<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I've recently had an epiphany and decided that I want to do something meaningful in my life, especially in physics. People usually know me as a lazy genius but I'm willing to change that. I had a 2.9 GPA in high school, but got a 5 on Physics C and Calculus AB in my HS, will the GPA count against me in the transfer admissions process? What if I score highly on the transfer exam?</p>
<p>I also decided to spend every waking moment in the library of my university studying physics and math. I do not know what I should be studying for besides the general topics listed on Caltech's website. Would the exam be a lot like the difficult questions in text books, like the AP exam, heavily concentrated on derivations and conceptual understanding instead of solving trivial problems? How should I prepare?</p>
<p>Regardless, I'm also studying to know undergrad physics like the back of my hand, but would also like to know what I should put an emphasis on.</p>
<p>Edit: Also, I've heard there's lots of proof based stuff. I got a spivak calculus textbook, which does a lot of analysis stuff. What book should I use for physics which will adequately prepare me for anything caltech can dish out?</p>