<p>What's engineering physics like there cornellians? I am coming there in the fall. Id be interested in you course schedule too, especially if you're freshmen/sophomore as Id like to see what most kids are taking those years, and how is it all?</p>
<p>Hey, I am hopefully an Engineering Physics major. I have taken one class in the department, and the rumors about it being a b*tch are true. You need to be ready for some serious time commitment if you want to survive, martinez. The major is only 25-30 kids per year, and they only take the best. It's the hardest major in the engineering school to get into. I am worrying about getting into it right now. Well, good luck with everything, and congrats on your acceptance to Cornell.</p>
<p>It's not harder to get into per se, because you don't apply to a major when you apply to the College of Engineering. However, it's hard to stay in and maintain your sanity. One of my friends is an AEP, and he is one of the smartest guys I know. Yet, he has to bust his ass off for a relatively few courses/credits. It is one of the smaller majors because it is difficult, but there are lots of job options!</p>
<p>If you want to see the schedule, just look online. They havea flowchart.</p>
<p>You guys scared me now, olol. But seriously I'm getting worried. Is it easy to switch to the physics degree after first year? after first semester? after 2nd year? Also, you're saying EP is hard, but the first 2 years before you declare that it is your major, is it regular/easy? Or hard right from the start?</p>
<p>so what exactly makes it so difficult? I mean, it looks the same as any other program in engineering(in the course descriptions) What are some things that make it stand out to be REALLY hard so much harder than the other engineering and other majors for that matter ?</p>
<p>I can't compare it to any other major because I am not in those majors. But EP is just notorious for being hard.</p>
<p>AEP will roxor your ass. </p>
<p>That's all there is to it.</p>
<p>AEP is notorious for being hard and is the hardest major to get into because it has the most difficult affiliation requirements, they also take harder versions of the core engineering science classes.</p>
<p>I knew one guy at Cornell who was a TA for a computer science class. He has since received his Ph.D. (I don't know which engineering field) but he managed to get a 3.9 undergrad GPA in engineering physics. Very smart guy. Here is an article about him when he was a undergrad senior: <a href="http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/96/5.23.96/Renaud.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/96/5.23.96/Renaud.html</a></p>
<p>It starts off harder because most AEP's will take honors physics. I found normal physics hard enough, but honors physics takes a LOT of time. Ends up being rather cliquey because most of those are in AEP and/or pure physics major. Otherwise normal start for any engineering major. </p>
<p>I'd like to re-emphasize the point that it's not HARD to GET IN TO. ALL majors are relatively lax on affiliation requirements, in fact, computer science probably has the harshest affiliation reqs. It's the hardest to STAY IN and DO WELL.</p>
<p>ne otheres?</p>
<p>hello. I am a senior finishing up my degree in Engineering Physics right now. It has a reputation of being the hardest major here at Cornell, take that as you will. The best way to describe Engineering Physics would be to say ... that it's a physics degree in the engineering school. All the courses you take are essentially the same that you would take as a physics major, but it seems that there's a heavier emphasis on math and applications (as opposed to theory). In the end, you learn the same things that a physicist would learn.</p>
<p>typically, the first two years are spent taking general engineering requirements and physics courses. most AEPers take the honors versions of the physics classes. I never did that but I'm still doing okay, although the honors courses prepare you better for your junior year. the third year is the notorious year. there are 3 core advanced physics courses per semester that you are required to take. </p>
<p>after that, you take a bunch of technical electives depending on what you want to do post-graduation. if you want to focus in or get a job in CS or MechE, then you take CS or MechE courses. if you want to go into wall street, then you take math and econ courses. if you want to go to grad school in ________, then you take courses in that area. many AEPers either do their M.Eng or continue onto grad school in physics. I am personally going to grad school in chemistry.</p>
<p>hope this helps and if you have any other questions, i'd be happy to answer them. good luck with your application process.</p>
<p>oh ok you are already coming here. congratulations on getting accepted :)</p>
<p>as for your other questions, what makes EP so hard is that the program really pushes you. the professors don't even really give you a lot of work per se. none of it is busy work. it's just really difficult so it takes a lot of time and effort.</p>
<p>Could you please tell me what kind of career an engineering physics major might have? Thanks!</p>
<p>EP majors can really do anything.</p>
<p>I'm going to do my PhD in chemistry. A lot of people are going after a PhD in Physics, Applied Physics, or Materials Science. It's easy to go into law or medicine but I don't know anyone doing that although I did consider medicine for a little while.</p>
<p>I know a few people that will be working for Investment Banking firms like Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. EP prepares you mathematically and analytically and IB firms like people that can think.</p>
<p>One of my friends will be working for microsoft. A few people will be doing their M.Eng in AEP, BME (biomedical eng), and CS. A lot of people also go straight into industry and work for companies like Boeing. One of my friends will most likely be working for a defense company (either Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab or MIT Lincoln Lab). One of my friends will be doing the Teach for America program for who knows how long.</p>
<p>Wow, it sounds like a versatile major, so I wonder why all eng schools do not offer it. My son loves physics and math, so maybe he should consider this. Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>It's a very broad major. If you want to go into a particular engineering field, you will at the very least have to take many classes or even minor in that area. Often times, you will have to complete an M.Eng to get the sufficient training. EP is good at training you to think and analyze but it doesn't give you specific training in one field or another. Oh and you have to absolutely love physics if you want to survive.</p>
<p>I'm bumping because I am very interested in the AEP program at Cornell. I am currently a Physics/Industrial Engineering major at UF and am applying for transfer admissions to Cornell. Any more information about the program (e.g. the professors, research opportunities, internship/coop opportunities, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for any information.</p>
<p>-Eddie-</p>
<p>I'll address each point separately.</p>
<p>Professors: It's a small department with only about a dozen or so faculty members so there is a lot of student interaction with them. All the professors are very approachable and extremely friendly. My academic advisor (an AEP prof) is simply phenomenal. Some of them are good teachers and some of them aren't, but overall I would rate them higher than the average prof at Cornell. As you can tell, I really love the AEP department. I found to be a stark change from other departments like ECE. Every department seems to have their own personality and the AEP dept seemed to mesh with me really well. If you want information about specific professors, you can contact me in private.</p>
<p>Research:
There are a lot of undergrad research opportunities as long as you have the initiative. I personally have not worked with an AEP professor, but some of my friends have. There are a lot of opportunities available if you are seriously interested. Professors love interested students and, unless you're a freshman, it's not too difficult to join a research group. This applies to Chemistry, Physics, and AEP. I have done research in the Chemistry and Physics departments but not AEP, but I know what I said is true across the board.</p>
<p>Internship/Coop:
I don't know a lot about the Coop. In our class of 30-40 students, 3 students went on Coop. One spent the semester working in Los Alamos, but I'm not sure what the others did. There are a lot of summer internship opportunities. IB firms and national defense organizations (NASA, Boeing, MIT LL, etc) tend to offer internships to AEP students. I personally spent the last summer in a physics research internship at a university in Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Students:
It's the smallest engineering department. My year has a little less than 40 kids and that was a large class. You'll get to know your classmates pretty well. Most of us are pretty tight-knit but it's important to say it's by no means cliquey, if thats a word.</p>
<p>Hope this helps and if you want to know anything else just ask. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you for the prompt and comprehensive response, it is very much appreciated. The more I research on the program, the more I am thrilled by the opportunities. My e-mail address is <a href="mailto:EPorrell@ufl.edu">EPorrell@ufl.edu</a>, I would really like to discuss specifics on the program and Cornell in general. Once again, Thank you very much for your input.</p>
<p>-Eddie-</p>