Good undergraduate physics colleges?

[coconutcab]

Hi, I'm a senior in high school (it's the summer before my senior year) and I have been having trouble finding colleges with good physics programs. There are the obvious schools, such as UC Berkeley, Princeton, MIT, etc., but I am wondering what other colleges there are with good physics programs. My long term goal is to get a Ph.D. and be an astrophysicist. I read that aspiring astrophysicists should major in physics as an undergrad, and then specialize in astrophysics as a graduate, is this true? As far as the colleges go, money is not a factor at the moment; it will definitely play a role in which school I decide on attending after I find out which ones accept me or not (but for now, any recommendations are greatly appreciated). Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Skaperen]

There are good physics programs at Case Western Reserve University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland at College Park, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Wisconsin.

Google is your friend. One of the things it found for me is: http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/physics

Armed with the names of a few good schools, google the list you have and get more lists with more names. Another approach is hunt down names of widely known physicists and find the CVs or BIOs (like on WIkipedia) and see where they went to school (you might get lucky and have one as an advisor some day).

 

[coconutcab]

Thanks Skaperen, that was really helpful! I'm definitely interested in Case Western Reserve University (especially since I live close by), so I am going to look into it a lot more. Thanks again; your help was very appreciated! :D

 

[jtbell]

Michigan State University

Don't forget the other big school in Michigan.

And don't overlook the small colleges if you can afford them and like a smaller, more intimate environment where you can really get to know your professors and vice versa (hint: letters of recommendation). In Ohio, Oberlin, Kenyon and Wooster are pretty good.

 

[liubare]

I really enjoy the following website for colleges...http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...-schools/top-science-schools/physics-rankings