Does choosing a less popular major affect decisions?Answered
Hi! I’m a prospective Astrophysics/Astronomy major that’s looking to go to a T20 school. All of my friends tell me that I am lucky to be going into a less populated major because I’ll be able to get in since not many people apply. I hope this isn’t true because I’ve worked so hard on all of the things I have done related to Astronomy. So my question is, is this true or not? Thank you :)
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I don't think that is true with Top 20 universities like Ivys and Rice/MIT/Caltech/JHU/UChicago and even Top LACs like Swarthmore, Wellesley, Haverford, Williams.
I do think it might be true for 2nd tier and 3rd tier colleges.
Usually, the best schools in Astronomy/Astrophysics globally are also the best schools for other STEM subjects. Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne, U of Toronto, U of Toyko, U of Geneva, Heidelberg University all have great A/A departments with plenty of really smart cohorts and professors.
These days I think of undersubscribed majors at Top 20 schools as Linguistics, Philosophy, Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Aramaic), Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies, History, Education, Foreign Language, Journalism, Conservation, Library Studies, Natural Resources.
A lot of people are interested in the industry because of the space companies like 1. SpaceX · 2. LeoLabs · 3. GHGSat · 4. Orbital Insight · 5. Slingshot Aerospace · 6. Rocket Lab · 7. Planet · 8. Relativity Space 9.Virgin Galactic
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Thank you!! This helped a lot! Hopefully, I'll still be able to get in, haha!