quizivex wrote: Huh? If you're weighing happiness vs. long term career prospects, why would choosing the latter imply having to stay in the midwest? The midwest is exactly where good physics schools are not. Ok sure of course there's Ohio State and Chicago as you said, but there are many comparable schools throughout the country, so if you're admitted to those you should be able to go to some of the UC's, Maryland, UPenn for instance.I hear people on here talk favorable about schools in Texas, Florida and Hawaii. And the top schools are all on the East and West coast. So what's the problem?
Admission to a midwest school is much easier than schools on the coasts. It seems there are fewer applicants to these schools. The problem you have with coming out of the midwest, especially from a smaller school is most places will not recognize the name of your school. In comparison, I'm sure Ohio State has heard of the school you are at, regardless of the size, so at least they aren't looking at your application like "huh?". I fully believe that it is easier to get into a similarly ranked midwest school in comparison to one on the coast, so if you have a mediocre application, your applications may turn up with your best option as far as "top ranked" school in the midwest. So even though the distribution does show higher ranked schools in the east and west, it should not be shrugged off why he is asking this question. If you assume he can get into all of the top ranked schools, then yes, it is a silly question. However, if that is not guaranteed, the chance of getting into a better ranked school in the midwest is probably better than a similar one on the coast.
Anyways enough with the rabble. Saucy I am from the midwest myself, Nebraska to be exact, and I can understand your need to get out for a while. I highly suggest if you get accepted to a school you would be happier at you should attend. Of course, make sure there are research interests and all the other important stuff, but truly, there are so many people who tend to overlook location.
saucylad wrote: I need things to do that aren't getting drunk
The sad fact of the matter is, regardless of how much stuff there really is to do, people will always resort to this activity and complain that there isn't anything to do. At least from my experiences living in a couple different places and different cities, this tends to be the case. Even with this, I totally agree with you, get the hell out of the midwest!
-Riley