@goldenbear2020
I am definitely going to apply those schools too!
@MadAstro: That’s a good score. Most of my recommendations for physics students on your level are on the thread that rayrick recommended. For astronomy, pay particular attention to those colleges with a major or minor in the field and an on-campus observatory.
Specifically, if your grades and other factors are commensurate with your SAT scores, these schools would offer you a range of options to research further:
Williams
Wesleyan
Swarthmore
Rice
Rensselaer
Haverford
Harvey Mudd
Hamilton
Cornell
Carleton
Amherst
Note that these are some of the most selective schools in the country, but on a statistical level, at least, admission to them can be slightly less competitive than for Caltech and MIT.
The following site shows colleges whose alumni earn the most PhDs per capita in physical sciences:
http://www.reed.edu/ir/phd.html
Not all of them are super selective.
4 (NM Institute) is public.
This metric isn’t necessarily the best indicator of all the very best schools, but it may help you identify a few very good possibilities you had not considered.
For a prospective physics major with a family income of $150K, some of the stronger state universities are worth a look (starting with UNC, of course). On the East coast, Maryland (College Park) may be one of the better public universities for physics quality. If you’re willing to travel farther, consider Illinois or Wisconsin. Berkeley and Michigan are very strong but are more selective and have higher OOS costs.
UNC-CH really is the school to beat for an upper middle income student in NC.
Any top100ish university will be good enough to get you into grad school: the physics undergrad majors have coordinated with the physics grad programs so that any physics major will give you enough to get you ready. The key variables for getting in to grad school (as noted above) will be GPA-GRE-Research experience. You can get in from a little LAC or a state university. That’s why picking the kind of environment that you are likely to shine in is so important.
As noted previously, check for sufficient junior/senior level physics course offerings. Some schools with very small physics departments may not offer all of the usual core physics offerings (intermediate mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical and thermal physics, intermediate/advanced lab) very frequently. At least every year is preferable. Every two years is the bare minimum to have one change to take the course during the two years after you complete the frosh/soph level physics and math courses. Less frequently may mean not being able to take the course at all.
Some physics departments may also offer elective junior/senior level physics courses.
@merc81 Thank you very much! Definitely should look into them.
However, does college TOTALLY neglect the writing score?
Because my COMPOSITE score is just 2110, which is pretty low for some competitive colleges.
(Math 800 CR 660 WR 650)
@tk21769 Yes, I am considering UNC-CH as well!
But my parents don’t really care if it’s in-state or out-state…
Thanks!
Many colleges consider the writing score. Others do not. Colgate I believe is an example of a private college that explicitly states they do not consider the writing score. Even as your full score stands, it is above average for all but less than three dozen schools in the entire country. Do you plan on retesting?
And then, of course, there’s the fact that the writing score goes poof in March with the SAT redesign. You could always take the new version and see how it goes. If your scores aren’t better than the ones you already have, just don’t send them to anybody.
I like @merc81’s list a lot. I’d add Grinnell and Reed to the LAC’s strong in physics list.
@merc81 I’ve already took the last OLD SAT format in this January, and waiting for the score to come out. (But the prospect is grim.)
So I am planning on taking ACT from now on, targeting for composite 34-36 range.
@merc81 I’ve took the last OLD SAT format test in this January and waiting for the score (but I seriously doubt that I did well…)
Since I cannot take the new SAT without any prep, I am planning to take the ACT from now on, targeting for 34-36.
@rayrick but my psat score tells that I won’t do that good on the new SAT 
Since you seem to want to go to a smaller, private college, some recommendations:
- Reed
- Grinell
- RPI
- Harvey Mudd
- Rice
- Carleton
of those Harvey Mudd will be the hardest to get into, RPI and Reed easiest.
Reed is one of the schools with the highest percentage of students who go on to get their PHD:
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-colleges-where-phds-get-their-start/
Also, you probably know this, don’t assume that because your score is above the “average” score admitted that you will get in. (For example, last year my D scored 1540 on CR+M and didn’t get into Rice, which has average SAT of 1470. You should research the acceptance rate for your particular major (or school), which may be more selective than the overall rate. For example Engineering is much harder to get into (thus the average SAT for Rice doesn’t reflect admission to their School of Engineering). CMU has an acceptance rate of 25% but only 5% for CS. I don’t know about physics, so you’d want to research that.
Carnegie Mellon’s Science School has an admissions rate of 20%. http://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/undergraduate-admission-statistics The OP’s test scores are very much in line with acceptances. I’d say it’s a reachy-match. My older son minored in physics there - and I think was happy enough with the program, but computer science is what he lives and breathes.
CMU would be a great choice as well.
Does that mean they’d be willing to pay double for an OOS school, even one that may be lower ranked (and not necessarily better in any measurable way) than UNC? Wisconsin’s OOS costs are nearly double UNC’s in-state costs. Michigan’s or Berkeley’s OOS costs would be an additional ~$15K higher than Wisconsin’s. Maryland’s, Delaware’s, or UIUC’s OOS costs would be lower than Wisconsin’s, but still much higher than UNC’s.
With a $150K family income, you should be able to get some need-based aid from the most selective private schools, but probably not enough to drive the net costs down to UNC (in state) levels. A big merit scholarship might result in a net cost competitive with (or even lower than) UNC’s … but you’ll probably get that only from a school that is much lower-ranked than UNC (or in a distant state, in an outlying area, or otherwise less desirable to many students than UNC).
You can estimate costs by running the online net price calculators for any school that interests you.
$150K is a good income but still not high enough to make most parents oblivious to private (or OOS public) college costs.
I tend to agree with @tk21769 that a big public OOS only makes sense over UNC-CH if they waive the OOS tuition or give lots of other aid (which won’t happen at UCB or Michigan, and probably not at Wisconsin either). If you want to get out of state, merit aid from a private, such as some of those recommended, might be a better option.
^ Correction: It appears Maryland’s, Delaware’s, or UIUC’s OOS costs would be lower than Michigan’s, but still higher than Wisconsin’s (and much higher than UNC’s in-state costs).
http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php