Physics major but I don’t think she has what it takes.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't base aptitude on getting a 3 on the AP exam and struggling in linear algebra. If she's interested and willing to struggle to "get it," then she'll probably be fine. I'd be more interested in career outcomes than whether she can actually do it.
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[Anonymous]

I wanted to major in the sciences and didn’t because I had a weak foundation in math and the prereqs felt too hard. I'm happy as a lawyer, but I've always wished I'd gotten a tutor and toughed it out instead of leaning into the writing and humanities that were already easy for me. Those things would still have been easy to pick up again if I'd failed my attempt at something different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD (senior) is planning to apply as a physics major.
She took one physics class in high school and struggled and got a 3 on the AP test. She’s not taking physics now.
She’s currently taking linear algebra and struggling.
This doesn’t seem like a kid who should be a physics major. I don’t want to discourage her, but I also don’t want to waste money on tuition while she flounders.

Struggling in hyper accelerated math isn't a problem with her long term ability. The hyper acceleration is the problem with that.

Was the 3 in Physics 1 or Physics C (and if C, Mech or E&M or both?)

Back to "why physics?" Physics is very interesting! But lots of things are very interesting! And what's interesting in high school is not the same as the upper level college content, and nothing like PhD content. She may be interested in EE or robotics or mech eng or civil eng or high school education or many other physics related majors.

*Majoring* is a huge commitment to one subject. Why is that her *favorite* subject?
Has she considered that high school has about 10 subjects, but there are 100 college majors to choose from?

Anyway, none of this matters for college admissions. Performance in high school matters, not an (understandably) underinformed guess at future major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD (senior) is planning to apply as a physics major.
She took one physics class in high school and struggled and got a 3 on the AP test. She’s not taking physics now.
She’s currently taking linear algebra and struggling.
This doesn’t seem like a kid who should be a physics major. I don’t want to discourage her, but I also don’t want to waste money on tuition while she flounders.

My spouse has a PhD in physics. She’s one of the smartest people I know, and breezed through her HS classes. I seriously doubt a kid who struggled with physics in HS and is struggling with LA is a good fit for physics. I’d support her, but make sure that wherever she goes has lots of options in case she has to change majors.

Your wife is cool. Most physics majors don't get a PhD. More of them end up doing non-physics computer/data work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD (senior) is planning to apply as a physics major.
She took one physics class in high school and struggled and got a 3 on the AP test. She’s not taking physics now.
She’s currently taking linear algebra and struggling.
This doesn’t seem like a kid who should be a physics major. I don’t want to discourage her, but I also don’t want to waste money on tuition while she flounders.

I slid out of physics and into economics. (Because I tried to major in it in the time before AP tests were common, and I had no idea how far behind in math I was compared with students who’d gone to better schools.)

One possible solution: Your daughter could go to a school that makes it easy to switch majors and take economics as an elective freshman year.

If she filters out of physics, she can major in economics.

Kids think economics will be about rich people laughing over their money, but academic economics is really physics, with humans in place of inanimate objects, for people who are good but not great at math.

It’s as theoretical and nerdy as physics, but outsiders assume it’s about practical business matters and assume someone who majored in economics will be a good worker.

If your daughter thinks she wants to be a physicist because of, for example, Star Trek: She might really want adventure and travel more than analytics. If so, maybe she could look into logistics. Logistics is about moving things people need around the world. It involves going into seaports and the underbellies of airports and all sorts of interesting places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got a 1 on both physics 1 and 2, and a 3 on physics C mechanics. I am now going into a PhD program for physics at a school you’d approve of.

It’s a slow journey and you shouldn’t expect that people who do well in the beginning are actually better at physics. Linear algebra is a difficult class in general and makes sense to a lot of physics majors when they take upper division quantum mechanics. Don’t kill your daughters dreams just because she isn’t perfect.

This is impractical advice. For every one of you there are 100s of students who changed their major while blowing up their gpa or dropped out. Yes, you can argue that persistence, maturation, and college environment can (and often do) enable kids to persevere and succeed, but someone, especially a parent, has to let a kid know what they're up against. When she gets to college, there are going to be plenty of freshmen who can ace lower level math and physics classes so the question is going to be whether this will be a motivating or discouraging force.

