From electrical/computer engineering to mathematics or physics

[kaiten]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice/information about what i should study in the not-so-distant future, here are the relevant details of my life story:

throughout grade school i always liked and was good at math and physics, but found every course in them to be so simple as to not interest me at all. for this reason i put no effort into my studies and pretty much became apathetic about the future. after not taking any important tests (SATs, AP exams, etc.) or applying to any colleges, i took a year off to reflect on things.

at the end of the year i finally decided i should at least go to college and study something and i had a renewed interest in math and physics (particularly, more theoretical subjects like string theory), but the only place that i could get into with my pathetic high school performance and lack of money was a nearby community college that offered a laughable amount of physics courses and really not enough math to satisfy me for 2 years.

i decided it was still well worth going, and the best option seemed to be an electrical and computer engineering major (since it would require me to take every math and physics class the school offered while also exposing me to electrical engineering which is something i thought might be interesting) which was set up to promote transfer to 4 yeas schools.

this is still my first semester of college, and so far i think its going ok, but although the electrical/computer engineering courses are somewhat interesting i have become pretty sure that i do not want to be an engineer, the math really just feels beneath my level and there are only 2 physics courses which I'm supposed to take next year.

the "plan" so far is to finish 2 years here and transfer and switch major's then to something more along the lines of theoretical physics, but i really don't know what to do at all. any advice/information is appreciated.

 

[Dembadon]

If you want to study math or physics, I would talk to an academic adviser at your current school and see what you'd need to do to be able to transfer to an institution that offers a degree in those subjects. There are probably certain requirements of transfer students that you need to be sure you're on track to fulfill.

Regarding your financial situation: have you talked to anyone in the financial aid department? There could be loans and/or grants for which you might be eligible that would help with your financial difficulties. Depending on your grades, you might also be eligible for scholarships. You need to look into these things and take advantage of any and all that are available to you.

 

[deluks917]

Usually community colleges are set so you can get rid of all your general education classes before transferring (at least to certain universities). I'd strongly suggest you do this so you can focus on math/physics at university. If you can really take all the math/physics available and get rid of your general education requirements and take the EE then I'd take the engineering classes. However If it interferes with the other two goals I'd rethink engineering. Also remember you can study anything you want on your own. Presumably you have summers, winter breaks, etc. You'd be surprised how much math/physics you can learn on your own in your spare time. Talk to your professors maybe you can get some research experience in (the trend in college in America is to make research available even to freshmen). Good luck. Most important though make sure everything is on track for your transfer.