Undergrad Definition and 870 Threads

Hello! I'm currently in the summer before my freshman year at a University and I was wondering what books would be "good" to read. I'm a physics major but I'm also interested in math. Let me expand, by "good" I mean some book (textbook, etc) that would expand my knowledge of physics beyond...

I am a slow learner and I prefer to spend lots of time on few subjects rather than to distribute time over many. In addition, most of my courses will be extremely time consuming. So I probably want to take three courses per term and I will most likely attain a much higher GPA in this way, but I...

I have the option of transferring to either a top 5 school in my field or a school ranked about 100, but I could attend the latter with a full tuition scholarship. My question then is, assuming that I am only an average student maintaining about a 3.5 at whichever I attend, does it matter which...

Does It Look "Bad" To Go To The Same School For Undergrad And Ph.D? If the school that you're attending for your undergrad also has a Ph.D. program that interest you would it look bad on your curriculum vitae to have the same school listed twice? I've heard that you should try to go to a...

I'm starting my undergraduate degree in physical/mathematical sciences at the University of Toronto in the fall. My long-term goal at this point is a career in academia, probably theoretical physics, but I don't want to close any doors on the experimental side. Other than coursework, I would...

I was just curious to know if this transition were possible. Economics seems like a woefully misunderstood field, and I feel as though physicists would have a good knack for it. Is this suspicion correct, or false?

Sorry if the title seems confusing, but I'm basically asking if there's data on which schools those admitted to an Ivy League came from, or earned their bachelor's from. Searches on Google simply give me percentages on those who applied that were admitted. Help would be appreciated.

I've been accepted to Cal State University Fullerton, but I don't know if I should accept it as that's really the only school I got into. Alternatively I could wait another year and apply to UCs seeing as I do have another two semesters of classes I can take at a CC. Which would be the best...

At my university, they calculate gpa without the +- system. So if i got 90s (A-) in all of my classes i would have a 4.0. In general, when applying to grad school, will they look at the gpa my university says i have or will some of them calculate it to be a 3.6?

I've recently been accepted into two schools, New York University and the University of Rochester, but I'm having trouble deciding which is best for a future in physics. Financially, they end up about the same (NYU is insignificantly more expensive), so money is not an issue. Rochester...

As a high school senior, I have just heard back from all of my schools and now must make my decision. I plan on majoring in physics tracking myself towards graduate school, and eventually a research position, so naturally I want to be involved with undergrad research as soon as possible...

Hey y'all I'm looking for some fairly high altitude general life advice. Basically: At what point does it become rational to say "the time for choosing careers (or career entry points) has passed", hunker down, and stick with something for a while / see it through to fruition. My char...

The best instate college in my state for mathematics is Georgia Tech. However, it does not have a pure mathematics degree. Can I still go to grad school for pure mathematics as an applied math major? Will it prepare me for pure mathematics?

Hello, So I'm going to be a third year molecular and cell biology major soon and I'm barely catching up on the requirements to complete the major at my university. I really had a hard time choosing between this and physics, thinking and weighing out the differences between the two for a few...

I am a sophomore physics and mathematics major at a very small, private liberal arts school. I currently have a 3.82 cumulative GPA and have taken all the intro level physics and math classes, and am now entering upper level classes. I am a white female. I work as a physics/math tutor and also...

Next year, I'll be a full time student. Due to poor planning on my parents part, the amount of money saved for tuition and other university costs is not as high as it should be. In order to avoid having to ask my father for money (which he wouldn't be too keen on giving me), I've been thinking...

I'm majoring in Physics (getting a BA) and want to go to graduate school for Electrical Engineering. During my first year and a half of college, I explored different subject areas and tried to figure out what I was interested in. Because of this, I don't have space in my schedule to switch...

Hey all, so I'm kind of confused about what to do in terms of school to actually land a job on the outside doing what I'm interested in doing. I'm currently a plain ole physics b.s. hopeful, no specializations attached. My plan since going back to school has always been to get a phd in physics...

Hello again PF, I now need to decide whether to pursue an engineering physics or pure physics degree for my undergrad, I've been accepted to both, but am unsure what would be the better fit for me. I obviously like the extra job security that an engineering degree would carry with it, but I'm...

Hi, I am from India. I've got admitted to Texas A&M. AFAIK Texas A&M is very reputed for engineering. But I would like (love) to major in Physics. Since my parents are investing a huge amount of money, I want to reinforce my choice of college .So, it would be a great help if anyone could...

Hello again PF. Is it possible/are there stories of people who have pursued a Computer Engineering degree without a Computer Engineering undegrad? It's because the undegrad hasn't been what I was waiting for, however I am really interested in computer engineering masters, phds, etc. I...

Applied math or Engineering (including various disciplines...). what job options cross over between the 2 and which don't. Thank you!

Don't care for Griffiths, and I think it would make a lousy reference given how many important theorems, results, etc. are hidden in the problems rather than included normally. I'd like a book that ideally has derivations of all the relevant formula and CONCEPTUAL descriptions of phenomena...

Hello everyone, I'm a 17 year old high school student from Ontario, Canada. I have recently applied to a few physics programs, and I was just wondering if it was possible to transfer into an engineering program once I am in the university. However, my situation is I never took grade 11 or 12...

I'm in my first year of university and will be taking a math, physics and an Earth science course. I'm not sure which subject to choose for my 4th subject however, at the moment I'm thinking either a second language (French or German) or chemistry. Would first year chemistry be useful for a...

