Why ? Whether a school has Astro or they don’t, they’ll have physics with some related content.
What am I missing with the comment ?
Many people have a distorted idea that Astro involves looking through telescopes at distant galactic bodies. That really isn’t the core of the subject anymore; it is also extremely math and physics intensive. If OP is committed to Astro, then Pitt is a great choice and doing well at Pitt will set her up for a doctorate anywhere. It will also be far more amenable to a student with relatively weaker preparation than MIT, Caltech, Harvard or Princeton.
Astro is a comparatively small department with relatively few majors. On the other hand, if OP is open to other majors and just wants an academically rigorous school, her list looks great.
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That’s fair and a full ride at Pitt is unreal. Most of us would question someone applying to Pitt OOS in the student’s financial situation in the first place. Glad she went ahead and didn’t ask us.
But maybe Pitt is not the goal. Maybe she wants smaller etc.
Just didn’t understand the reason for the comment though. Thx for the explanation.
Regarding this, an undergraduate major in either astrophysics or astronomy tends to offer less preparation in the foundational fields for this interest than a general physics major might. For this reason, students with an interest in astronomy may want to consider pursuing a physics major with suitable electives (or a minor) in astronomy.
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Astro does tend to have much higher female representation, though, than physics, which may be of concern/interest.
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And my son’s experience is that whenever you are asked what you are majoring in and you say Astrophysics, you invariably get the response “you must be really smart”. Much more so than if you say math or physics. It’s good for the ego, if you are so inclined, or cringy if you are not. (The stereotype is also true, according to studies of IQ vs college major).
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My daughter’s experience is the same. That said, surviving as an Astro major at MIT, Caltech, Harvard or Princeton is not for the faint of heart, nor the underprepared.
It is because the mach is binding. Questbridge has a regular decision which I will apply with if I do not match, but those are the only 5 schools I would be comfortable being bound to!
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Hey! So I hear what you are saying, but that is not the case for me. I am actually looking to ultimately do research in astro using acoustical engineering. Stuff like mapping of gravitational waves. Ultimately, Saturn seismology is my goal. Also, may I ask why you called my preparation weaker? Im also a lil confused by the end. Caltech, Harvard, Princeton and brown are the top astro programs in the world so im a lil confused.
This is true! Pitt is not the goal! Pitt is my safety!! I applied to pitt since it is rolling, so it allowed me to get into a pretty great safety really early on. I initially just applied to relieve some anxiety around college.
Yes, they do have some of the top programs in the world. So they attract kids from all over the world into their very small undergrad departments (6-12 undergrad majoring per year), many of whom have extraordinary levels of preparation and research already accomplished ( yes, in high school). This may not bother you, but I would expect 5 of every 6 majors there to enter with significantly more years of math and physics-we are only talking about a handful of kids to begin with, so finding 5 superstars in the world isnt that surprising. Some find it hard to keep up even if they could theoretically. The relatively low SAT score and absence of APs suggest your preparation was less than some in those departments. Unless your college courses in physics were at Rice ( or equivalent) and a professor there raves about you, I wouldnt put much weight on them
A larger program like Pitt would have students at more varied levels and provide time to catch up. If you are serious about grad study, doing well at Pitt would launch you well. You would get an excellent education at any of them.
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My school does not offer APs. the professor who is writing one of my reccomendations is a retired UT Austin and MIT professor with a doctorate from stanford. also ur numbers are wrong. most of them are roughly 20 a class.
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IPEDS shows 4 Caltech Class of 2022 astrophysics majors, Harvard 4 (astronomy and astrophysics combined major), Princeton 6, and Brown, which doesn’t have an astro concentration (just the specialized track), shows 7 geophysics and seismology majors but it’s not clear those peeps were astrophysics specialized trackers.
ETA: Here are the schools that reported the highest proportion of astronomy/astrophysics grads from 2021 IPEDs (one year older than the school specific IPEDs data I linked above.) It’s not clear to me if this includes only undergrads or grads from all levels. Astronomy & Astrophysics | Data USA
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I wish you well wherever you end up. Caveat Emptor is good advice for anyone
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Harvard, 2020-18, 2021-12, 2022-4 (They added astro as a minor) ,
Caltech, 2020-8, 2021-5, 2022-4, 2025-7, 2026-12
Princeton, 2020-12, 2021-8, 2022-6, 2023-13
So summary,
ur right, but u also chose the year with the lowest numbers.
This is a more comprehensive study (but may exclude some degrees that are designated as astrophysics concentrations within the physics department, eg UCSC):
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I chose the latest year for which graduating data are available which is class of 2022. Data prior to graduation are less meaningful.
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Jon Boeckenstedt to the rescue in a timely manner, with Class of 2022 IPEDs data visualized in Tableau.
Degree Family: Physical Sciences. Degree Name: you can choose Astrophysics and also Astronomy and Astrophysics. Can also look at second major data too.
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/jonboeckenstedt/viz/BachelorsDegreesAwardedin2022/Dashboard1
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With respect, what is most relevant to you is whether a single one of the majors who graduated in astro from the schools you list was low-income, like you, with similar scores/prep level.
As a Harvard legacy, you would be aware of the importance of strong preparation. No extra hooks there. Your private high school likely has excellent counselors who can help you more than anyone here.
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Ur so right! im not sure ab other schools, but I am friends with a bunch of astro majors at caltech. I know that there are currently at least 7 kids between the sophmore and junior class who are questbridge kids, and at least 3 more who are on need based full rides! Ive talked to them, and I know im on a similar level as a few of them were, and more advanced in some fields of physics and engineering then some of them were in HS! so idk ab the other schools, but I am confident I could be OK at caltech!
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