Any physics majors feel too dumb to be majoring in physics?

[Angry Citizen]

are you sure you always have? Think back to introductory physics and calculus courses. Were you understanding most of what was taught? In my case, I can implement techniques after learning them but am left with little working understanding of what I just learned. It works just fine for now but I'm afraid that eventually, my luck will run out despite my interest and fervent effort to keep it going. Creativity isn't in me. Should I look elsewhere?

I can follow a formula, but am hard-pressed to diverge from it and apply other knowledge that I know.

My introductory physics and calculus courses were actually "harder" than my dynamics and differential equations classes, in the sense that I didn't really understand what was going on in those intro classes. Intro physics isn't really designed to teach you physics, it's designed to teach you how to think in terms of physics, how to set up equations, etc. Physics is hard - until miraculously, physics stops being hard. You'll get there yet.

And I agree with the others, don't blame your gender. Girls aren't any dumber than boys; get that out of your head right now.

 

[rppearso]

I got a D in calc 3, finished my chemical engineering degree with that D. Went on later to get my PE in chemical engineering and then took a course in advanced engineering math and got an A, I basically had to reteach myself all of calc 3 and some of the other calculus material that I did not learn as well as the new material in the advanced engineering math class, it took me about 30 hrs a week to make that A in advanced engineering math but I felt like it was redemptive.

I have since back filled the main undergraduate electrical engineering classes and am going to start a masters in electrical engineering in a year or so. There are so many distractions and other problems when your 18-22 living at a university.

When your buryed in debt to get your first degree in a school with mostly guys and the girls don't give you the time of day, its not a good recipie for success.