Hi! I’m going in for astronomy/physics, and have been debating over Cal and Cornell for a while now… and I legitimately have no clue.
On one hand Cal is ranked higher for physics and astronomy than Cornell, but on another hand, there’s a 20:1 faculty ratio at Cal compared to a 9:1 ratio at Cornell (and by no means is Cornell bad at all in physics/astro!). I’m worried about prospective research opportunities and getting to know my professors for grad school admissions… Also worried about the competitiveness of research opportunities because of the 30,000+ student body population. But maybe this won’t be as much of an issue for a smaller department like astronomy? I don’t know, though. Not sure how big the astro dept is in terms of undergrads:grads:faculty.
Location is another thing. I’ve lived in both California and New York for extended periods of my life, and I honestly prefer the mildness of California, and the fact that Cal is close to SF and I just have the freedom of mobility. But something about Ithaca is enticing for whatever reason. Maybe its proximity to home?
Please help!! I would really appreciate others’ perspectives and insights. Thank you in advance!
If interested in the illustrious history of Cornell astronomy and physics, you can read about the astronomer who accurately predicted the temperature of Venus, among other notable achievements: https://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/SUMMER12/CoverStorySidebar3.html.
When I attended Cornell all the astronomy-bound students majored in physics; astronomy was considered a graduate program for which physics was the appopriate background. I didnt even know they had an undergraduate astronomy major now.
Of course the undergraduate physics majors could take relevant courses. Their graduate astronomy program at the time was great (Carl Sagan…). I don;t know whether or not qualified undergrads could take courses in the graduate astronomy program, because I didnt get far enough to do that anyway. You could ask, if you care.
FWIW, I dont know the numbers, but Cornell actually has two sets of physics majors. 'There are Physics majors in CAS (where the astronomy types are more likely to be) and also Engineering Physics majors in the engineering college. They are different, with different faculty (some overlapping) but the core courses have basically the same content, at the same level. One could theoretically substitute one for another if there was a sheduling conflict.