Would it be advisable to take an extra year before graduating?

[dpatnd]

Hello all,

I am a physics major who will be starting their senior year next week. My immediate post-graduation plan is to attend graduate school in physics (my interests are in experimental condensed matter). However, I am strongly considering taking an extra year to graduate and was wondering what input anyone may have.

There are two related reasons for why I want to take an extra year. Since I spent one year as an EE major, I am technically one year behind as a physics major. As a result, my senior year will be rather crammed with classes, whereas my peers have the luxury to take electives and lighten their load. This coming semester, for example, I am currently signed up to take QM I, E&M I, solid state, math methods, a senior lab course, and undergraduate research. In addition to this, I would be finishing a research paper from my summer REU, possibly studying for the general GRE and, of course, applying to grad schools. My major GPA of 4.0 thus far would suggest that I am a good student, but there is only so much I can do well before standards start dropping.

The second reason is that, even if I take on this load and a similar one next semester, I will still not have the opportunity to take a number of courses I think would be useful. For example, I would like to take more linear algebra, a class on PDEs, group theory, as well as some relevant physics electives and, perhaps, a graduate-level class or two. Among my REU peers, classes in these areas seemed to be the norm. Therefore, it seems to me that they would outclass me even upon my completion of the degree, to say nothing of the gap between us as it stands right now.

An extra year seems like the solution. I would be able to take whatever classes I want, with a reasonable load each semester. An extra summer to do research couldn’t hurt either. There is, of course, the question of financial aid; I will enquire into that when I get back, but I know we've had past students take a fifth year and had their full need met. Has anyone here voluntarily taken a fifth year or known a student who did? Was it a good choice?

 

[jedishrfu]

It sounds reasonable to take another year and learn more physics. Hopefully you'll be able to prep better for the GRE too. I don't think it will affect your chances of getting into a good graduate program.

Perhaps @Vanadium 50 or @fresh_42 could comment more on your plan.

 

[Choppy]

Sounds like you've got a pretty busy year ahead of you if you try to cram it all in. It's doable of course. Some people thrive when challenged like that. Others can get overwhelmed and burn out.

One piece of advice I'd give is to think deeply about setting up a schedule that doesn't leave you much breathing room. When you do that, if something unexpected happens, there's no flexibility to work it in. A successful year becomes a roll of the dice that you don't get sick, don't need to take on a part-time job because the financial aid you were counting on didn't come through, don't start a new relationship, don't pick up a new hobby, etc.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Being more prepared for graduute school is a good idea. Cramming your schedule so full of technical courses that you can't handle the load is not. You're going to have to thread that needle. Your college advisor can help you do it, because she will know "Oh, you don't want to take X and Y at the same time".

Realize that the schools you apply to won't see the 2nd semester grades of your final year, and that may influence your course schedule.

Just out of curiosity, why group theory?

 

[dpatnd]

Being more prepared for graduute school is a good idea. Cramming your schedule so full of technical courses that you can't handle the load is not. You're going to have to thread that needle. Your college advisor can help you do it, because she will know "Oh, you don't want to take X and Y at the same time".

Realize that the schools you apply to won't see the 2nd semester grades of your final year, and that may influence your course schedule.

Just out of curiosity, why group theory?

A class in group theory was strongly recommended by two different professors for its applications to solid state physics.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Group theory has applications for sure. However, the class may or may not mesh well with that - it might be largely proof-based. If your professors are saying "A group theory class won't hurt" that's a different thing than "You really want to take Math 555 from Prof. Fireplug."

 

[vela]

I'm surprised you could cram all the courses into one year. Aren't some courses that you haven't taken yet, like math methods, prerequisites for the other required courses?

 

[dpatnd]

I'm surprised you could cram all the courses into one year. Aren't some courses that you haven't taken yet, like math methods, prerequisites for the other required courses?

Admittedly, only QM I, E&M I, and the lab course are required for graduating (plus a modern physics elective, which for me is solid state). The math methods are something I supposedly did the equivalent of during my year in engineering, but I still want to take the sequence to cover my bases.

 

[jedishrfu]

As had been said before don't take on too much load. You need time to breathe and reflect on what you are studying. What you learn deeply now will help you in graduate school rather than learning something too fast and too shallow.