<p>hi,
i am currently a sophomore environmental sciences and philosophy double major in school. i am not thinking about going to grad school immediately after college (i may wait a few years), but i want to keep my options open.</p>
<p>a few questions i have for you guys (i need advice!):</p>
<li><p>my env. sci. major does not require that i take physics at all. however, it is recommended that i do take it if i want to go to grad school. so, my question is this: if i decide to graduate and get my BS, and then take the two intro physics classes sometime later in life before applying for my masters, does that look really bad? or should i just get them over and done with as an undergrad? the reason i’m asking this is because i think i might not graduate on time if i take those two classes (i already have a heavy courseload).</p></li>
<li><p>if i take any classes online over the summer and have them applied to my degree, does that look bad when/if i apply to grad school? would they rather prefer me to take classes without any online instruction?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>that’s about it. any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>(sorry if these are stupid questions. i don’t know anything about grad school admissions. and this is my first time posting on this site, so i haven’t been familiar with the topic at all.)</p>
<p>Your questions aren't stupid, they're just hard to answer given that you haven't said what type of programs you want to apply to (though you mention a masters) or what level of school you're going for (i.e. Random State School or MIT?; not that I'm bashing state schools, but when it comes to acceptance rates, which is his point, it's important).</p>
<p>First of all, a lot of people defer graduate school after they finish their undergrad. In fact, nearly half of my incoming class consisted of students who had worked before coming back to school. Lots of people do it. Plus, you're a sophomore, so you have plenty of time to think about it. Have you done any undergraduate research? </p>
<p>Second, are you just talking about basic introductory physics? I mean, if you're just applying for masters programs (which are typically easier to get into), I can't see any university caring whether or not you take them as an undergrad or in between undergrad and graduate school, so long as you take them at a reputable (i.e. accredited) university. It'd be one thing if it was some specialized course, but intro to physics is almost universally taught everywhere.</p>
<p>Are the classes online through your institution? In that case, will the universities you apply to even notice on your transcript that they were taken online? Though there's a lot of debate over it, in general employers respect actual courses over online overwhelmingly. Given all the egos you'll have to deal with in a graduate school, I'd imagine it's doubly so for an admissions committee. If I was picking graduate students, I would personally look down on online courses compared to brick/mortar classes. Then again, I doubt a few courses would kill your application. Do what you think you should.</p>