Other than struggling with some classes, how is she doing otherwise? Does she still have a positive attitude? There are many free online courses she should try out to see if she can get a better handle on the concepts. See how she does without worrying about grades. GL to her.

This is impractical advice if she doesn’t actually like physics. Not every physicist is Susskind- there are physicists who weren’t perfect throughout undergrad.

Physics isn’t specially different from other majors. You can struggle and still be successful- if you don’t like struggling, STAY AWAY FROM A PHYSICS MAJOR. Even the best students will have a moment where they realize a problem is too hard for them. I dont think high school physics is any actual measure of your ability to be a physicist- but it does help in the intro courses. Luckily, colleges today have so many resources to improve in your quantitative skills.

Agree with this completely. Performance in high school physics is less important than the ability to make mistakes, learn from them, and keep going. Your DD's self-concept must be robust to a certain amount of failure. Assuming her math skills are solid, she can be successful if committed and motivated by genuine interest.

Another point is that high school physics is not always taught well, often due to mathematical immaturity. This can vary widely from school to school, but a STEM-focused college likely offers a better introduction to the subject.

[Anonymous]

Physics is hard . Dabblers need to stay away..

[Anonymous]

Instead of focusing on her abilities, try to talk her through the career options for physics majors.

Since the draw for her is the theory, how will she translate that interest to a career? Is she open to a PhD? What does the job market look like—is it competitive? Look through job boards together to see how many positions would be feasible for someone with an undergraduate physics degree. On college visits, try to find a way to speak with current physics majors. All this should give a needed dose of reality.

If she persists, I agree with other posters that a SLAC might be the best place for her. And yeah, as another PP said, consider a women’s college. At some place like Mount Holyoke, she’d get more focused teaching and mentorship, a less cutthroat environment—and with the core requirements, she’d be exposed to other, potentially more practical fields that might spark her interest as much as physics has.

[Anonymous]

At most colleges and even large universities, physics is housed in the Arts & Sciences school, where in most cases it is no problem whatsoever to switch majors within the Arts & Sciences school.

She will find out in the FIRST semester if physics is not doable for her abilities. The intro course for physics majors will be sufficiently challenging to test that.

Let her figure it out! The only reason to want to know right now would be if the alternative major ideas were business or engineering, because often those are ideally applied to directly.

[Anonymous]

Does she have a reason WHY she's applying as a Physics major? Is it just because it sounds cool, or she thinks it might help her admissions chances?

[Anonymous]

How about Harvey Mudd for physics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD (senior) is planning to apply as a physics major.
She took one physics class in high school and struggled and got a 3 on the AP test. She’s not taking physics now.
She’s currently taking linear algebra and struggling.
This doesn’t seem like a kid who should be a physics major. I don’t want to discourage her, but I also don’t want to waste money on tuition while she flounders.

If she struggled with physics class, why she wants to major in physics?

OP here. She says she thinks it’s interesting. She likes some of the theoretical ideas.

If she goes to a smaller school, she might get great undergrad teaching with inspiring mentors who will nurture her and help her along. Then for grad school she’ll be more prepared and can go to a big school. For this kind of physics kid, I would definitely recommend a smaller school. It’s doable, but less so at a place like a big research university. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She will figure it out. She can switch majors.

+1

[Anonymous]

An SB in physics is a path to a PhD and research career. That's hard.
Jobs with an SB in physics used to be employees thinking well they can learn anything...but it's a more specific market now.
Law degree and she can be a patent attorney. Or an examiner without law school.
Astronomy is a related field, more observation and theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anecdata, but I know 2 kids who recently graduated from lesser SLACs (Skidmore, Macalester) with physics degrees and they are both unemployed. I don't think STEM majors are necessarily the hot ticket people on this forum think they are.

it's well known that for physics majors, you need a masters to do anything.

My sibling went to Cal for undergrad and physics and went to get a masters in EE.