Public or Private University?

Al, from Ecuador, asks:

Hi, like many of you I've always wanted to know how things work, what's behind what our brains are taught to interpret. I've read many biographies of great scientist, read books about quantum electrodynamics and I'm sure I want to belong to that world. I recently got my student visa to go to study to the us and what my parents can afford is a public college which I plan to attend this fall. However I'm feeling doubtful about going because I'm going to a public college, my question is (finally) if (with hard work) there is a possibility to become as great as you and be able to work in your field, get a PhD and so on? Has anyone of you graduated from a public college?

 

Hi Al,

Of course you can end up as a great physicist even if you go to a public university!  When I received your question, I decided to scan through some of the biographies of the physics Nobel prize Laureates, and many of them attended public institutions, especially as undergraduates (for example, William Fowler, who received the prize in 1983, attended The Ohio State University).  Almost everyone I know in physics has attended a public university at some point!

The curriculum of the physics department at the school is what makes all the difference.  A good physics program will have a curriculum that prepares the students for graduate school with advanced levels of classes and with research as part of the coursework.  And, of course, working hard is the key to success no matter what school you attend.

What are the things that you want to look for in any college or university that would attract you there to study physics?  You want to look for a university with a physics department that had a good reputation for excellence with a well-developed research program with faculty who have many good publications in well-known journals.  You want to look for a place where the students have the opportunity to get involved in research, and have the opportunity to go to conferences and talk about their research and network with others in the field.  So, if the school that you want to go to meets these goals, it does not matter whether it is a public school, or a private one.  Also, if you choose a school that prepares you well and you study hard, you will score well on the GREs and other exams you will take to get into graduate school and you will have a good research background, which will give you a good chance of getting a fellowship to go to whatever school you would like for your graduate studies.

Another thing to do is to find out where the graduates of the program have gone after receiving their degrees, especially whether they have gone on to graduate school and succeeded in earning Ph.D. degrees.

I attended a public institution as an undergraduate because my parents did not have the money to send me to a private one, and I did not want to be horribly in debt when I graduated.  I knew that if I went to a state university, I would receive so much scholarship money that I would pretty much be making money going to school, so that is what I decided to do.  It turned out to be a very good decision for me.  I feel that I had more opportunities at the larger state university than I would have had if I had gone to a smaller private university.  I was well prepared for my graduate coursework, and I had a good bit of research experience already when I went to graduate school.  I also had made a lot of contacts during that period that were important (and that I still maintain).

I studied physics at Mississippi State University as an undergraduate, and am now a graduate student at The College of William and Mary in Virginia.  They are both public schools; MSU is a national land-grant university founded in 1878, and William and Mary was chartered in 1693, by King William III and Queen Mary II as the second college in the American colonies.  It became a public institution in 1906 when it was acquired by the commonwealth of Virginia.  By the way, the first earned doctorate conferred by The College of William and Mary was the Ph.D. in Physics, in 1967.

In short, I would say that you can definitely become a great physicist even if (and maybe even because) you have attended a public university.  It is the hard work and determination of the individual student that makes all the difference.

I hope that I answered your question thoroughly, Al.  Good luck with your undergraduate studies! :)

Best Wishes,

Sarah K

Comments

[Al]

Thank you for strenghtening my desire to study physics at the us... ;)