<p>Hey everyone, I just would like to know information about NYU math and/or physics majors. How hard are the programs and how hard is it to earn good grades (like A/A-) especially in the upper division courses? Also, is it possible to double major in both as in would the two departments allow you to transfer courses across the majors so it's easier? How smart are the students in these courses? What are your SAT scores (if you don't mind mentioning)?And what are your plans after the major, is pre-professional schools like medical school or law school common or is it more geared towards graduate school? I am considering doing these majors but did very poorly in Calc II even though I was always very strong in math, so I am not sure if I should continue (I've also taken Calc III didn't do well either).</p>
<p>First and formost, don't stop taking math just because you didn't do well in some classes. Just because you don't do well in some calc class doesn't mean you can't do upper-level math, upper-level math is completely different. I don't go to NYU but I go to a school that probably has a comparable student body in the math department. Whether you are able to get As and A-s is going to come down to your intelligence. Unlike other majors where you can work really hard and study hard, at some point for some people they can only go so far and do so well. Regardless of how many practice problems you do, you are probably going to see new things on the exam. I don't know a single math major that has a 4.0, one of my math major friends has an IQ no less than 160 and he gets A's and A-'s in math. </p>
<p>What can make math and physics difficult is that they are both very...raw talent based majors. In the sense that there are going to be people in your class that might not study very much and always set the curve because they are geniouses and there is nothing you can do about it. There are also going to be geniouses that work inredibly hard and make it even more impossible. </p>
<p>However, this should not deter you. There are still types of math that you haven't even see before so your assesment of your talent will be skewed. I hated calc 2, calc 3 was better, diff eq sucked, linear algebra was awesome, non linear systems was mediocre, and combinatorics was the greatest class in the world. Real analysis was...the hardest class I have ever taken but it felt incredibly rewarding to finish. I actually did better in real analysis than I did in any calc class or diffeq. So in my experience I would say calc grades are a bad indicator for how well you will handle harder math classes.</p>
<p>In terms of pre-professional school like medical...yes you could do this if you wanted to as long as you fulfill the prereqs for med school. Law school will work too. Personally, I plan to go to graduate school to study operations research.</p>
<p>Well, I think the main reason I didn't do so well in calc II was because the "teacher" made us learn so many proofs and expected us to be able to do them. I also didn't like the textbook by salas,hille,etgen, didn't explain much,just proved things. That's why I'm worry about upper division, because its proof heavy. What school do you go to?</p>
<p>Isn't physics pretty calculus intensive? I agree with Euler about upper-level math but if you think you struggle with calculus than physics probably isn't for you.</p>