Unable to take physics this semester - extremely frustrated

<p>I'm currently attending a community college, enrolled in the engineering science program. This is my second year and I would like to go on to study mechanical engineering or possibly physics. The school I attend does not offer any engineering-specific courses and the math sequence stops at Calculus II, which I have just completed. </p>

<p>The school also offers four physics classes, two sequences of Physics I & II; one is algebra based and one is calculus based. To begin calc-based physics I you must complete calc I, which I did last spring. I had the intention of taking physics I this fall semester but I was a little late for class registration and the one section of the class filled up very quickly. What also bugs me is that there's only 15 seats for the class, and I believe at least 5 of them dropped within the first two weeks. </p>

<p>I was a little upset at the time, but not quite realizing the full implications. I was also a bit happy that my workload would be more manageable. I understood that I would not be able to graduate in the Spring of 2014, because completion of the physics sequence is required for engineering majors. However, I was not incredibly bothered because I was not concerned with graduating at this school and I was fairly certain that I would be transferring after the Fall semester (which is not the case now). </p>

<p>So if I did want to graduate from this school I would have to wait until next Fall to take Physics I because it's not offered in the Spring, and then I would have to take Physics II the following semester; three years at a community college. </p>

<p>I have become quite distraught recently though because I've acquired a huge interest in the field of physics and I am considering majoring in it after I transfer. I will be leaving this school with absolutely no exposure to physics, and no taste of what the course is actually like. I took physics in high school but it was very basic and we only covered newtonian physics. </p>

<p>I could read books about physics and watch documentaries for hours on end but I have the feeling that these courses are very different than what I would like to them to be. How can I declare my major as physics when I have no idea of the difficulty of the courses, maybe I won't even like it at all, or I won't understand the material. I am just so upset right now by my lackluster attitude about registration a few months ago. Had I done what I was supposed to I could have graduated on track and I would have much more experience with the subject. Has anyone else been in a similar situation?</p>

<p>Show up to the first day of class. They will let you in.</p>

<p>Most schools have a couple of due dates where payments for registered classes are due. There are frequently people that haven’t made payment arrangements yet, which results in them being dropped from their classes. I’d ask and see if there is such a date coming up still. If there is, you might still be able to sneak your way in.</p>

<p>Is there a wait list you can get on?</p>

<p>Maybe I didn’t articulate myself very well. The reason I cannot take any form of Physics next semester is because Physics I only runs in the Fall and Physics 2 requires the completion of Physics 1.</p>

<p>Is there a different community college in your area where you can take calculus-based physics 1?</p>

<p>For some exposure to college physics, gheck out MIT open course ware for online videos of some classes.</p>

<p>[Physics</a> | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/]Physics”>Search | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials)</p>

<p>Also you can look into resources such as coursera and udacity but last I looked, not much beyond basic intro physics was offered.</p>

<p>I know this doesn’t solve your problem of not getting the credits you need, but it can provide some exposure to physics to help you decide in a major.</p>