Apply to Good Undergrad Schools for Fall 2005: Colorado Univ, UT-Austin, Tulsa

[Zach_C]

I am applying to schools for the fall 2005 semester. I am having difficulties finding the ones I would like to apply to. I am looking at Colorado University in Boulder, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Tulsa. I have mixed feelings of Tulsa because it is my home town. I really want to leave. Aside from its location I really like it. It hosts several science contests and has a monthly physics meetings which I attend. I would love to go to CU in Boulder though. The scenery is good and they have a very nice Physics department from what I've seen.

My plans for the future are to get a Bachelors in Physics and Computer Science and then a Doctorates in Physics. I would like to use my four year as a steeping stone to Berkeley though. Also my grades in High School are mediocre. I have a 3.6666667 GPA and a 27 on the ACT. Class rank is in the top 25% but I can't recall exactly where. Any suggestions on good schools, knowing that I am not MIT material.

 

[edtman]

consider CU

I'm a junior engineering physics major at CU-Boulder and so far I'm very satisfied with the quality of education I'm receiving. I don't think the undergraduate program is ranked nationally but don't let that discourage you. The graduate optics and atomic physics programs are ranked top in the nation and this definitely has a positive influence on the undergraduate program. The faculty is top notch and includes a nobel laureate (carl wieman) who was just named professor of the year by the carnegie institution who is concentrating on undergraduate education. There are many research oppurtunities available to undergrads (aside from the university , "real" science is being done at the national labs in boulder) who are interested; you just have to keep your GPA up and apply. For example, last year I landed a paid undergraduate research position with an organization that is currently operating 3 NASA satellite missions and undergrads get to sit on console and command the spacecraft daily. It's not necesarrily the field I'd like to go into (I'm more interested in condensed matter/applied physics) but it's very interesting and it beats working at subway.
And finally, the scenery...AS someone who loves to hike, camp, bike, ski; it's very nice to be able to drive 30 minutes and be surrounded by 13,000 foot peaks. It makes studying your a$$ most of the time worthwhile.

 

[Zach_C]

To provide an update:

I have decided on CU-Boulder. The online update said I have been accepted and that an offer of admission has been sent out. The ranking of 2nd in atomic physics was amazing, above Stanford and only below MIT. If you read this edtman how are scholarships there. Is it fairly easy to knock off some out of state tuition with a high GPA?

 

[Simfish]

Ah yes - CU -Boulder has even attracted top researchers in a new field of physics - condensed matter physics. It has Nobel laureates Eric COrnell and Carl E. Wiemann as well as Deborah Jin.

 

[edtman]

Congratulations on your acceptance! You're going to love Boulder and the program. Grants and scholarships are available but don't expect a full ride. I have a 3.9 GPA and am no longer a dependent of my parents and I'm still expected to pay some in-state tuition. Then again I don't volunteer or do any of the other extra curricular community type stuff the scholarship committees like. Luckily the VA is picking up the rest of the tab because I did a 5 yr stint in the air force. Don't be discouraged if you don't get any big scholaships right away. They save the bigger ones for juniors and seniors.