<p>Hello
I will be a senior this year and was hoping for some thoughts on how I will do as a physics major in college. Physics has been my favorite highschool class, and it was pretty tough but I had an A in it the whole year. Our teacher had a doctorate in physics so he liked to make it extremely challenging. A lot of people didnt get it at all and came to me for help all the time. I'm taking AP physics next year too. Only thing is, I am going pre-med so I really don't want this to hurt my GPA. I got a 30 on my math act but have gotten 33's on practice ones, so I'm fine there. I understand the math, I just need to know whether ill be able to get a gpa of 3.7 or higher while majoring in physics. </p>
<p>Sorry, I know it's not a lot to form an opinion off of but I'm just wanting to know how difficult physics is in college.</p>
<p>We cannot possibly know how you will do as a physics major in college. I can tell you as a rising junior studying physics that it is significantly more challenging than high school (though I suppose this may vary). It is certainly possible to keep a high GPA if you are willing to put in the effort. I love studying physics so I put in A LOT of time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you really enjoy the challenge then it is worth the effort… On the other hand, if you just want to get a physics degree to show off to med schools then it is probably better than biology but I would still reconsider your choice of major. In the end if GPA is your biggest concern then just go for biology.</p>
<p>No I really do enjoy physics. I would love to study it I just wouldn’t give up a good gpa for it.
And globeltraveler I did see the thread but it was not the same topic as this</p>
<p>There’s no way that anyone could possibly answer this for you. Physics is more challenging than many majors, so it really just comes down to the time that you put into it.</p>
<p>College physics will get substantially more difficult than high school physics though. A lot of high school physics is of the “plug 'n chug” variety…just plug numbers into formulas and go. If you’re willing to put the time in though, there’s no reason that your GPA should suffer. There are plenty of physics majors out there holding down 4.0’s.</p>
<p>Yeah you’re right, it’s mainly just figuring out the prope way to solve it and plugging in numbers into formulas and lots of algebra. But what is the main difference that makes college physics much harder? What kinds of things do you study?</p>
<p>Main topics in the physics curriculum include classical mechanics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics/statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, labs, and several electives (and lots and lots of math). In university you will begin to have to actually understand what you are learning and where it comes from. You’re expected to know how to derive many of the formulas you would typically see on an equation sheet in high school. The tests will be much less focused on calculations and more on understanding derivations and the mathematical methods. Become very friendly with calculus :)</p>
<p>Alright man. Yeah I love all that stuff. I basically aced pre calc and am taking ap calc next year. So hopefully that goes well. Do you have lots of research opportunities as a physics major?</p>
<p>^^^That. University physics rely more on a knowledge of how physics works, rather than simply knowing how to plug the numbers into a formula off of a sheet. Figuring out what the problem is, and how to approach it is a big part of the problem. Simply deriving the equation is half the battle. </p>
<p>Physics majors usually have a lot of research opportunities. It differs from school to school obviously, but in a school with a decent sized physics department, students are usually expected to participate in at least some research during their undergrad.</p>
<p>There are tons of opportunities for physics majors to do research. One of the things I love most about being a physics major is the broad foundation which allows you to work on very interdisciplinary projects. From freshman through sophomore year I worked in a neurobiology lab doing mathematical modeling. This summer I’m doing a seismology REU studying earthquakes and will be doing geophysics research next year. You really can do nearly anything as a physics major.</p>
<p>If they are good, most physics professors try to teach you how to think like a physicist.</p>
<p>That’s cool. My goal, though, isn’t go become a physicist. I just really enjoy it and think I would like it more than chemistry or biology in college. Also, as you said earlier, it would set me apart because I doubt a ton of med students majored in physics. Would you get opportunities I do more medical-oriented research? I do opthalmology research right now at an eye institute and I really enjoy it.</p>