Total Enrollment at Schools with a Physics Doctorate Program

  • This has become our largest and most active forum because the physics GRE is just one aspect of getting accepted into a graduate physics program.
  • There are applications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, visiting schools, anxiety of waiting for acceptances, deciding between schools, finding out where others are going, etc.

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WhoaNonstop
Posts: 853
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:31 am

Total Enrollment at Schools with a Physics Doctorate Program

Post by WhoaNonstop » Fri Oct 01, 2010 8:21 pm

One of my main factors in deciding on a school was the enrollment at that University. Since my five years of undergraduate were at a school of approximately 6,000 students, I had grown use to that amount, and it was comfortable. What I decided to do in choosing schools to apply to for this year was to make a list of all of them, in order of their enrollment. I decided to post my work here so others could make use of it if they are as picky as me. =)

-Riley

Arizona State University - 68,064
Ohio State University - 55,014
University of Central Florida - 53,401
Rutgers - 52,471
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities - 51,659
University of Texas, Austin - 50,995
University of Florida - 50,691
Texas A&M - 48,702
Michigan State University - 47,071
University of Washington - 45,943
Pennsylvania State University - 45,185
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - 43,881
New York University - 43,404
Indiana University, Bloomington - 42,347
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - 41,674
University of Wisconsin, Madison - 41,654
Purdue University - 41,052
University of South Florida - 40,022
Florida State University - 39,785
Florida International University - 39,610
University of Arizona - 38,767
University of California - 38,550
University of Maryland, College Park - 37,195
University of Houston - 37,000
Temple University - 36,507
University of California, Berkeley - 35,830
University of North Texas - 35,003
University of Georgia - 34,885
University of Southern California - 34,824
Brigham Young University - 34,130
North Carolina State University - 33,819
University of Colorado, Boulder - 33,010
George Mason - 32,067
Boston University - 31,960
Wayne State University - 31,786
University of California, Davis - 31,247
University of Missouri, Columbia - 31,237
University of Cincinnati - 31,134
Virginia Polytechnic Institute - 30,870
Georgia State University - 30,427
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee - 30,418
Indiana University - Purdue University - 30,383
Texas Tech University - 30,049
University of Tennessee, Knoxville - 29,934
University of Utah - 29,284
University of Kansas - 29,242
University of Nevada, Las Vegas - 29,090
University of Iowa - 28,987
University of Texas, San Antonio - 28,955
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - 28,916
Colorado State University, Fort Collins - 28,902
West Virginia University - 28,898
SUNY, University at Buffalo - 28,881
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa - 28,699
Louisiana State University - 28,643
University of South Carolina, Columbia - 28,482
University of California, San Diego - 28,418
University of Pittsburgh - 28,328
University of Texas, Arlington - 28,085
Iowa State University - 27,945
Portland State University - 27,901
East Carolina University - 27,654
Harvard University - 27,651
Florida Atlantic University - 27,637
Northeastern University - 27,537
University of New Mexico - 27,241
University of California, Irvine - 27,142
University of Massachusetts, Amherst - 27,016
University of Illinois at Chicago - 26,840
University of Kentucky - 26,295
Washington State University - 26,101
University of Oklahoma, Norman - 25,881
Kent State University - 25,127
George Washington University - 25,061
University of Connecticut - 25,029
Stony Brook University - 24,681
Auburn U - 24,602
University of Pennsylvania - 24,599
Western Michigan University - 24,576
Northern Illinois University - 24,424
University of Virginia - 24,355
Columbia University - 24,230
University of Nebraska, Lincoln - 24,100
Old Dominion University - 24,013
Kansas State University - 23,581
University of Toledo - 23,064
Oklahoma State University - 23,033
University of California, Santa Barbara - 22,850
Ohio University - 22,647
Drexel University - 22,493
University of Oregon - 22,335
Oregon State University - 21,950
University of Delaware - 21,138
Cornell University - 20,633
University of Hawaii at Manoa - 20,435
John Hopkins University - 20,383
Southern Illinois University Carbondale - 20,350
Georgia Institute of Technology - 20,291
University of California, Riverside - 19,384
Northwestern University - 19,853
University of Arkansas - 19,849
Syracuse University - 19,638
Clemson University - 19,111
Oakland University - 18,918
Mississippi State University - 18,601
New Mexico State University - 18,526
Stanford - 18,498
SUNY at Albany - 18,020
University of Nevada, Reno - 16,875
University of Alabama, Birmingham - 16,874
University of California, Santa Cruz - 16,775
University of Missouri, St. Louis - 16,534
Georgetown University - 16,520
University of Rhode Island - 16,389
University of Mississippi - 15,932
University of Texas, Dallas - 15,783
University of Miami - 15,629
Utah State University - 15,612
University of New Hampshire - 15,253
University of Chicago - 15,094
Boston College - 15,036
University of Missouri, Kansas City - 14,799
Baylor University - 14,614
Duke University - 14,350
North Dakota State University - 14,189
University of Massachusetts, Lowell - 13,602
Washington University - 13,575
Idaho State University - 13,493
University of North Dakota - 13,172
Emory University - 12,930
University of Maryland, Baltimore County - 12,870
Vanderbilt University - 12,506
University of Wyoming - 12,427
Montana State University - 12,348
Florida A&M - 12,274
University of Idaho - 11,957
University of Maine - 11,894
University of Notre Dame - 11,816
University of New Orleans - 11,724
University of Denver - 11,644
Yale University - 11,593
Tulane University - 11,464
Carnegie Mellon University - 11,197
Southern Methodist University - 10,891
Howard University - 10,573
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 10,384
Tufts University - 10,252
Case Western Reserve University - 9,738
University of Rochester - 9,506
Alaska-U of, Fairbanks - 9,137
Texas Christian University - 8,853
Brown University - 8,574
Florida Institute of Technology - 8,227
College of William and Mary - 7,874
Illinois Institute of Technology - 7,707
Princeton University - 7,592
University of Alabama, Huntsville - 7,681
Michigan Technological University - 7,136
Wake Forest - 7,079
Lehigh University - 6,996
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - 6,901
Missouri University of Science and Technology - 6,814
Catholic University - 6,768
CUNY Graduate School and University Center - 6,316
Dartmouth College - 5,987
Stevens Institute of Technology - 5,757
Brandeis University - 5,598
Rice University - 5,576
Hampton University - 5,402
Alabama A&M U - 5,327
Colorado School of Mines - 5,124
Worcester Polytechnic Institute - 4,961
Clark University - 3,416
Clarkson University - 3,187
Wesleyan University - 3,148
California Institute of Technology - 2,130
Bryn Mawr College - 1,771
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology - 1,761