What do you think about attending physics undergrad program at a school that does not have a grad school program? I am considering a school like this and I see two main things that distinguish it from colleges with grad schools. I think it would be easier for me to get research because there...

hello all, so i made a similar post like this about 5 months ago. At the time i thought i had it figured out, but now as i am getting closer towards choosing a university i have to take more into consideration. so am just wondering what you guys think about the courses offered at these two...

I would like to know the general rankings of the Universities of California for the undergraduate physics major. Please provide reasons and explanations. Grad school information would also be helpful. :shy:

Ok I've basically narrowed my choices down to physics, maths, computer science or electrical engineering. I'm not intending to go to a top university since they'd involve me having to move to england or scotland and even ignoring the economics of it (The course will be about x3 the price Just...

I am a junior in high school and am beginning to evaluate different colleges to see which one I want to attend. I want to be a physicist so a good physics program is mainly what I am looking for in a college. I have heard that most undergrad colleges provide a comparable education and that the...

I am an high school student starting grade 11 this year . I have been interested in physics since class 6 and i have been studying advanced physics since then . IN grade 9 and 10 i have read and solved problems from Resnick,halliday and walker's book ( which i think is a undergrad book isn't it...

Iam a high schooler starting grade 10 this year . i have been reading undergrad texts for some time now . i need a good book for OPTICS . any ideas or suggestions

Author: Serge Lang Title: Algebra Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/038795385X/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Prerequisities: Good knowledge of undergrad Algebra Level: Grad Table of Contents: The Basic Objects of Algebra Groups Monoids Groups Normal subgroups Cyclic groups Operations...

Im a physics major and will probably be able to fit in 3-4 graduate physics courses. Is this enough for top schools? Thanks for any help or advice!

Hi, I'm currently enrolled in Brooklyn College with the intention of getting a BS in physics. However I am beginning to notice two things. 1- that the level of academia here is not exactly fantastic (for example, the most common question I hear in most classes is "do we HAVE TO know this for the...

Hello, I'm in my 3rd year now, and intend to do PhD after graduation (I major in Electrical Engineering, not Physics). As far as I've known, normally grad schools require around 3 letters of recommendation, so I think I really get to know well 3 professors. That's the problem: so far only one...

Hello, I have great interest in physics, however I don't have the gpa (3.0) to get into grad school. Has anyone gotten a job first, at a national lab for example, and then applied for a PhD program? Thank you

I am a Chemical engineering student with pretty good grades, and about finish my undergraduate degree. I am 100% sure i want to go to grad school, but recently i am starting to get interested in other disciplines. My question is, how difficult it is for someone with my background to change...

Hi, I'm currently a student in college earning their Bachelor's. From what I here from other people, graduate school isn't really a good economic decision for middle class people. The argument is very persuasive and I believe it to be true. Earning a bachelor's itself is within itself a...

So, as the title says, I'm considering doing a second undergraduate degree having recently completed my PhD. I've searched for advice on this online and I can't see anyone else who has asked this before, which hasn't made my decision any easier. My educational background is an undergraduate...

I'm in the process of completing a DOE fellowship application, and more and more the questions and sections seem like it's really meant for current graduate students (but it does say undergraduate seniors are elligable). I've applied to grads schools but won't hear anything back until well after...

I'm an undergraduate Physics major. I'm interested in doing research, right now I'm aiming to do undergraduate research in photonics (I'm just a freshman). After a conversation, I learned that I should learn C++, mathlab, AUTOcad and labview to use in my research. My question is: Does it...

Hello and thanks for taking a look I'm an undergrad student that is trying to design and make a ion thruster for my research project. I know, I should of started with something simpler. The first part of this project is creating an electron source to provide the electron beam to ionize the...

I did pretty bad in undergrad EM and remember nothing. However, my advisor says that since I'm doing well in my mathematical physics class, and if I get an A, I should directly take the grad EM course to not waste time. However, he acknowledges that I had difficulties with EM in the past, so...

What Can be some Good Research Topics in Optical Applications of Quantum Dots? I'm Presently doing my B.Sc in electronics & require to Propose an Interesting Research Write-up for Summer Research(Duration~2 months). Personally I find Quantum Dots suits my Level of Understanding of Quantum...

I am a third year physics major and am studying quantum mechanics using Griffiths' textbook. I can do most of the problems with one star or no stars with relatively little effort, but a lot of the problems with three stars I find very difficult and I cannot do them at all. For the average...

What do you think about a major such as bioinformatics versus a major in physics and minor in mathematics or a major in 'cell biology& neuroscience' w/ minor in computer science in terms of preparing me for computational neuroscience -- taking in mind that I've completed courses such as linear...

I'm currently a returning undergrad studying Physics at Penn State but I'm thinking about transferring to a smaller state school (Kutztown). I still have to take 2 years of my major classes to finish. My reason for transferring is to save money. Will graduating from a smaller/less known school...

So right now I'm a senior in high school. I intended to major in engineering physics at Cornell and probably also pursue a theoretical physics double major there as well. However, I also want to go to Cambridge for my masters/doctorate in physics. Since it gives no financial aid to international...

How far in advance should I contact professors about available summer research opportunities? For example, should I wait until a few weeks before summer begins? Right now seems like it'd be way too early. Thanks.