Prestige of Undergraduate College and Grad School Admission

gsmith

I am a rising senior in a well regarded Pittsburgh area public school. When I enter college next year I will be majoring in Physics with a minor

(possible double major) in Computer Science. I would like to eventually be involved in research at a major institution and plan to get my PhD in

Physics. Though I am applying to big-time schools such as Chicago, Cornell, etc. and think that I have a fairly good chance of getting in, the

funds to send me to such places are in doubt. I have been accepted to the University of Pittsburgh (honors college) and Case Western, both

with sizable merit scholarships, these are what I consider to be my backups. I am aware that both of these school's physics departments are

good, but not phenomenal. My question is, if my top tier schools don't work out for me, would high-level grad schools look down on an

applicant from one of these schools or someplace similar? Would being affiliated with a 2nd or 3rd tier undergraduate program hold me back

moving froward in my physics career?

ZombieFeynman

No, going to a school like Pitt or Case Western should close no doors to you later down the line.

There are no set tiers in graduate school. Some programs excel in areas where others do not. Some programs, like MIT or Princeton (etc), excel in many areas. Some smaller programs excel in a more narrow subset of areas. There are people doing excellent research at essentially ALL R1 universities. There are always gems in the rough.

jtbell

When I was a grad student at U of Michigan, my apartment-mate for most of that time was another physics grad student, who did his undergrad at Pitt. After a postdoc or two he ended up with a research position at the Livermore national laboratory, and was doing well the last time I heard from him which was admittedly several years ago.

I myself went to a small liberal-arts college in Ohio, with not nearly the same reputation as Pitt or CWRU, and I got into Michigan, which was the most "prestigious" school that I applied to for grad school.

I'll leave it to you to decide whether Michigan is "high-level" enough for your taste. I once had a T-shirt with a knock-off of the Harvard seal and the slogan "Harvard: The Michigan of the East".

gsmith

Thank you, tremendously reassuring and appreciated advice.

bcrowell

I think you're asking the wrong question. The question isn't whether you'll be excluded from grad school because you went to a public school. The question is whether the quality of the education you get at Pitt would be the same as the quality of what you got at Chicago. The answer is ... maybe, maybe not. It depends on a lot of factors. People sometimes go to fancy schools and get a terrible education, or the other way around. But at a lower-tier school there may also be a sort of glass ceiling limiting how good your education can be. I went to Berkeley undergrad, and expect my kids to go to a UC, so I'm not biased against state schools. But you should consider whether it's worthwhile to go to Chicago or Cornell if you get in there, and finance it with subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loans. At this stage, you shouldn't be making firm decisions, since you don't yet know what kind of deal Chicago or Cornell would offer you if you got in. Have you used the calculators on their web sites to figure out your expected family contribution? (Even that is just an estimate.)

gsmith

Thank you for your response.

I certainly have made no firm decisions yet. When I looked at my expected family contributions the results were maybe/maybe not.

Also, under what circumstances would you consider it to be not worth it to go to Chicago or Cornell besides the financial aspect?

bcrowell

If I'm understanding you correctly, that means that your family might or might not be able to give you this education without your having to take out loans. I'm not saying you should take out loans, but it's an option you should consider carefully.

For many students, the limiting factor in the quality of their education is the student, not the school. In that situation, a more expensive school is a waste of money.

gsmith

Thanks for the advice bcrowell, much appreciated.

Aero51

Don't take those rankings seriously. If you want to go to grad school look at a professors specific research projects. If you find one that you like try to establish a relationship with the professor and visit his/her lab. When you visit take time to observe the environment, atmosphere. I made the mistake of appling to schools without visiting them - don't do it.