<p>theres no subject where i have tons of experience in since its only high school, choosing a major will have to rely in part of the advantage factor and in something that i have spent more time in than most of the students at my school. if you ask any high school student, they might say they really want to major in this or that and they will choose it but no teenagers have the necessary background in their declared major, thats why they're going to university. to explore and see if they're right</p>
<p>Ariel, it is not true that students won't have a chance to show interest in a subject because they are only in high school. There are physics competitions, physics or astronomy clubs, science fair projects, volunteering at a science museum, extra reading, tutoring, leading class projects, all kinds of things that can show additional interest.</p>
<p>If you are from a rural area, and don't have access to these types of opportunities, you won't be judged as lacking, But think carefully before you get too inventive with your application. What would your Honors or AP Physics teacher write about you in a recommendation? Surely he (or she) could give credibility to your interest in physics....or could he?</p>
<p>students can show their interest, but theres no guarantee that they will like the subject they pursue no matter how much they delve into because they're only high school students. thats why they attend university. people's interests change all the time. i always wanted to become a doctor for so long until very recently.</p>
<p>I think your original question isn't really answerable by us. You have to declare a major. Right now, you like physics. You are worried that you haven't demonstrated enough interest in physics to justify this choice. If I were an admissions officer, I'd take a chance on you. What other possibilities are there? I'm the mom of a 17 year old senior. I always tell her, if someone tries to tell you you should know what your major is, they don't understand the undergraduate process. It's OK to know what you want to do, and it's also OK not to know. Ad people know this.</p>
<p>Stanford gives an advantage to girls in physics. I know that for a fact. They said so themselves.</p>
<p>I'm an Astrophysics majors at a women's college. I don't know if saying you want to be a physics major would get you in at Wellesley, because that wasn't my experience. I came into the physics program by accident, and only as an excuse to really do Astronomy right. I took Astronomy as a first semester first year and really liked it. I had originally planned on being a math and french double major.</p>
<p>Here only one or two students a year come in with the credentials to skip intro physics. So most everyone starts from square one, even though it's a heck of a lot easier when you've seen some of the concepts before.</p>
<p>What do you need to be a physics major? Take what Physics you can in high school and as much math (calculus calculus!) as possible. Like solving lots of math problems, because that's what you do in Physics. Like computers. Even if you don't have AP XYZ, you really need the mental skills to do well.</p>
<p>Another poster said that many people drop out of the major because of Freshman Physics: Totally true. </p>
<p>So what to do? You want to major in physics, tell the schools you're applying to that you are interested in their physics program. Unless you're going to a college that has "school of x", and life choice #2 is at "school of y" within your college, physics is not carved in stone when you enter. At most schools, you can change your major even after you declare it anyway. Knowing a subject you like in high school will allow you to compare colleges with a little more depth than comparing meal plans and first year rooms.</p>
<p>When you matriculate at the school of your dreams, you should take whatever incoming physics majors should take (and you should start right away!). After that, the rest is history. Don't like Physics anymore? Do something else!</p>
<p>im more of a math/science person, so my major would be in that area</p>