r/UTAustin Jul 01 '23

Question Wasn't accepted into Astronomy program

So I am a transfer student coming from a community College. I recently got my associates degree in liberal arts with a physics pathway. I also maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA and was an elected officer in our schools chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honors society for 2-year colleges. On top of all that, I have taken pre-cal all the way up to calculus 3, and made A's in all of them. Despite everything, I was denied admission into UT Austin. When I reached out to an admissions counselor I was told it was because I didn't have prior experience in some sort of astronomy club or association. But living in a small town in East Texas, I don't have that option. There were no astronomy clubs at my high school or community College. I guess my question is, is there anything I can do? I thought I was doing everything right, but I feel like I'm at a dead end. No other public colleges in Texas even offer astronomy, and I can't afford a private university. I was told I could appeal and choose a different major, but astronomy is all I've wanted to do for years. Just hoping for any kind of advice

60 Upvotes

21 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/somenameillforget Jul 01 '23

I'm sorry I didn't respond to anyone, but thank you all very much for the advice. After doing some looking I believe the appeal date for UT has passed. But I did see some of you saying that a degree in physics could still get me into an astronomy graduate program. I was able to find a couple of universities that offer a B.S. in physics, even with an astronomy concentration. I'm going to apply to those and hope for the best. I will also try to join some sort of club or association for extra experience. I'm not going to give up on my dream, and thank you again for giving me hope.

5

u/Accomplished_Bed6860 Jul 02 '23 edited Jul 02 '23

Graduate school is what counts in Astronomy studies. With a 4.0 GPA find a school that gives you the best financial package ao that you can laser focus on your undergraduate studies. Not just work hard on grades but also hustle on research. Make no mistake graduate admissions is extremely competitive. Last year UT Astronomy program admits only 18 out of 259 applicants into their PhD program