<p>Hello parents, I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but you guys seem pretty smart about it all. </p>
<p>I didn't get into the school I wanted (senior here) and I've realized that I don't want to go to the other schools I got into. My family lives near Mills College and just now looking at it, it looks like a haven of a college. The only problem is that it's physics program is rather lacking, and that's what I planned to study at college. They offer a minor only, though you can supplement it with a few (emphasis on FEW) courses at Cal. It would actually be cheaper and more pleasant for me to go here than the publics I was accepted at, so I'm wondering if it's possible to finish a minor at a different college? Like, perhaps I would study chemistry with a minor in physics, and then go and get the rest of the physics degree somewhere else? </p>
<p>This is mostly just about keeping my options open. I won't pretend anymore that I for sure know what I want to do in life, but my previous plans were to study astronomy, which requires physics first, so I thought I'd better not close any doors if I can't finish a minor somewhere else.</p>
<p>Additionally, the main school I was considering besides Mills was Santa Cruz. It's got a phenomenal astronomy program, but I don't think I want to go there. It would cost a lot of money and really wanted to do study abroad, which would be impossible there. Also, I live in Berkeley, so I've had enough of the free spirited types.</p>
<p>What schools did you get into?</p>
<p>Can you go to community college* for freshman and sophomore years and then transfer as a junior to Berkeley or some other school to complete the physics major?</p>
<p>*Or Mills, if the price is right and you accept that UCs and CSUs tend to favor transfers from community colleges over four year schools, and there are stricter number of semesters and credits limits on transfer students with credit from four year schools?</p>
<p>Note that if you complete a bachelor’s degree at Mills or some other four year school, you are likely to find your choices much more limited in terms of schools which accept students for second bachelor’s degrees.</p>
<p>I don’t know why you’d want to go to a 4 yr college that doesn’t have the major you want.</p>
<p>I am thinking seriously about doing the CC and transfer route, but my math teacher tells these stories about how you won’t be prepared for junior level serious science work, since CC’s aren’t difficult. It seems an elitist thing to me, but perhaps it’s true. I’m in really hard classes right now, and boy have they expanded my mind. It’d be bad if my mind vegetated at a CC, since I’m not a super genius who will be good anywhere: I have to work the brain to get results. The question I guess is, is physics or science in general rigorous enough at CCs?</p>
<p>In many Physics programs, you will have some general courses to cover before you can take higher level courses, such as Calculas, Chemistry, Biology and Liberal Arts classes. Those can be covered in CC or Mills, once you achieve excellence in those subjects, it will be sufficient to transfer into your target school.</p>