UVA vs Cornell, Georgetown, etc. for in-state
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Anonymous
I don't know but I gotta imagine Cal Tech, Harvard, and some big state schools that have research money--probably Berkley, Michigan, etc. Here is what US News has: Physics Ranked in 2014 | Physics Rankings Methodology Graduate schools for physics typically offer a range of specialty programs, from quantum physics to relativity, as well as plentiful research opportunities to bolster a science education. These are the best physics schools. Each school's score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions. Specialty Select specialty Atomic / Molecular / Optical Condensed Matter Cosmology / Relativity / Gravity Elementary Particles / Field / String Theory Nuclear Plasma Quantum Rank School name Score #1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 5.0 #2Tie California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 4.9 #2Tie Harvard University Cambridge, MA 4.9 #2Tie Princeton University Princeton, NJ 4.9 #2Tie Stanford University Stanford, CA 4.9 #2Tie University of California—?Berkeley Berkeley, CA 4.9 #7Tie Cornell University Ithaca, NY 4.7 #7Tie University of Chicago Chicago, IL 4.7 #9 University of Illinois—?Urbana-?Champaign Urbana, IL 4.6 #10 University of California—?Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 4.5 #11Tie Columbia University New York, NY 4.3 #11Tie University of Michigan—?Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 4.3 #11Tie Yale University New Haven, CT 4.3 #14Tie University of Maryland—?College Park College Park, MD 4.2 #14Tie University of Texas—?Austin Austin, TX 4.2 #16Tie University of California—?San Diego La Jolla, CA 4.1 #16Tie University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 4.1 #18Tie Johns Hopkins University (Rowland) Baltimore, MD 4.0 #18Tie University of California—?Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 4.0 #18Tie University of Colorado—?Boulder Boulder, CO 4.0 #18Tie University of Wisconsin—?Madison Madison, WI 4.0 #22 University of Washington Seattle, WA 3.9 #23Tie Ohio State University Columbus, OH 3.8 #23Tie Pennsylvania State University—?University Park University Park, PA 3.8 #23Tie Stony Brook University—?SUNY Stony Brook, NY 3.8 |
Anonymous
No Rice anywhere. |
Anonymous
| Shout out to UMD, coming in right behind Columbia, Yale and Michigan! |
Anonymous
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I would not pick a school solely on the basis of an undergraduate major. Most people graduate with a different major than they thought they would pick as a freshman.
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Anonymous
| PP @12:58 these are graduate schools. |
Anonymous
| Virginia resident here. My daughter applied ED to Duke. If she gets in, she goes. Full pay. Worth it over UVA (I'm an alum) but only because we can afford it...Duke would not be worth significant debt over UVA. |
Anonymous
OP. I know I can afford UVA for three kids. Private will be a stretch. Thinking UVA undergrad and than whatever help I can give for grad. But a top 15 school may give them a edge. Honestly, I think the way brand names work in NYC and DC, any ivy name gives an edge over a higher ranked school. So I would say Cornell over Duke. You ED one school these days, right? What is early action? Is that different? |
Anonymous
| I think OP that there are people all over this country scratching their heads and running the numbers and asking themselves the same question about their own state school. California, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina, Maryland, etc all have fine state schools. Do parents want to pay $30,000-$40,000 more a year for a private? Only you can crunch your own numbers. It is a stressful decision. |
Anonymous
I went to Chicago undergrad but was waitlisted for law school. Word was that Chicago preferred diverse law students over homegrown ones. I don't know whether I would have gotten off the wait list or not - I declined the spot and went to another top 10 school where I was very happy. |
Anonymous
| Op, and another option: significant merit aid at a school lower ranked than UVA but one the student and parent likes MUCH better. |
Anonymous
Um, no. At some point the marginal benefit isn't worth the additional cost. If price were no object, the calculation might be different, but for most people cost is a significant factor. And I must say I am impressed that such a sophisticated educational consumer would use "ass" and "crap" in the same post. |
Anonymous
My daughter applied ED to Duke. That is binding. You can only apply to one ED. She also applied EA to UVA. That is non binding. You can apply EA to multiple schools that offer it. |
Anonymous
I went to big state U and got into every top 10 law school except HLS and YLS. WL at HLS and rejected at Yale. I wasn't an extracurricular all star either. I just had good grades and LSAT. My parents gave me the money they didn't spend on undergrad for Law School. |
Anonymous
I don't know, I think you're splitting hairs. UVA is a good school and well respected. It's not like you're comparing to a nondescript Univ of Toledo. I also think this is important -- "I know I can afford UVA for three kids. Private will be a stretch." Do you have all three tuitions already saved? One of our best friends had circumstances unfortunately change, and kid #3 had far fewer choices than kid #1. |
Anonymous
+1 Very well said. |