- #1
Phlippieskeze
- 11
- 0
Hello Physics Forums.
So I haven't been on here for a very long time, so hello again.
I am currently a first year at a university in Canada and am to declare my specialization in the coming months. I came into university expecting I'd want to do a degree in physics and astronomy, but over the course of the year I've learned that I'd rather do the combined honours in physics and mathematics, as I learned how much I actually enjoyed my honours maths courses. However, math was also my lowest grade, and overall (because of a plethora of personal reasons), my grades (especially the first semester) were awfully sub-par. I had ~10% over the average in all my courses, but this still only amounts to an 80% average (which could hardly be considered "competitive"). I should clarify that I know this isn't a god-awful average and that it doesn't mean the end of the world, but it doesn't seem to be the best for getting into a good grad school, research scholarships, etc.
My questions are essentially:
- Should I do a combined honours in physics and mathematics even though the (honours) maths courses here are notoriously difficult and GPA destroyers? I also discovered my love for maths a lot later than it seems everyone else doing a math major that I've met, so they've had time to nurture their interest and often have knowledge of some rather high-level maths via autodidacticism, so I feel behind my class. I want a realistic answer: what would this really do for me? What could I do with a physics and maths degree that I couldn't do with purely a physics degree? My highest mark this semester will likely be my experimental physics course (high A+), which is something emphasized in honours physics but not in honours physics and maths. Another option I have is honours physics and computer science but basically everyone I know doing this major turns up to work for some software company whereas I'd much rather emphasize the physics part of my degree (I'm not too interested in computer science, but I understand it's a very powerful major). I've also been told by my brother (who is a computer science PhD student) that it's a lot easier to pick up maths now and computer science later than the other way around. I want to know what I can look forward to after obtaining each of these degrees (and which ones are realistic for me). I would love to go into academia, but I honestly feel like my chances are slim, that I'm not cut out because of the fierce competition, etc... I never cared much about job prospects in high school when I thought about what I wanted to study (as long as I liked it), but I think reality has hit me in the face like a freight train in the past few months.
I also don't know how competitive the physics and maths honours program is, so fingers crossed that I'm even accepted.
- Engineering physics is a big deal at my school, and generally gets a lot of hype. With that comes an awful, awful pretentious atmosphere about this major. It's also the most competitive specialization at my school and I feel like the entire physics department sometimes gets overshadowed by them. I didn't apply for them because I didn't like the attitude that most people had about it and I just never in my life wanted to be an engineer (I want to be a physicist, dammit!) and the applications deadline is now past. In retrospect, I probably would have been declined anyway. I guess again my question is, what does a physics and maths honours (or even just physics) program have that eng phys does not? Engineering in the public eye often gets the visage of being able to do anything, so it's honestly hard to tell sometimes. There are also some companies here that primarily seem to attract eng phys students, like nuclear energy startups. I'm very interested in the theoretical side of such things (nuclear energy). Would I have any ounce of a chance getting some kind of internship at such companies against the eng phys students that inevitably apply there? Did I make a mistake by so stubbornly refusing to go into engineering? I sometimes wonder that, simply because they seem to get all the job prospects.
- I'm sure I have others but I'll save the space so as to not give you too much of a wall of text. I'll ask later if I remember. But basically, I'm very much stressed about what I am going to do. I know I want to study physics. I know I love maths, but I'm also rather terrible at it. What should I do?
Cheers, and sorry for the wall of text (and sorry for any melodrama),
Phlippie
So I haven't been on here for a very long time, so hello again.
I am currently a first year at a university in Canada and am to declare my specialization in the coming months. I came into university expecting I'd want to do a degree in physics and astronomy, but over the course of the year I've learned that I'd rather do the combined honours in physics and mathematics, as I learned how much I actually enjoyed my honours maths courses. However, math was also my lowest grade, and overall (because of a plethora of personal reasons), my grades (especially the first semester) were awfully sub-par. I had ~10% over the average in all my courses, but this still only amounts to an 80% average (which could hardly be considered "competitive"). I should clarify that I know this isn't a god-awful average and that it doesn't mean the end of the world, but it doesn't seem to be the best for getting into a good grad school, research scholarships, etc.
My questions are essentially:
- Should I do a combined honours in physics and mathematics even though the (honours) maths courses here are notoriously difficult and GPA destroyers? I also discovered my love for maths a lot later than it seems everyone else doing a math major that I've met, so they've had time to nurture their interest and often have knowledge of some rather high-level maths via autodidacticism, so I feel behind my class. I want a realistic answer: what would this really do for me? What could I do with a physics and maths degree that I couldn't do with purely a physics degree? My highest mark this semester will likely be my experimental physics course (high A+), which is something emphasized in honours physics but not in honours physics and maths. Another option I have is honours physics and computer science but basically everyone I know doing this major turns up to work for some software company whereas I'd much rather emphasize the physics part of my degree (I'm not too interested in computer science, but I understand it's a very powerful major). I've also been told by my brother (who is a computer science PhD student) that it's a lot easier to pick up maths now and computer science later than the other way around. I want to know what I can look forward to after obtaining each of these degrees (and which ones are realistic for me). I would love to go into academia, but I honestly feel like my chances are slim, that I'm not cut out because of the fierce competition, etc... I never cared much about job prospects in high school when I thought about what I wanted to study (as long as I liked it), but I think reality has hit me in the face like a freight train in the past few months.
I also don't know how competitive the physics and maths honours program is, so fingers crossed that I'm even accepted.
- Engineering physics is a big deal at my school, and generally gets a lot of hype. With that comes an awful, awful pretentious atmosphere about this major. It's also the most competitive specialization at my school and I feel like the entire physics department sometimes gets overshadowed by them. I didn't apply for them because I didn't like the attitude that most people had about it and I just never in my life wanted to be an engineer (I want to be a physicist, dammit!) and the applications deadline is now past. In retrospect, I probably would have been declined anyway. I guess again my question is, what does a physics and maths honours (or even just physics) program have that eng phys does not? Engineering in the public eye often gets the visage of being able to do anything, so it's honestly hard to tell sometimes. There are also some companies here that primarily seem to attract eng phys students, like nuclear energy startups. I'm very interested in the theoretical side of such things (nuclear energy). Would I have any ounce of a chance getting some kind of internship at such companies against the eng phys students that inevitably apply there? Did I make a mistake by so stubbornly refusing to go into engineering? I sometimes wonder that, simply because they seem to get all the job prospects.
- I'm sure I have others but I'll save the space so as to not give you too much of a wall of text. I'll ask later if I remember. But basically, I'm very much stressed about what I am going to do. I know I want to study physics. I know I love maths, but I'm also rather terrible at it. What should I do?
Cheers, and sorry for the wall of text (and sorry for any melodrama),
Phlippie
Last edited: