Aerospace Engineering or Astrophysics? College Application?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Hi all, just had some questions about my future. I'm about to be a senior in high school and the time for decision making is fast approaching. Any sound (and somewhat credible) advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Recently, I've been torn between Astrophysics or Aerospace Engineering as a major. I've recently come to the conclusion that Aerospace Engineering is somewhat more pactical and applicable (i.e. more job opportunities, better pay) than Astrophysics. Don't get me wrong, I would love either, but Astrophy. would definitely be more personally rewarding for me. Now, I know, I've heard everyone say, "Do what you love! You'll only regret it later if your don't!" But, honestly, at the end of the day, both would suit me perfectly. Is there anyway I could (realistically) get the best of both worlds? If not, which major/career choice would you advise? And what actual, realistic, jobs (other than teaching/lecturing) are there for Astrophysicists?</p>

<p>Now, second thing to consider:</p>

<p>Money is an obstacle for me. My parents have very little (if any, honestly) to put towards a college fund; they've already put five other kids through college. Florida Brightfutures is virtually nothing now, and I've really screwed up my high school GPA (see starred paragraph below). I live in a city (Pensacola) where there are two local colleges: a newly dubbed State college, Pensacola State College, and the University of West Florida (which is relatively quickly gaining prestige and funding for being a small-mid town [approx. 50,000+ residents] school). In order to save money, I've considered going to either of these schools for the first two years of Undergrad to get the standard classes out of the way (Univ. Of West Florida has an engineering program) and then transfer to a more prestigious school (as prestigious as you can get while staying in-state). Would this be advisable? Would the fact that I didn't go to a distinguised school for 4+ years hamper my ability to get hired by potential employers? </p>

<p>Now, I'm not limiting myself to in-state colleges, but unless by some act of God I get an awesome scholorship or grant, I've virtually no funding for college. </p>

<hr>

<p>-Cuurent high school GPA: ~3.5 (unweighted)
~4.3 (weighted)
-Current college GPA (thru AP/Dual Enrollment): ~3.0
-SAT Score: 1950 (not re-taking it)
-1st ACT Score: 31
-2nd ACT Score: Awaiting results
-Keep in mind I still have two semesters of classes (40% of which are AP/DE) to boost my GPA(s)</p>

<hr>

<p>Now, Good People of the Internet, what is your advice?</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>One last thing. It is my life goal, my dream, the apex of my existence, whatever you want to call it, to one day be in outer space (tho not necessarily as an Astronaut :P )</p>

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<p>You have VERY good test scores and what classes have/are you taking?</p>

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<p>Aerospace Engineering and Astrophysics are two very different disciplines. To succeed in Engineering you need above average intelligence, a strong work ethic and can obtain satisfaction from creating tangible devices. You can work as an Aerospace engineering with a bachelors degree. A career in Astrophysics is on a completely different plane in its intellectual demands and is almost certainly the most difficult major there is. If you are not the smartest person you know there is little chance that you can earn the PhD that is the minimum qualification for an astrophysicist. Remember, astrophysicists study the most difficult things to understand that are encountered in science such as the Big Bang, Dark Matter, Dark Energy and both the large scale structure of the Universe and atomic processes that are responsible for it.</p>

<p>You will need an understanding of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics that a far more difficult than anything you would encounter as an engineer. There are only a few hundred people working as astrophysicists in the entire country. It could be there are not many positions in the field to be filled or that the number of people with the intellect to be an astrophysicist is so limited.</p>

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<p>Looks like your best bet is to study engineering physics with a concentration in aerospace and perhaps adding a minor in astronomy. As an example, here are some programs from my own school:</p>

<p><a href=“https://physics.osu.edu/eng-concentration-requirements[/url]”>https://physics.osu.edu/eng-concentration-requirements&lt;/a&gt;
[The</a> Astronomy and Astrophysics Minor at Ohio State | Department of Astronomy](<a href=“http://astronomy.osu.edu/Major/minor]The”>http://astronomy.osu.edu/Major/minor)</p>