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HappyQuark
Posts: 762
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:08 am

Re: Total Enrollment at Schools with a Physics Doctorate Program

Post by HappyQuark » Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:19 pm

WhoaNonstop wrote:One of my main factors in deciding on a school was the enrollment at that University. Since my five years of undergraduate were at a school of approximately 6,000 students, I had grown use to that amount, and it was comfortable. What I decided to do in choosing schools to apply to for this year was to make a list of all of them, in order of their enrollment. I decided to post my work here so others could make use of it if they are as picky as me. =)

-Riley
Thanks for the data. I never would have guessed that Arizona State would have been that large.

I'm kind of fascinated that after coming from a small college that you would look for the same thing in a graduate program. I went to a small college as well, about 2000 people, and I actually like the idea of going to a bigger school.

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WhoaNonstop
Posts: 853
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:31 am

Re: Total Enrollment at Schools with a Physics Doctorate Program

Post by WhoaNonstop » Sat Oct 02, 2010 2:58 am

HappyQuark wrote:I'm kind of fascinated that after coming from a small college that you would look for the same thing in a graduate program. I went to a small college as well, about 2000 people, and I actually like the idea of going to a bigger school.
Well, obviously all types of people are different! =) Although there have been many times I have disliked my undergraduate school because of it's size, there are many times that I keep coming back to the things I like about it. Over the course of my undergraduate career, I have went on exchange and did REUs and what not. I have experienced the University of Florida, University of Minnesota, and Iowa State University. You'll notice that the first two are very big schools, and I felt out of my comfort zone at UMN. I wouldn't have anything against big schools if I hadn't experienced them, but coming from a county in Nebraska where the population of cows is greater than humans, it should be somewhat expected. =P

Looking at where I have chose to apply, 6 (almost 7) of my 9 choices are within the bottom 25% as far as enrollment numbers.

-Riley

CarlBrannen
Posts: 381
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 11:34 pm

Re: Total Enrollment at Schools with a Physics Doctorate Program

Post by CarlBrannen » Sat Oct 02, 2010 3:32 pm

Re school size, I went to New Mexico Tech, the smallest school on your list, for my BS and MS in mathematics. I had a blast. Of course it was more like 1200 students back then.

You at least recognized everyone on campus by the end of your first year. And the rumor mill is incredibly efficient in a school that size. You knew everyone's business and they knew yours. I didn't mind. I'd love to teach there.



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