Cid attended the University of California, Berkeley, for her undergraduate education. Prior to starting courses at Berkeley, she attended the Summer Bridge program on campus the summer before beginning the fall semester. During her undergraduate studies, she worked in a research position with Janet Luhmann as an advisor. She also supported herself through college playing violin in a mariachi band. She graduated in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in astrophysics, with a focus in space physics. At her graduation ceremony, her father, an artist, designed her graduation cap.