Fall Back Schools Near Los Angelos CA?

[bjnartowt]

"Fall Back" Schools Near Los Angelos CA?

Hi all, I am trying to get into a physics grad program near where my niece/nephew will grow up: in Saugus, CA (a suburb about 50 minutes north of Los Angeles...sp?). There are plenty of physics schools over there, but to be realistic I prolly won't get into most of them. Are there any "fall back" schools near there?

I looked on phds.org, and basically went by the lower scores on "faculty reputation" and "prestige of program" (whatever they're named): basically the fields in which schools like MIT and Harvard "live" at the top of. Not that those elitists won't hear about as much awesomeness I can cram into my CV within the next very-short year* (!), but I'm being realistic.

Should I be consulting resources beyond phds.org? If so: what are they? Amidst the loud din about how great Caltech, Berkeley, and UCLA are, you don't really hear about those schools on the bottom, especially in elite-school-filled states as California.

* See my other post about tentatively getting a math-M.S. (kind of a Plan B) in order to get more education and buy more time to perform publishable research.

 

[R.Mesri]

Some potential "fall back" schools near Los Angeles CA include the University of Southern California (USC), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), California State University, Long Beach, California State University, Northridge, Loyola Marymount University, and Pepperdine University. Additionally, many community colleges in the area such as Glendale Community College, Pasadena City College, and Santa Monica College offer physics courses and degree programs that could serve as a good stepping stone.