<p>Can anyone share any insights on the physics or math departments at Yale? My D is a very strong student in these areas but she is also pretty well-rounded and would want to participate in varsity sports and music if possible. First, how does anyone find either of these departments? Secondly, do you have to have devoted your life to physics and would that be the expectation while at Yale as well? She has not participated in summer research or gone to summer science programs, for example, as she was competing in summer tournaments. I saw a thread about this on the Princeton site where they said that a singular devotion to your subject was completely expected while at Princeton. Thank you!</p>
<p>BUMP THIS THREAD AS WELL!
(You will understand if you have read <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/884408-physics-math-harvard.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/884408-physics-math-harvard.html</a>)</p>
<p>I can’t speak specifically to the physics major, but most Yale students are involved in a number of activities outside of academics generally or their major specifically. Single-minded devotion to a single academic subject is not the norm. Kids get into Yale precisely because they have a wide variety of aptitudes, interests, and abilities that they do at a high level. College is fertile ground for exploring and further developing those interests. I don’t believe that single-minded devotion to one’s major is the rule at Princeton, either.</p>
<p>If someone could please tell me about the physics dept. because I’m also a prospective Yalie looking into physics. 
Thanks!</p>
<p>No, of course you don’t need to devote your life to Physics. It’s not like that in any undergrad college. However, if you take rigorous math and physics courses, it’s expected that you do all the work required, which will end up taking most of the time of the week. Yale’s physics department is one of the top, but is often ranked a bit lower than the schools generally known to be strong in Physics and Math (Cal, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Caltech, etc.). Judging from this, I’d say that Yale’s program is a bit more lenient and friendly because it doesn’t aim to be a hardcore competitive program, but still expected to be challenged by rigorous classes.</p>