Choosing a College for a Bachelor's in Physics: NC State vs. UNC Chapel Hill

[Kalebh03]

I need help in deciding on a college to attend for a bachelor's in physics.

I live in North Carolina, and I got accepted into the following schools:

Appalachian State University
Georgia Tech
NC State
The Ohio State University
Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland College Park
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Wisconsin Madison
UNC Charlotte
and I'm waiting to here back from ESU.

I was kind of stupid during my application process and thought that I would not get into a single school, and so I applied to as many as I could, and this cost me time to apply for scholarships, which is why I most likely will not attend any out of state schools, which narrows my list down to

NC State
Appalachian State University
UNC Charlotte
UNC Chapel HIll

I also got a $13,500 and $4000 scholarship from Ohio State, but as an out of state student, the price would still be higher than an in state school with no financial aid.

For my in state schools, I believe NC State and UNC Chapel Hill would be the best for physics because they are both larger and have more rigorous programs and research opportunities, so my dilemma is: which do I chose and why?

More Info:

I will be getting interviewed at NC State this weekend as a finalist for the Goodnight Scholars Scholarship, and if I receive this scholarship, I will likely go to NC State just because it will be so much cheaper, but I have heard that Chapel Hill has more funding for research, and I'm not sure how available research is for undergraduates at either school. I've also heard that NC State's physics courses are much easier than UNC because they are at a lower level.

Something I've heard is that it shouldn't really matter what undergrad school you go to, but it does matter what graduate school you go to.

Sorry if this is kind of scattered, so is my brain right now.

 

[TeethWhitener]

BOO NC STATE!

--from a lifelong Tar Heel ;) (Thank god you didn't say Dook!)

But seriously, they're both great schools with plenty of research opportunities for undergrads. Undergrad is really what you make of it: it's possible to blossom at a mediocre school and it's possible to wilt at MIT. Best of luck.

 

[Kalebh03]

BOO NC STATE!

--from a lifelong Tar Heel ;) (Thank god you didn't say Dook!)

But seriously, they're both great schools with plenty of research opportunities for undergrads. Undergrad is really what you make of it: it's possible to blossom at a mediocre school and it's possible to wilt at MIT. Best of luck.

Thank you for the reply and love the enthusiasm for your school. Do you know any information that could be compared between the two? Like would there be any outstanding difference between the programs? And, what was your time at UNC like?

Also, yeah no Duke, but I've heard they're actually pretty great physics-wise. I'm in early college, and I'll be graduating with an A.S and an A.A degree and my high school diploma, and they don't accept any community college credits.

 

[TeethWhitener]

Do you know any information that could be compared between the two? Like would there be any outstanding difference between the programs?

I doubt it. Focus on doing well in your studies and get some research and teaching experience if you can and you should come out of school with a pretty competitive resume regardless of which school you choose.

And, what was your time at UNC like?

It was great. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot and was able to get into a good grad program. Full disclosure: my sister and stepfather both went to NCSU and did quite well also.

Also, yeah no Duke, but I've heard they're actually pretty great physics-wise.

Yeah Duke’s great (if you can afford it). I have a coworker who did his grad work at Duke in engineering and several high school friends who also ended up there doing a variety of things.

 

[WCL]

I cannot comment on the other schools, but NC State is a fine, classic, school for undergraduate physics. I'm not entirely sure who is saying the classes are at a lower level; they seem to be quite standard, comparing with my personal experience and the literature, teaching from the standard textbooks you would expect undergraduate physics to be taught with. I will comment that this department has a lack of diverse options for physics electives (no problem with the standard courses though). It may theoretically be possible, but they don't seem to be offered regularly. The SPS room used to be very active with students basically camping out there, but COVID has put a damper on things. TeethWhitener mentioned obtaining some teaching experience; I am not too familiar with the Learning Assistant program, but it is either on hiatus or severely reduced at the moment, I think.

It's difficult to know funding statuses, but as an undergraduate, that generally shouldn't be an issue, since these are both fully-fledged departments in research-based institutions, so you should be able to find research experiences in active research groups in either. At worst, you can even branch out into other departments such as engineering, materials science, or chemistry. I definitely know there are undergraduates performing research at NCSU, and they hold annual undergraduate research symposiums (probably like every other place). Some parts of the department are more active than others, especially with undergrads; you can probably check the professors' websites to see how many undergrads they currently have in groups. You shouldn't think too hard about specific research topics yet, but off the top of my head, the largest groups/clusters are probably the condensed matter, biophysics, astrophysics, and nuclear physics groups, so there would probably be the most opportunities for undergraduates there. You probably won't start research for at least a year, possibly more though, so you have plenty of time to explore.

If you're from NC, you probably have some idea of the cities, but living in Raleigh is a lot nicer than Chapel Hill in my opinion if you want more than a college town. Theoretically, Chapel Hill is part of the Triangle, but it's not a trek you would make all the time, whereas if you live in Raleigh, you'll have access to Greenways and everything else that a real, medium-sized city would have to offer without having to travel (~40 minutes) for it.