Advice on College Physics for Math Struggling Students

[Tempus35]

Hello, I have a question, maybe more then one. I love learning about physics, I read what I can when I can all the time. So when I was looking into degrees, I thought I would look into Physics as a choice. Let me give some background on myself, then ask my question. I never did go high in math when in high school, at that time I had no clue what I wanted. That doesn't mean I did horrible within it, just never went high. When I started college again, I started relearning all the math I had forgotten, I have managed to make it to calculus I and pass it. I didn't get the highest grade, but I passed. My question is this, I know that math is a huge part of Physics, I have always know that, but my question is how well can someone like me that isn't gifted or even naturally talented in math do in something like Physics? One last note, I have read a lot of people talking about studying for 5+ hours a day, I am sadly no where near that devoted, and at most can pull off 2 hours or some, how will this effect me too?

 

[dacruick]

To say you are not that devoted is stupid. If you are thinking about going to college and investing in your future, you should be as devoted as you need to be. If you think 14 hours a week is going to do it for you, especially if you are not "gifted", then you should quit now.

However, I was at a point in my life not too long ago where I described myself as not motivated. I did the same thing, probably 2 hours or under in my first year of university, and i got about a 78 average. But when my courses started to advance, I had to adapt study habits. If you don't think you can do this, then maybe you are looking for a manual labour job, or becoming skilled in a trade. There are lots of trades that require physics too.

The bottom line is you get from physics(or anything in life), what you put in. That is why you see the most successful people (generally) passionate about what they do. You seem to have the passion so I don't think that this should be an issue for you. But whatever you do, you are going to need to invest far more than two hours a day. \

on a final note, do what you love, you are going to spend the next 40 years doing it.

 

[kramer733]

You only need 1 year of casual studying to finish grade 9-12 to learn all the math of high school. Highschool math is actually a joke. I went back to actually "try" and study and I'm breezing through all the material. Except for calculus but I'm just frustrated because i don't have the pre requesite to do that course anyway. I just casually study.

 

[dacruick]

You only need 1 year of casual studying to finish grade 9-12 to learn all the math of high school. Highschool math is actually a joke. I went back to actually "try" and study and I'm breezing through all the material. Except for calculus but I'm just frustrated because i don't have the pre requesite to do that course anyway. I just casually study.

haha this has nothing to do with your question. Almost seems like you just wanted to tell us how easy high school mathematics are.

 

[Neither]

smartness is overrated (to a certain degree), and the rest depends on how much you persevere.