Illinois is my state of residency, and my school is somewhat of a feeder to UIUC. My parents went to Iowa, though, and encouraged me to apply there.
Iâve definitely been considering applying to Arizona, especially since they have an amazing astrophysics department, and this is a field Iâm interested in pursuing. But Iâve also heard that Arizona canât be considered a safety because itâs extremely difficult to get in for astrophysics (and, to a lesser extent, physics). Is this true?
You might reach out to admissions and ask. I wouldnât think so - but itâs a fair question.
The main thing is - to take your safeties seriously - as they are the most important schools on your list. I wasnât sure that you were.
ASU and Colorado are other good ones.
I canât imagine youâd have an issue at U of A - but - you can certainly ask.
Best of luck.
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Thank you for these recommendations. This helped a lot!
If youâre looking for additional schools, this resource may be helpful: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/jonboeckenstedt/viz/DoctoralRecipients1958-2023/AllData
It shows the undergraduate institution of all people who went on to earn a doctorate between 1958-2023. You can filter by subject (i.e. physics), years (such as 2010-2023), geography, Carnegie classification, etc.
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Itâs extremely difficult to get in to for graduate astrophysics. Not so for undergraduate, where the major is just as easy to get into as any other major. I have also heard not very good things about the physics departmentâs undergraduate teaching. If you attend, make use of special exams to test out of introductory physics courses in order to take astro 400A/B as early as possible.
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On the flipside, repeat / donât take credit in major related areas - college is not HS.
If Iâm OP, for âanyâ program - all on your list - I would not simply go by school name - but whether Arizona, Iowa, Cornell, wherever - ask to speak to a student ambassador in the department and ask about their experience - the level of teaching, the rigor, the enrichment opportunities, the type of internships kids are getting and how, etc.
Just because the name is big doesnât mean the experience is - and vice versa. Perhaps a U of Iowa is unbelievable.
So donât hear on this website - but ask in person.
Not sure if this website was shared - itâs PhD feeders - left side volume and right side per capita. That may not be your goal but it might give you a sense of solid names in the area vs. simply big names overall.