Im looking to double major In Physics and Biochemistry. Ive looked at, and love, most NESCAC schools but they are a little small, preferably Im looking for somewhere 4k-10k kids but both these numbers are flexible. Im also a bit concerned about the social scene at some of these smaller colleges, I like to go to parties and go out with my friends and some of these colleges get a bad rep for their social scene. I also am an avid skier so I would like to be near skiing but this isn’t necessary. I have pretty good grades but I’m not a shoe in for an Ivy or anything like that. In the future I would like to do something in the Engineering field so I will be applying to some engineering schools, this question is more to find some smaller schools that don’t offer engineering. If I were to attend a non-engineering school I would try to make up for it as best I can by getting some engineering type Internships before I graduate, because of this I would want a school that traditionally has good internships.
In summary:
-Physics and Biochemistry double major
-4k-10k kids
-NESCAC/IVY ish
-Good Social Scene
-Preferably near skiing
-Good internship program
I know this is weirdly specific but anything you can offer helps!
University of Vermont. Hits all of the marks. University of Rochester. Middlebury has its own mountain the snow bowl. But it’s small and ivy ish.
I bet Colorado university of mines has sskiing and your majors. Not sure if the social scene. University of New Hampshire has all of the marks but skiing isn’t as good as Vermont or Maine and a solid 90 minute drive University of Maine Orono has it all as well and access to my katahdin and saddleback. Plus the biggest New England ski resort sugar bush.
Just a few ideas. On the east coast
Why not stick with majoring in engineering if you want to work in engineering after college?
Yes, I’m wondering why that major combo, too.
Chemical Physics as a single major would be available to you at some colleges. Though this would naturally differ from a double major in these (or comparable) fields, the early trajectory would be similar, which would allow you to choose a firm path at a time that would be comfortable for you. 2-1-1-1 or 3-2 engineering programs could also be an option.
(Version of this post with links to the USC Ski & Snowboard Team, HMC “skiing SoCal” blog, and Stanford Ski Team was “flagged for moderation”… so feel free to search these up for yourself.)
It seems to me that you risk ruling out perfectly good options with the rigid double-major filter. The important thing for applying to graduate school is the coursework you’ve done, not whether your school awards you a single or double degree for it.
At any rate, USC is a particularly good place for making double majors happen, and they have many combinations of bio, chem, and physics. (Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Biology, Chemical Nanoscience… plus all of the single-discipline majors and related engineering fields.) It’s bigger than you have in mind but more personalized than a similarly sized public U. And hits your internship and social life benchmarks.
Harvey Mudd is the right size if you take the whole Consortium into account. Their rigorous core curriculum already covers a ton of Bio-Chem-Physics. They have Bio+Chem and Physics majors, and Engineering, and an IPS: Individual Program of Studies major that can be used to combine fields if a formal double-major isn’t possible. (Which it might be, but we’ve come to the edge of my knowledge on that.) Social scene is active but has its own vibe/character which you might or might not love.
And obviously you could get what you’re looking for at Stanford if you’re a very competitive applicant.
Top skiing states include Colorado, Utah, Vermont, Maine and New York, with states bordering these sometimes offering similar access.
I’m not sure what your interests are, but an alternative to a double major in Biochemistry and Physics would be a single major in Biophysics. That field is concerned more with scientific issues than engineering ones, though.
If you’re interested in engineering applications to biochemistry, then you might look at Biomolecular Engineering, which is often combined with Chemical Engineering departments and therefore named Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.