Re: Suggested liberal arts colleges

[pukleja@umassd.edu (Paul Ukleja)]

> Kyle said:
>
> > > Hi;
> >
> > > At the risk of starting a real war;
> >
> > > I have a friend who's high school age son is seriously bright in
> > > math/physics, in the top 1% nationally on various tests (SAT etc.) as a
> > > sophomore. They are looking for a smallish liberal arts type college
> > > environment with excellent undergrad programs in physics/math/science. They
> > > don't really seem interested in the big ultra- competative programs (which
> > > I suppose would include Harvard, MIT etc.) but want somewhere with enough
> > > reputation that top notch grad school programs will be an option after 4
> > > years. Would anyone like to make suggestions?
> >
> > > Thanks
> > > kyle

I think the number of potential schools in this category is quite large.
Paul Rybski's reply seems so far the most useful kind.  There are many
schools at which a student can get an excellent physics education,
including my own department (about to move to the College of Engineering)
and, I might add a few, New College (Sarasota), Kenyon, Swarthmore, Union,
and Wooster.

I have noticed almost zero problem for a good B.S. student from our
institution getting admitted to top-notch graduate schools (MIT, for
instance) and tend to downplay the importance of "prestige" in selecting a
school.  I would second the recommendation to visit schools and meet with
the math and science faculty and students, if possible, or with graduates
of the institution.   In my own experience, I did better work as a student
at institutions such as Kent State and New College than a larger,
prestigious institution (Chicago) due to the smaller class size and
availability of faculty.

Paul Ukleja
Chairperson, Physics Dept.