How Do You Determine Your Proficiency in a Subject Beyond Grades?

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sr6622
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This is just a general question. I'm currently a Physics major in my first year. I'm taking Medical Physics this semester and have done Physics I, II, III (Modern). Anyway, my question is really how do you know when you're actually good at a give subject or course? You can solve problems very easily? Because just getting A's, I believe, isn't worth all that much at my university (which is mediocre in math/physics). How do I gauge my proficiency in a course besides the use of grades?

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how well you can solve problems is probably the best way of telling, the otherway of telling is how quickly you "get" the answer, this is not necessarilly solving the answr, but just knowing how to get the answer. the methods and all. In the future you'll have courses where the problems can easily exceed over an hour, even when you know exactly what to do.
 
I don't think it matters. Here are my priorities in order:
1.Make sure you love it (if you don't, kick yourself in the butt, repeat as needed)
2.Make sure you don't suck (if you do, stop sucking)
3.Philosophise for hours at what it means to be good at something (if you do this long enough, you’ll realize that you suck so go back to step 2)

I suggest you work hard and love what you do. You'll know when you are good, but it won't matter.

If you love what you are doing, hopefully it will make you go the extra mile (the fact that you are here is a hint). You will become a physicist and not just someone who takes physics classes.

I did ridiculously high in both biology and English, but for my own special reasons, physics is for me. It makes me happy.