<p>But to really “do” astrophysics you need a PhD. They don’t even teach general relativity at the undergraduate level. If you’re lucky there might be a short elective course offered sporadically, but at just about every university they reserve general relativity for the graduate level because of the mathematical preparation required.</p>

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<p>For need based financial aid, try the net price calculator at each school’s web site.</p>

<p>Your GPA of 3.5 and ACT score of 31 would get you some full tuition or more scholarships:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A full tuition scholarship would likely still leave about $10,000 to $15,000 per year of remaining costs (check the school’s cost of attendance). Some schools offer full or near-full rides to students with higher ACT scores.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the quick responses.</p>

<p>@ThisNerdGotAGirl (sorry, don’t know how to do direct quotes on this forum)
-Algebra I & II, Geometry, Accel. Trig., Analytical Geometry, and AP AB Calculus (I plan on passing the AP Exam for calc.)
-Physical Science (H), Biology (H), Chem. (H), Genetics (H), Space Technology & Engineering I & II, Accelerated Physics (no science AP/DE at my school :confused: )
-DE Language & Comp. I & II, DE Literature & Comp. I & II
-AP World History, DE American History, DE Economics, DE American Gov’t
-DE Music Appreciation
(I’m assuming you meant only for Math and Science, but I included all my AP/DE classes)</p>

<p><em>Sigh</em> The more and more I do college and career research, the more I come to the seemingly inevitable conclusion that Astrophysics will most likely end up being a passionate hobby of mine… No matter, as long as I learn all I can about it, I’ll still enjoy it, even if I dont get to learn first-hand the beautiful math that explains our Universe and existence.</p>

<p>Now, I’m glad to see so many scholarship opportunities so fast, I really don’t know where to start looking for that kind of stuff. Any other leads would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Additionally, I have no idea how I left it out of my original post, but I’ve also considered Nuclear Engineering. I’ve been told by a few of my teachers and a “mentor”, if you will, that Nuc. Eng. combines alot of both physics and engineering to a level that would suit me. What’s yall’s take on Nuclear Engineering? I’m sure there are a ton of jobs out there in both the applicational and research/theoretical fields, what with all this concern for alternate energy sources.</p>

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<p>There are only about 20 universities in the US that have nuclear engineering bachelor’s degree programs. You can search for them at [Accredited</a> Program Search](<a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramSearch.aspx/AccreditationSearch.aspx]Accredited”>http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramSearch.aspx/AccreditationSearch.aspx) .</p>

<p>You can get an idea of what nuclear engineering entails by checking the nuclear engineering course list at a school which offers the major: [General</a> Catalog - Nuclear Engineering Courses](<a href=“http://general-catalog.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Nuclear+Engineering&p_dept_cd=NUC+ENG]General”>http://general-catalog.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Nuclear+Engineering&p_dept_cd=NUC+ENG)</p>

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<p>My father was a nuclear reactor officer in the U.S. Navy, and has stated that nuclear engineering is the most difficult thing he has ever done. He went through Nuke School in Florida when it was rated by Time Magazine as a more difficult program than Harvard Med. and Law School. He said noone had ever received a 4.0 GPA throughout the progam, and only 2% of people who began the program actually ended up graduating. I’m sure the naval program may be a bit more difficult than at a typical university, but you would need to be ready for an extremely rigorous program if you wish to go into nuclear engineering. My father eventually left the field after six years because he got tired of living in a rural area in Iowa; that is something to take into consideration as well: most nuclear powerplants (where you would be working) are nowhere near urban/suburban settings.</p>

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<p>FYI, OSU does not have a BS in nuclear engineering but an MS program, HOWEVER if you major in Engineering Physics at OSU you can choose nuclear engineering as your concentration and take the classes the nuclear engineering MS students take, <em>as an undergrad.</em></p>

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I know this is probably a late response, but the correct mix of these two would be Astronautical Engineering.

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The OP will likely be graduating this year. Let the dead thread rest in peace. :smiley: