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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]
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. [/quote]

You really lack reading comprehension skills. Read it again or run it through a chatbbot. Nowhere does it say to do physics if you don't like it. The assumption from OP is that she does like it. So the advice was to weigh her current ability against her motivation/perseverance, and take some free classes online to see if the understanding comes. Literally, "try it out with zero consequences and see if you get it." [/quote]

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