Am I heading the right direction for my choice schools? (Cornell, UC Berkeley, U Mich)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Background: I am a middle-class white female and have never overcome any life-changing events to make me special in any way. All I have are my high school statistics and ECs.
I want to go into an Astronomy/Astrophysics field.
The schools that I am planning on applying to in order are Cornell, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, and UH Manoa. UH Manoa is more of a safety school, but you never know.

Extra Curriculars (Not much, really but here they are:)
Science Olympiad (hopefully) all 4 years of high school
-Only freshman on the high school team (the rest were on the middle school team)
-my middle school didn’t have Science O, I’ve done it all the years i was able to
-not to sound cocky, but I’m from Grand Haven. My school’s SO is one of the best (if not the best) in the state of Michigan, has made it at least to states every year, and has been to nationals 26 times out of 34 years.
President and founder of my school’s Astronomy Club (It will kick off next year)
Drama techie freshman and part of sophomore year
I’m not popular enough to be on Student Senate, but I will keep trying
I will be on NHS (I’m only a sophomore so I have to wait until junior year)
Hopefully a cool NASA internship the summer before Senior year

Transcript so far (and what I want my future classes to be):
Freshman year:
Drama A
Spanish II A
Biology A
World History A
English 9 A
Geometry A

Geometry A
Art & Design A
Biology A
Spanish II A
English 9 A
World History A

Sophomore year:
Hon English 10 A
AP US History A-
Chemistry A
Spanish III A
Physics - B :frowning: (I’m going to try to retake it over the summer)
Hon Alg II A

(Same classes next semester, with hopefully better grades. Learning from my mistakes, I think I’ll have an A in APUSH and an A- in physics)

Over the summer:
Retake first semester of Physics
Pre-Calc

Junior year:
AP Lang
AP Environmental Science
AP Calc
AP Government/Government (I havent decided whether I should take AP or not coming from only 1 AP class last year)

Span IV
Health/Astronomy

Senior year:
AP Lit
AP Spanish
AP Physics? (Ew.)
AP Stats?
Economy(/Independent reading?)

2

Don’t retake a B grade.

But you need to like physics to go into astronomy.

3

It’s hard to provide much of an opinion with 1.5 years of grades, not test scores, and a lost of plans/hopes.

Most of the schools you have listed are very selective. You noted that your current English and Alg2 classes are Honors - does that mean none of the other courses are honors, or is that not available?

Is Calc AB or BC? If AB, you’d have a stronger resume with BC senior year rather than Stats.

I agree there’s no reason to retake a course for a B one semester.

I also agree that (ew) on Physics isn’t a good sign for a hopeful Astrophysics major.

Given that it’s early, the best advice would be to get the best grades and test scores possible then take another look next Spring to see how those schools still fit. Three of the four have very low acceptance rates, regardless of resume, so you should start thinking about an additional safety school and a couple of match schools.

4

UC Berkeley does not provide need-based financial aid to out-of-state students. If your family cannot pay 65k per year, it is not affordable for you. UH Manoa might not provide need-based aid either. Use the Net Price Calculators on colleges’ websites to see an estimated package.

5

Don’t retake the B but understand why you didn’t receive an A… and if you don’t like Physics that might be a problem!

I wouldn’t take Pre-Calc over the summer - most math classes are best internalized over two regular semesters. No hurry to complete Calc unless it is required at your school before AP Physics. (At my daughter’s school, it was ok to take concurrently or even after Physics if strong math student.)

And think about some match schools…

6

Don’t take math over the summer. While getting ahead may seem like a good idea, colleges (especially selective ones like you mentioned) would much rather you take a full course over the year because then you can actually focus on learning. It would be much better to do some productive EC/internship over the summer. I agree with the others about not retaking physics as well. If you are going to take AP Physics, take it immediately after your current physics class, you will forget material over a year. Also, is it Physics 1, 2, or C? If it is 1 then it may not be the best option because it will be a repeat of the course you are taking (Physics 1 is an introductory course for someone who hasn’t taken physics), it may be better to take AP Bio or AP Chem because they generally aren’t intro courses. If it’s Physics 2 or Physics C (hopefully C) then you should definitely take it if you want to do astronomy.

