Liberal Arts College Physics Student Struggles

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experiences and concerns of students attending small liberal arts colleges, particularly in the context of pursuing physics education and graduate school opportunities. Participants share their feelings of inferiority compared to peers at larger, better-funded institutions and explore the implications of their academic environments on future prospects.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses feelings of inferiority when comparing their education at a small liberal arts college to that of students at better-funded schools, questioning the justification of these feelings.
  • Another participant suggests that personal growth and improvement should be the focus rather than comparisons with others, emphasizing that the quality of education is largely dependent on the individual.
  • Some participants share similar experiences, noting concerns about whether their GPA from a smaller institution is viewed equivalently to those from larger universities when applying for graduate programs.
  • There is discussion about the process of transferring within university systems, with some participants clarifying that transferring may not be as straightforward as assumed, depending on the institution's policies.
  • One participant highlights the advantages of attending a small department, such as closer relationships with professors and less competition for resources.
  • Another participant reflects on their own background from a small liberal arts college and shares anecdotes about their experiences, including a humorous reference to a physics problem related to a power plant.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the implications of attending a small liberal arts college versus larger institutions, with no clear consensus on the validity of feelings of inferiority or the equivalence of GPAs across different schools. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best path forward for students in similar situations.

Contextual Notes

Participants discuss the potential limitations of their educational experiences, including funding issues and the perceived quality of education at smaller institutions. There are also unresolved questions regarding the transfer process within university systems and how it may vary by state or institution.

slam7211
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Hey,
So idk if this is in the right section but it might be so if it needs to be moved mods go ahead and move it my apologies in advance.

I go to a liberal arts college, with a small physics department (great, short of 1 prof faculty) mostly lack of any serious funding, I did not transfer for a variety of reasons mostly money and timing. I am a junior and have a good physics GPA 3.6-3.7ish haven't checked recently, thing is I have this annoying inferiority complex when it comes to comparing myself to other imaginary physics students that go to better funded schools, how justified is this/anyone ever de\al with this/am I crazy (hoping its this one)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
1. Compete with yourself, not others. (Try to constantly get better than you were one day ago)

2. The quality of your education depends mostly on you, not your university and the funding it gets.
 
You're not at SLC by any chance, are you?
 
good grades at a school like that should get you into a lot of good phd programs with more funding :P

keep your grades up and do well on the subject gre, and try to do summer REUs if possible
 
Slam,

I get the exact same feelings. I also go to a small liberal arts college ( The University of Michigan-Dearborn) and I'm pulling a 3.65. I'm always wondering if the students at the big flagship state universities are getting a better opportunity at grad school then me. Obviously a GPA at school X is not equivalent to a GPA at school Y.

Right now I'm working on transferring and doing away with my worries by just becoming that student at the state university.
 
Dela91 said:
Slam,

I get the exact same feelings. I also go to a small liberal arts college ( The University of Michigan-Dearborn) and I'm pulling a 3.65. I'm always wondering if the students at the big flagship state universities are getting a better opportunity at grad school then me. Obviously a GPA at school X is not equivalent to a GPA at school Y.

Right now I'm working on transferring and doing away with my worries by just becoming that student at the state university.

Aren't you already part of the University of Michigan system since you attend Dearborn? Isn't "transferring" only changing campus locations in that case.
 
daveyinaz said:
Aren't you already part of the University of Michigan system since you attend Dearborn? Isn't "transferring" only changing campus locations in that case.

I don't know about Michigan, but I'm pretty sure this is a bad assumption. I'm in the North Carolina system and you can't just switch campuses if you decide you want to go to UNC-Chapel Hill rather than UNC-Greensboro. Also, think of California. I doubt you can just switch into Berkeley or UCLA whenever you feel like it.
 
daveyinaz said:
Aren't you already part of the University of Michigan system since you attend Dearborn? Isn't "transferring" only changing campus locations in that case.

I wish it was like that. No, one has to apply to main campus, which has much higher standards. All credits transfer for the most part however. It's weird like that.
 
diligence said:
I don't know about Michigan, but I'm pretty sure this is a bad assumption. I'm in the North Carolina system and you can't just switch campuses if you decide you want to go to UNC-Chapel Hill rather than UNC-Greensboro. Also, think of California. I doubt you can just switch into Berkeley or UCLA whenever you feel like it.

Hey I am here in Charlotte ( I actually just moved from Mich, and am obviously not at UM-Dearborn anymore). UNC-Charlotte is my fall back if I don't get into Chapel Hill. Small world ayy.
 
  • #10
diligence said:
I don't know about Michigan, but I'm pretty sure this is a bad assumption. I'm in the North Carolina system and you can't just switch campuses if you decide you want to go to UNC-Chapel Hill rather than UNC-Greensboro. Also, think of California. I doubt you can just switch into Berkeley or UCLA whenever you feel like it.

jeez louise guy..I was only asking a question. I don't think it's a bad assumption, since it's not far-fetched to think it would be easy to just transfer campuses if you are already part of the university system as a whole.
 
  • #11
Dela91 said:
UNC-Charlotte is my fall back if I don't get into Chapel Hill. Small world ayy.

UNCC is a decent place. When I was in grad school at Michigan years ago, one of my classmates had done his undergrad at UNCC. (He sometimes sprang a problem on his students that involved estimating the power output of a "bobbing bird" toy and comparing it with the output of the Lake Norman power plant by calculating the number of "ducks per Duke" :smile:) And I came from a small private liberal arts college in Ohio. (I'm not saying which one, but it wasn't one of the well-known ones like Oberlin.)

And now I'm a couple hours drive from Charlotte. Small world indeed...
 
  • #12
Don't worry about where you go, its your GPA that matters anywhere.
 
  • #13
I go to a small liberal arts school. Our science departments are small but mighty--we don't have amazing funding or particle accelerators or anything, but our professors are dedicated and our students are hardworking, and if you want to get somewhere, you will. I wouldn't write your school off--sometimes being in a small department is an advantage, because you get to work closely with your professors and build mentoring relationships. Plus, there is less competition for everything from individual attention to department work-study jobs.
 
  • #14
jtbell said:
I came from a small private liberal arts college in Ohio. (I'm not saying which one, but it wasn't one of the well-known ones like Oberlin.)

It doesn't happen to be Ohio Wheslyan University? I just landed a REU there!
 
  • #15
jtbell said:
calculating the number of "ducks per Duke" :smile:)

PS: my dad works at DUKE Power plant as a security officer...even smaller world. GO BLUE by the way. I want to go there for grad school, but I'm uncertain of the credentials one needs to have. The AIP grad school shopper book is pretty vague on the admission statistics.
 

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