My future in physics (current HS)

[Sophos]

I am currently a senior in high school, have a great interest in physics and have taken a physics class or physics-related class all four years. I have applied early to UC Berkeley, and regardless of whether I get in or not (although I have a larger chance than most, due to a specialized robotics/engineering program), I intend to select a major in Physics (and hopefully specialize in astrophysics). My primary career goal is to conduct research for U.S. Gov't (can't specify organization for eligibility reasons, but you have definitely heard of it). What would be the best graduate school (+PhD program) to prepare me for this type of career?

Note: I don't care about brand-schools

 

[eri]

NASA doesn't care if you mention them or not (and you're anonymous on here anyway) and very few other government agencies will hire an astrophysicist (we're just not all that useful). The best astrophysics grad program will depend on the specific field you want to specialize in by the time you apply - they don't all offer everything. Some schools have top programs for something specific in what would otherwise be a just OK school - like the solar physics program at Montana State. But you won't figure out what you want to specialize in for a while, and you'll probably change your mind a few times. I'm out of a postdoc and I still haven't really settled on one field of astrophysics out of the few I work in.

 

[Sophos]

NASA doesn't care if you mention them or not (and you're anonymous on here anyway) and very few other government agencies will hire an astrophysicist (we're just not all that useful). The best astrophysics grad program will depend on the specific field you want to specialize in by the time you apply - they don't all offer everything. Some schools have top programs for something specific in what would otherwise be a just OK school - like the solar physics program at Montana State. But you won't figure out what you want to specialize in for a while, and you'll probably change your mind a few times. I'm out of a postdoc and I still haven't really settled on one field of astrophysics out of the few I work in.

Thanks for your insight. :)

Btw, it's not NASA...but I don't want this to turn into a guessing game.