<p>Okay, I'm triple majoring in astronomy, physics, and math, with a minor in applied math. I'll have a lot of senior+grad lvl Applied Math, CS, and senior-lvl Statistics courses as well. My main interest is scientific computing.</p>
<p>First of all, is it uncommon for non-CS majors to get into CS grad school, if they don't have a CS major, but have a background in applied math+math+statistics? </p>
<p>What about non-statistics majors and statistics grad school?</p>
<p>And how would you generally rank these programs in order of competitiveness? Is there an easy way to find out how competitive a non-physics/astro grad program is? (for physics/astro it's easy since they have the rankings guidebook).</p>
<p>I'm expecting that astro grad programs are the least competitive since they don't attract that many students (whereas many students go into statistics and applied math because of their tremendous usefulness+applications). </p>
<p>I've only taken the bare minimum of physics courses required for a major (since I really like computation and wanted to take as many computational courses as possible). This might hurt my chances to Astro/Phys grad programs.</p>
<p>Right now, I'm still planning on sending the vast majority of my applications to astrophysics grad programs. I'm expecting high PGRE scores relative to my grades, and the recommendations (and research) I get will mostly be from astrophysics professors. I'm just wondering if diversifying the pool may or may not be useful. </p>
<p>Of course, it's always good to "follow your passion", but I'm more of a generalist than a specialist right now.</p>
<p>The PhD degree is a highly specific degree. You need to settle on ONE field to immerse yourself in. Choose the field that best fits you. This could change in the future, at which point you may change directions. Each field will only care about the grades relevant to it. Did you get higher grades in one area because it was easier for you or because you liked it better? It is important to identify which field best fits your interests and abilities. Forced choice- a OR b OR…, no “all of the above”. Your grad program wants you fulltime, it doesn’t want your divided attention. </p>
<p>Consider the type of research done in programs that interest you- look for overlap in fields you know and like. Check with various professors in you majors for suggestions as to how you can combine multiple interests.</p>
<p>You don’t need to have majored in a subject to do grad work in it, but you must have had the required coursework. Check to see if you have had the needed courses. Also keep in mind that you are competing against others- those with the major most likely have better credentials in the field than you do.</p>
<p>Taking only the minimum physics courses probably means other field trump physics for you- therefore your credentials won’t be as competitive as others who chose maximum available physics courses. Perhaps do a series of forced choices- pick between two of each major in all of the combinations and see which gets the most votes.</p>
<p>I am NOT the expert, but have used logic. Follow my train of thought and use it to narrow your options to the ones that fit you best. Others can contradict me and add more help.</p>
<p>Okay, you have good points there. I do intend to have a narrow focus in grad school. I do want to do something in the lines of computational astrophysics or astrostatistics. So early on in undergrad, this means taking many CS, Applied Math, and Stat courses (all up to the senior/grad lvl since that’s the level at which real astro research actually uses), so that I don’t have to worry about having to train myself in those subjects later when I’m doing astro research.</p>
<p>In fact, it seems that astrophysics research is more computational than analytical these days, and some of the grad students I’ve talked to explicitly said that - actual physics beyond classical mechanics doesn’t even seem to be used very often in most astro research these days. Which means that a background in CS/statistics/applied math would actually be more helpful than a background in physics (although physics up to quantum/E&M/stat mech would still be necessary). </p>
<p>I know that most grad lvl programs do allow people from other majors to apply as long as they have the required coursework. So in a sense, I am from another major - I just happen to have just enough courses to be in the same major as the grad program I’m looking at.</p>