7

As others have said, you don’t need to retake Physics. Some non-credit tutoring or other study to prepare you for AP Physics might be a good idea. More important to do well in AP Physics - the B you already got is water under the bridge.

BUT (also as others have said), why are you interested in an astrophysics major if you don’t like physics…? Even an astronomy major (i.e. no “physics” in the name) will almost invariably be based in a physics department and require substantial study of physics. If this isn’t what you like, it may not be the right major for you. A different major with an astronomy minor might be more realistic if you just really like space/stars but not-so-much physics. Data Science could be a great major option, as many astronomy majors end up veering into this field anyway, since so much of modern astronomy involves crunching big data. Look at the roadmap for NAU’s Astroinformatics BS, to give you an idea how these fields dovetail. (Note: still plenty of physics.) http://catalog.nau.edu/ProgressionPlans/view.jsp?inst=NAU00&cat=1718&type=4YR&plan=INFORMBS&sub=ASTRINFM

It’s important to understand your financial profile. Do you know how much your parents can spend on college, and whether you’ll qualify for need-based aid? Run the NPC for Cornell: https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/cornell What is your estimated out-of-pocket cost there?

UC’s will not give you any money, so they are an option only if your parents can pay $65K/year and are willing to do so. (If my child could go to UMichigan at in-state rates, I would not pay OOS for a UC, but that’s just my opinion.) Also, heads-up that your two different single-semester arts classes (drama + art&design) will not meet the UC VPA requirement - it has to be a full year of the same discipline. https://admissions.blog/university-of-california-application-10-rules-about-the-visual-and-performing-arts-requirement-out-of-state-students-dont-know/

Hawaii Manoa is cheaper but still no bargain since you’re not from a Western Undergrad Exchange state. And the Observatories are on a whole different island from the main Manoa campus. (Also, the four-year grad rate is abysmal.) A better warm-weather safety school for you might be UCF in Orlando, which is especially known for astronomy/astrophysics and offers great merit aid and particularly good bennies for Honors College students.

But really, doing a whole college search based on an astronomy/astrophysics path when you are “ew” about physics… this is the first thing that bears closer examination. Secondly, the finances - because your best options outside of UMich/MSU will depend on your budget and financial aid eligibility. I will say, in general, that it could be well worth looking at some of the women’s colleges - particularly Smith and Mount Holyoke which participate in the 5-College Astronomy Department https://www.smith.edu/academics/astronomy Overall, your list is badly in need of match schools that are in between UMich and UH-Manoa in competitiveness. MSU would of course be a good one, but there are many, many other options.

But right now, since we have only 3 semesters of HS grades, no test scores, no financial profile, and an intended major that doesn’t seem to align with what you enjoy academically… it’s a little hard to say.

8

U of H cannot be considered a safety because it is not affordable. Safeties are schools that are affordable, which you can be accepted, and would be happy to attend.

U of H-Manoa tuition is expensive: $33,336.00 which does not include housing, flights, or incidentals. Everything in Hawaii is expensive because they have to ship everything in, so just going to 7/11 is going to cost you big time. (gal of milk is ~$7.00, small loaf of bread=~$4). Unless you have a Costco card or go to Times Supermarket at the right times.

There are some scholarships, (Excellence and Presidential) but they are VERY competitive and just cover tuition or less. Housing is very expensive in Hawaii. Many scholarships are reserved for residents of the state and for pacific islanders. You wont be guaranteed a scholarship, so this is not a safety for you.

Berkeley does not provide aid. Scholarships, which are few and far between, would garner, at the most, about $2500 a year (which might barely cover your required health insurance costs). Your parents would be on the hook for $65K per year. The California schools will use your parents’ quarter of a million dollars+ to fund our California students. Do yourself a favor and investigate costs before you make your lists.

