Transferring to a Technical School as a Physics Major: Questions & Frustrations

[MGriffin]

I am a freshman physics major looking to transfer to a better school for junior year, certainly a technical (not liberal arts) school. There were a few things I was wondering:

1. How is applying as a transfer student different than as a high school student? What matters most?

2. If the school requires a course by a certain year (i.e. it's part of the school's core for all students) and the transfer student hasn't taken it, what happens?

It's been my dream since high school to go to Caltech. Now Caltech has a very rigorous core, and so I would either have to be exempted from those core reqs I haven't taken or I would take them *gasp* sometime junior, senior year. But that's the time I want to be working on my major, not general eds!

I have other questions but I'll save them.

I just want the opportunity to have a good education. I'm frustrated at my current school and I'm dying for more rigor.

 

[daveb]

One solution (for now) if you want more rigor and have the time is to try to sit in on the upper division classes (and if those don't stimulate you, graduate classes). As for CalTech, it's very tough if you don't enter as freshman. From what a friend said, their lower division (freshman and sophomore) classes are closer to the upper division classes of a standaard university, and their upper divison classes are more in line with first year graduate study.

 

[Disar]

I agree that taking the gen eds at a community college is a good idea econimically. I took my first two years of engineering prereq's at a community college and am glad I did. I have a better command of the core natural sciences and mathematics. I do know transfering to the UNiversity was quite the shock. Adjusting to the demands of a four year university was rough at first.
As far as the actual transfering part I would contact the school and the department you are thinking of tranfering to and see what they say.