospects of getting into graduate school.