I’ve been interested in physics for a long time but I’ve never really considered it as a possible college major until recently so I’m not entirely familiar with admissions for this major yet.
Do physics majors at competitive colleges require AP Physics? What are some other common prerequisites? I’ve taken regular physics but not AP. Wondering if this is going to be a big issue if I try to apply as a physics major. I have okay SAT1 (1460-720ERW/740M) and SAT Math 2 scores (760) and the only AP classes in mathematics and sciences that I’ve taken before are AP Statistics and AP Environmental science. I wonder if physics is a possible major for me at all?
Sure, my D was a Physics major at a top college without AP Physics, and only AP AB Calc going in. There is a LOT of math for physics majors. If you want to prep, you might self study more calculus before fall of freshman year. I hope you’ve st least taken regular or honors calculus. That is an important foundation.
For many colleges with excellent physics programs you simply apply to the college itself. At these schools you would be free to select appropriate physics and math courses at your discretion. If you like what you’ve studied, you could declare a major in physics late in your sophomore year.
Many/most universities don’t admit by major. Are you a senior this year or a junior? If you are a junior I agree with the advice to try to take Calculus in high school if possible as the first year university physics course is calculus-based. You can take intro calc for the first time at the same time but it is harder if the math concepts are new to you when you are trying to apply them to doing the physics problems.
Physics is not commonly an oversubscribed major. Indeed, it may have low enough enrollment at some colleges that they cannot justify a large enough physics faculty to make the physics major worth the name (in terms of offering the usually expected set of physics courses).
In terms of high school prerequisites, the minimum prerequisites are precalculus (so that you are ready for calculus when you start college) and high school physics (often a recommended prerequisite for physics in college). Obviously, if you are more advanced in math and physics, that can be helpful (if you complete at least calculus 1 or calculus AB in high school, you can start the calculus-based physics sequence in first semester in college, instead of waiting until after you finish calculus 1 in first semester of college). Some colleges’ physics majors also require general chemistry, so having at least high school chemistry can be helpful for that.
I am a senior taking precalculus as my math course right now. I’d probably be able to find time to self-study calculus outside of class. I’ve taken both regular biology and chemistry previously.
Some colleges would allow you to take calculus-based physics as a first-semester student as long as you take calculus 1 concurrently. This may be referred to as a co-requiste. In any case, calculus can be regarded as the natural language of physics and will be important to your studies.
The schools you apply to, and the strength of their programs, will be a big deciding factor as to whether or not having the high school courses helps. Some high schools don’t even offer them. My son was going down the physics route. To prep he started with honors physics and pre-calculus as a junior then senior year jumped to AP Calc BC and AP Physics C in addition to other AP and dual credit courses. But they weren’t absolutely necessary as intparent states above.
From what we learned on visits (prior to him changing his major) was that some schools you can’t declare until you get past a certain point in the curriculum (weeding out the kids maybe not cut out for STEM fields). Other colleges you would apply directly into a school or program within a larger school and if not accepted into the program you wouldn’t be accepted to the school.
Although you will study all sorts of different types of physics for any physics degree, having some idea of your area of specialization preference, if you have one, is going to factor in to determining what schools to apply to. Not all schools offering physics offer all types. My son was set on Applied Physics, so we had to avoid schools where the degrees would be astronomy or astrophysics as the only choices. If you already have a preference to help you narrow the school options you can look at each individual program. If not, then look for schools offering it that are the types of schools you see yourself in and see what they require. Look at their 4 (or more) year course track. You will find a great program that will happily take your SAT score without AP Physics. But as it was mentioned already be prepared for lots of calculus.
On a side note, if you want to work for NASA someday Purdue is a recruiting ground and if you want to intern on a particle accelerator think about the Chicagoland area or any school with ties to the area because Fermilab is there. If you are interested in Applied, UIUC is working on creating a whole new department for it instead of housing it under the umbrella of the school of engineering. However I don’t know when that will be completed. Maybe a later time than you could take advantage of it. Good luck. It’s a fascinating area with so many applications.
What a great, detailed response, thank you!
What a great, detailed response, thank you!
The physics curriculum at most universities is pretty much the same. You can get a solid physics education at just about any university. You do not have to have AP Physics and in many cases, even if you do, the university will ask you to take the basic physics courses anyway.
The best way to choose a physics program that fits you is to look at the specific major as @UniversityMomOf2 says. If you want Applied Physics or Engineering Physics, you need to make sure that program exists in your university. The second thing to consider is what your plans are after college. If you are interested in a graduate degree in physics, then I would recommend that you find a university that requires a minimum of 2 semesters of Electrodynamics, 2 semesters of Quantum Mechanics, and an upper division course in Statistical Physics. These are foundational for graduate school. You might also wish to consider a school that also has a PhD program since you will likely find more on-campus research opportunities on funded research projects and you will have the chance to work with graduate students. Most colleges have opportunities for undergraduate research so this is not an absolute requirement.
Apart from that, make sure you like the university. That is probably the key to doing well.
Thanks for this post by the way! I was wondering the same thing since I’m in a similar situation.
My conservative view: to take your early college physics classes, or declare the major, you need to be admitted. Where there’s the most competition, yes, you can be vetted on the major(s) you indicate and your prep. They want to see your thinking and experience and that you can hit the ground running. You’re telling us your only AP stem are stats and enviro, not the rigor or material of an AP lab sci or one of the calc options.
On top of that, the most competitive will want to see some appropriate math-sci ECs, that sort of challenge and teamwork. Some may ask you to explain your choice and your relevant courses taken.
Bottom line: choose your targets wisely. Know what they expect. As xray says, there are many colleges with solid physics programs.