<p>My daughter was an average student in high school but did have a B plus average in chemistry (non-honors) without doing much work and an A minus in physics (non-honors), which she did try hard in and seemed to enjoy. She has taken calculus (not AP calc) and has an A minus in that. She wants to major in physics in college, but she needs a B average to keep a scholarship. I'm afraid college physics may be too much for her and I don't want her to lose her scholarship. I think she might be better at something easier like business. First semester for physics major would be physics, chemistry, calculus and a humanities course. She's going to a college where her math SAT is high compared to other students, but maybe not high for a physics major. Any advice from parents of physics majors?</p>
<p>If she likes math and physics, then she is likely to be more motivated to learn the material (and get good grades) than if she studies something she does not care for.</p>
<p>I think what often happens with potential physics majors is they take their first college physics class intended for physics majors and they learn very quickly whether or not they will be able to handle the major. </p>
<p>One class won’t ruin her.</p>
<p>She says she likes math but not calculus. I’ve forgotten what calculus is so I don’t really know what she means by that. She did like physics; is liking calculus essential for majoring in physics?</p>
<p>Studying what you like is far more important than studying something “easy”. Also, a business degree … ugh.</p>
<p>She’s pretty social, like in high school she wasn’t very academic but would be in a lot of clubs and running bakesales or whatever so that’s why I thought business. She does have to major in something and physics might have been her best class.</p>
<p>If physics was her best class, then clearly she should major in Physics if that’s also what she wants…</p>
<p>Parent of Engineering major - first few terms are similar to a Physics major, I believe.</p>
<p>My S attended a “cc top U”, where his Math SAT scores although very very nice, were not at the top. He struggled in one or two courses his first two years, although had always been a top math/physics student in hs.</p>
<p>STEM courses in college can be TOUGH. Does not mean she should not major in what she wants, though.</p>
<p>I would suggest a couple of things - first, relax. Although my S struggled in a couple of classes (struggled mightily, in fact; many STEM students do), he never had his GPA sink below a B (he got a C+ in each of these “struggle” courses -lowest grades he ever saw but grades we were all proud of because they represented persistence and hard work under pressure). Support her and encourage her; encourage her to go to prof ofc hours, use TA and study group resources early and often and DEFINITELY at the very first sign of difficulty.</p>
<p>Second, to perhaps set your mind at ease, contact the school (either Physics Dept or financial aid office) to discuss how students in Physics majors have fared wrt maintaining their scholarships in the past. If most have kept their scholarships and her scores are above average in that field, then maybe you can believe she will come out fine as well.</p>
<p>You mention good Chem grade in hs without doing much work and good Physics grade where “she tried hard and seemed to enjoy”. She was an average student overall - could that be because she didn’t always try hard and/or wasn’t always interested in the subjects?</p>
<p>I would hate to see a student steered toward an “easy” major and away from a real interest. Would love to see her rise to her potential in the field she wants to choose.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Calculus is important in understanding physics. (However, it is also typically required for business majors to help understand economics and finance, though most business majors will not have to take anywhere near as much math as physics majors.)</p>
<p>I would go further. Calculus is essential to understanding Physics at the college level. At a minimum, Physics majors will have to take and understand simple and multivariable calculus, linear algebra and differential equations.</p>
<p>I would go further still - physics, beyond those first couple of intro classes, is mainly using calculus to solve complex physics problems. Big hairy problem sets with many problems every week, in every class. Plus labs.</p>
<p>Can you characterize the school she’ll attend - how competitive is it? Someone entering one of the large midwestern engineering schools without having had honors level math and science would be at a huge disadvantage compared to most of the others who will have taken much harder HS classes.</p>
<p>What majors has she considered? Accounting, if she likes math, might be a better alternative.</p>
<p>I meant to add that a weak HS record isn’t a death sentence. One can purchase books easily and self-study math and physics. There are many tutorials online that she could use to teach her material during the summer. If Physics is what she really wants, she certainly can make a go of it - if she works hard.</p>
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<p>Aren’t the intro physics classes usually calculus based mechanics and e&m? I haven’t taken any other physics classes, but even these classes made heavy use of calculus. There actually were a few times in which I had to remind myself that I was studying physics and not calculus.</p>
<p>My advice to her would be to do what she wants. I would agree with soomoo that she will find out fast what she thinks of college physics. </p>
<p>I would also tell her that if she does not understand something that she beat a path to the prof’s office or to the tutoring center. Get help sooner rather than later. My former physics major daughter as a HS junior said:" I don’t really like math, but I love the way you apply math in physics." She now is an applied math major with a physics minor. I think that your daughter will find that the math component is important. However, I also think that in general college professors do a better job of teaching math and science than high school teachers–unless a child has been very lucky in high school.</p>
<p>As I remember, calculus was basically invented to solve physics problems, so it is understandable that especially first year physics (mechanics) would seem as much like a calculus class as a physics class.</p>
<p>If she can’t hack it, she’ll find a new major quickly. If she wants to try it, all you can do is show her the course requirements for the major and let her see what she’s getting into.
Depending on her college, she may be blown away by how much better prepared the other students are. She may want to pre-study or take a course over the summer to get in gear.</p>
<p>The first semester of college physics should let her know if this is something she really likes & can handle. She will also have to take several math courses beyond calculus.</p>
<p>Newton invented calculus exactly to solve problems. If she doesn’t like calculus, she’s not going to like college physics.</p>
<p>That being said, taking one college class in physics won’t hurt. If she finds out she doesn’t like it, she has plenty of time to switch to a major she likes better-- which I hope won’t be business, but an actual academic subject.</p>
<p>Let’s be blunt, she won’t make it as a physics major if she’s not good with calculus. General chem is no way comparable to calc physics. And the first three college calculus courses are not that hard anyway. Sure, she didn’t make an A in chem because she didn’t study. But even if she studied, it doesn’t mean she got an A. Having said all this, as a parent myself, I’d say go for it. You (the student) never know if you don’t try. And you (the parent) just need to save some more money for an extra semester or two.</p>
<p>I’d let her follow her “nose.” Physics is different from math and different from science. Kids that are “good” at physics generally look at things differently and see things where others don’t. High school classes don’t give a ton of information about how those kids will do in physics. My most artsy, math-hating kid had a physics teacher practically begging him to study physics in college. This one just “sees” the world differently and it manifests itself in studio art and in physics. The math might be a deal breaker, but on the other hand kids that aren’t great math lovers, if wired right, can survive the math. Let her give it a try, she might surprise you. If not, nothing ventured, nothing gained and she can pick a different major. I could never have been a physics major but I have a family member who was despite a spotty high school math record. And oh yes, you have to have math in business majors (micro-econ demands at least calculus and statistics at the college level.)</p>