<p>So I am a senior in high school now and I am trying to decide if I should attend the University of Arizona or one of the following UC campuses: UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, or UC Davis. </p>
<p>At the University of Arizona, I was admitted into the Honors College for an Astronomy major and gained a $48,000 scholarship over the course of four years. I know this university is a great one with some of the best telescopes in the world around it for astronomy, but I'm also leaning towards the UC system due to its prestige.</p>
<p>At the UC Campuses I was admitted to, a major in the biological sciences. I'm confused as to whether it would be better for me to pursue a biological science degree at a UC and go on to graduate school for space exploration (i.e. astrobiology) or to receive a degree in astronomy with an astrobiology minor at the University of Arizona.</p>
<p>Overall, my goal is to one day have a career in space exploration, possibly with NASA.</p>
<p>It depends what you prefer major wise, if you’re really only interested in astronomy being a bio major would force you to study a lot of stuff you don’t wanna study. You’ll be lumped in with hardcore pre-med students as a bio major. While the UC’s are sometimes seen as prestigious, I don’t think any of the ones you listed would have much greater prestige over Arizona. Their astronomy program sounds awesome. And obviously the money and honors college would be a HUGE plus. Definitely go with UofA if you like the school and could see yourself there.</p>
<p>UofA is a much better school than those listed UC schools, it is comparable to UCLA and Cal. Our astronomy program is one of the best in the country (if not the best), we also have an undergrad astrobio program that you could dive into as well. If you want to get into space exploration in the future, UA is the place to be, believe me. Campus is great, everyone is happy, and you got an awesome scholarship! Hope you make the right decision!!</p>
<p>NASA is a governmental agency and as such undergraduate prestige is not an important factor in internship selection. Additionally University of Arizona is considered to be an outstanding school for the sciences. In my field it’s easily a top 10 university. I believe its astronomy program is also excellent and provides great research opportunities. </p>
<p>The other UCs are also strong and it’s not hard to switch into a physics major at UCI. The other UCs may be similar although I’m not sure. </p>
<p>While they are all very respectable schools for physics (the usual base for graduate study in astronomy), make your choice based on:</p>
<p>a. Net price.
b. What offerings (courses and potential undergraduate research) exist in astronomy, astrophysics, and astrobiology that you can supplement a physics major with.</p>