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Admission in astronomy programs vs. physics

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:00 am
by kdub
Hello all, I am a bit different from most people on this forum in that I am applying almost exclusively to astronomy/astrophysics departments rather than physics. The lone exception is MIT, where there is no separate astronomy department. I find it interesting to look at people's stats and where they get accepted/rejected, but I'm not sure how to interpret where I stand since people are mainly posting about physics programs. Since astronomy departments typically admit far less grad students than physics, you figure their standards would be higher, but they also receive fewer applicants as well. Basically I'm wondering whether getting admitted in astro programs would be easier or harder than admission to physics, or if it really varies depending on the individual school.

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:15 am
by astrobio
Which schools are you applying to?

Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 2:29 pm
by kdub
I'm applying to:

Harvard
CalTech
Berkeley
Chicago
Arizona
MIT
Princeton
Santa Cruz
Hawaii
Washington
Colorado
Ohio State
Columbia

Again, MIT is the only one to which I am applying to the physics department. I feel pretty safe about my chances for some of the schools on the second half of my list. I just have no idea about those top schools.