Comparison of Physics Departments

[Collatz]

Main Question or Discussion Point

Hi, so I have a question that has been plaguing me for the longest..

I am a high school senior and I hope to Major in Physic when I enter college, yet I am torn between two schools.

Georgia Institute of Technology vs. Jackson State University

Now, I can be pretty sure of the obvious choice in this situation from what most of my friends tell me, and from what Im reading. Yet I still want other opinions. It just seems to make things hard for me when many different schools claim that they send undergrad physics students to top grad schools like MIT, Stanford, etc.

So the question. Which Physics department can be seen as the best between the two? And if one can't objectively be seen as the best, what are the strong points of each?

 

[rms344]

i'd say tech has the better reputation just from the fact that i've heard good things about it and know nothing of jackson state
not the most informed comparison but i suppose it's a decent metric

 

[Vanadium 50]

I think you should take a good look at the web sites:

Jackson State's site says their priority is "becoming the definitive source of African Americans who hold B.S. degrees in geosciences for the country" and goes on to talk about how many TV weathermen they produce. How high a priority do you think physics is there?

Jackson State brags that they send students to Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech does not brag that they send students to Jackson State.

 

[Alex.UPitt]

I've become an expert on grad schools over the past year -- I can tell you quite a bit about Georgia Tech, I didn't even know Jackson State had a Ph.D. program. You might have a perfectly good experience at Jackson State -- but when you're applying for grad schools, I suspect that the admissions committees will not have hear of it, either. That doesn't mean they won't accept you -- but it does mean that if get good grades, they won't matter (they'll use your GRE marks instead), and if you get poor grades, you'll be automatically eliminated. Finding research opportunities at Jackson State will be more difficult, also.

In short, Georgia Tech is probably the better choice -- but don't go somewhere that will make you miserable. If you're miserable then you'll do poor work, and it won't matter where you went to school!