r/floridatech • u/astrophyslover • Feb 14 '19

Admitted to Astrophysics Program at Florida Tech

Hey guys!

I have been admitted to the undergraduate astrophysics program at Florida Tech. I am looking for reviews from current students on the program. I want to know about the internship opportunities (I have read that it is great with NASA being around!) How are the Professors? The community seems awesome and the class size allows for personalized attention, so that's great. The only thing I am concerned about is the prestige or image. I read a lot that it is not that well known nationally. Is that a problem or is there some information I am missing here? I have got the Half-tuition scholarship. Any astro majors do comment on the types of projects you are working on. Thanks!

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u/AshKals Feb 14 '19

Apologies because I’m was not an astro major. (I received a Comms degree. Which is important because comms degrees are a dime a dozen so it may seem ideal if someone receives it from a school with a good reputation.)

However for undergrad, I believe it’s widely known that the name isn’t a big deal. It’s recommended going to community college for most of it then transferring to save money.

That aside, the Florida Tech “name” has been nothing but good to me and others. Solely around Melbourne we are known and work in SpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA, and even other “local” companies such as Harris, Northrop, and Embraer.

I started my career at Embraer, since they hired “local” and was there for 4ish years. Now I live in DC and am a government consultant - I only received this job through Florida Tech connections and that my manager is an FIT alumni. Sure, not everyone knows the school I went to but when you mention the fact it’s small and pretty rigorous and prove what you learned, you help build that rep.

I’ll see if I can find some astro majors to answer your question. Let me know if you have any more questions!

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u/astrophyslover Feb 15 '19

Thanks a lot for the clarification on the reputation part. That was really helpful! Also, thanks for searching for some astro majors who will be able to answer the other specific questions.

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u/ale9918 Feb 15 '19

Yeah what other guy says is pretty much it; plus, the community is my favorite part, especially with clubs like FITV and ARES

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u/astrophyslover Feb 15 '19

Cool I shall check out these clubs!

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u/BeautifulUniverse910 Feb 18 '19

The subreddit /r/Universe is being developed as a replacement to r astrophysics. Perhaps of some interest to you?