Programs Should I Double Major in Astrophysics and Physics Before Transferring to a UC?

[proton]

I am currently attending a community college and I have completed 28 units and am taking 6 units right now in the summer. I plan on applying to the UC's this fall, hoping particularly to get into Berkeley.
As for my future, I'm still uncertain as to what I want to study. I'm thinking string theory, other physics fields, astrophysics or cosmology. Since I'm uncertain as to whether I want to study astrophysics or not, would it be advisable to double major with astrophysics and physics? If I do that, but then later on decide I just want to do string theory or something not involving astronomy, I'll probably need a double major in physics and math?
Since I have to complete the IGETC before I transfer (unless I stayed for 3 years which I don't want to since I hate my community college), it would be impossible for me to finish my remaining physics required classes and classes for the astrophysics major as well since not all the astrophysics major requirements overlap with the physics requirements. So I was wondering whether I even still have a chance at completing the double major with astophysics, and if i do, do I have to start working on it as soon as possible or wait until after the transfer?

 

[oksanav]

I'm no expert or anything, but I'd focus on physics. You can always minor in astrophysics I guess, but since a lot of schools don't offer astrophyics, I don't think grad schools expect a degree in it. A degree in physics seems to offer a lot of flexibility, at least that's what people tell me. By the way, what the heck is IGETC?

 

[proton]

Ok, thanks for the advice. I took some career personality tests and they said that being an astronomer would fit me better than a physicist would. It was based on my personality, not necessarily my interests in the subjects, fit an astronomer better. But don't astronomers have to learn multiple foreign languages and use computers more often? (i have only learned spanish for 3 years, forgot a lot of it, and am very computer illiterate compared to most teenagers). IGETC is the general ed breadth requirements that community college students have to complete before they transfer to the UC school.

 

[oksanav]

Good grief, astronomers would be pretty talented people wouldn't they! It all depends on what you want to do I guess. None of my astronomy teachers speak anything but english. What kind of astronomy? Do you just love looking through telescopes and want to do observational, or do you want to do more astrophysics? You might check out the astronomy forum on here. I'm doing research with an observational astronomer trying to find extrasolar planets, which really means I sit at a computer trying to get something to work on the first try. I'm on the more physics end, whereas my husband, the amateur astronomer, actually runs telescopes. Take a physics class and see how much you like working problems, versus just staring at the sky I guess. Either way, they're close enough fields that you're not gonna' screw yourself by jumping into one I think. I guess it depends how successful you want to be!

 

[proton]

I still am unsure as to what I want to specialize in but it'll probably be string theory, quantum mechanics, cosmology, etc. Observation is something I'm not too sure that I like because I have never used a telescope, I don't like using computers, but I do enjoy looking in the sky to observe the moon and sun. In the high school AP physics and cc Newtonian mechanics class I've taken, I greatly enjoyed doing the homework problems but I did not like doing the labs and writing the lab reports. And I wish to become very successful, like win the nobel prize (a VERY long shot of course, but I can dream)