9

You are already doing amazing! One of the things colleges LOVE is when you take a passion and turn into something through leadership amongst other qualities. I would strongly recommend continuing with the Astronomy club because depending on how it goes, that could be something you could really talk about come college app season. Also, your grades are fine. Just keep strong :slight_smile:
Have a great day/night!

10

Purdue for astrophysics? You’d have a better shot there.

11

OP hasn’t been active since the day she opened her account and started this thread; so she has viewed none of the extensive advice offered thus far.

12

I know it seems silly to retake a class when I earned a B grade, but it gives me so much anxiety just looking at it. It would make me feel a lot better if it was replaced.
Plus, U of M takes the absolute value of grades while taking your GPA, so if I manage to bring it up to an A- I will have a perfect 4.0 in their eyes which will be amazing for applications. I’m trying to get into U of M most of all.

13

sorry i didnt expect to get so many replies so quickly

I love physics so so much, but I’ve had so many breakdowns this semester from general physics alone, AP physics just sounds like my own personal hell. Besides, I prefer quantum physics, mechanical physics is too difficult for me. I love learning about weird quantum theories and mechanics, it’s so fascinating. I do not hate physics in the least, mechanical physics just isn’t my thing.
My school doesn’t offer that many honors classes. Freshmen aren’t even allowed to take honors classes. However, full-year chem and full-year physics are considered honors. Honors arent weighted though, only AP and IB classes are weighted for us.
Thank you, I will definitely check out Perdue. I’ve heard that it’s a great school!

14

“I prefer quantum physics, mechanical physics is too difficult”

When you get into quantum physics at a demanding university, it gets difficult. At least for me (as a math major) mechanical physics was easy, special relativity was a bit difficult but definitely doable, and quantum physics was tough. Quantum physics was the last university physics course that I took unless you count thermodynamics (which was considered a chemistry course where I was).

You are young, and have a lot of time to sort this out. I would not retake a B in physics. I would try to stay well ahead in your math courses. Math is a major basis for physics (which is why I liked physics better than other sciences).

Being in-state at the University of Michigan should help your chances, and make it relatively affordable for you. It is a great university which is very well respected by those of us who live elsewhere. I might be tempted to throw in an additional application to MSU as a safety.

“Perdue” of course is very good chicken. “Purdue” is a very good university.

15

Oh no I must’ve mistyped, yes Purdue not Perdue silly me

That’s a little embarrassing

16

It’s OK, so long as you don’t chicken out…

17

Do you need physics for your major at those schools? If not, if you don’t feel you will like it or do well, I wouldn’t take AP Physics.

I think if you do well on your standardized tests and keep your grades up you will be a good candidate for Michigan.

18

“I prefer quantum physics, mechanical physics is too difficult”

Real astronomy and astrophysics are extremely computational with high level, hard core math, physics and CS all playing a role.

It’s not at all like what you see when celebrity scientists like Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson or acclaimed actors with god like voices are telling dumbed-down dreamy quasi-religious string theory/multiverse timey whimey stories on PBS.

If you’re interested in astrophysics in terms of its popularization, you might be better off aiming towards science journalism, or museum educational careers.

If you want to do real astrophysics, you’ll have to get used to the idea of years and years of psets in hard core math and physics classes followed by even tougher psets, qual exams and a thesis in grad school.

A good into to the math of quantum text book by Peter Woit was published a couple of years ago. https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319646107
That gives you a good idea of what his intro to quantum math course is like at Columbia University. A strong grounding in proof based calc, multi var, and intro - mid level college physics helps.

19

FWIW, “celestial mechanics” “laws of planetary motion” (you can google them) are pretty big topics in an intermediate/ advanced university mechanics course. I imagine an astonomy major would be expected to take this.

20

I agree that your intended major is very physics heavy. I would encourage you to look at the four year plans of study at the schools you are considering to be sure the courses appeal to you.

I also agree that you don’t need to retake a B grade but you should consider AP physics next year if this is the major you want to pursue.