Recent content by Fizex

I too procrastinated in high school for the AP Physics C exams. I studied for both mechanics and e&m in a single week, studying 10 hours a day and scored 5's on both. I simply read the my course's book cover to cover in a continuous manner without stopping for problems, then went back and picked...

The value of a degree is not just the lectures and quality of teaching. It's also about being credited with completing a college degree which would open more opportunities for you, in this case graduate school. How are they going to know you can cope with more boring lectures and harder...

I'm sure people just look at where you got your PhD to make sure you went to a decent place.

Mainstream experimental physics seems easier to get into, not because it's a lesser field, but because there are more opportunities and demand. I agree with the poster above me though, you should go with what you like and which is most comfortable to work with than what is easier.

I think it should be noted that CS is more than just programming.

Usually I make several passes through the test not finishing most of the problems. I finish most of what I can, therefore I have at least done most of the problems and then finish off the rest of each problem. I get less stuck this way, maybe because of subconscious thought.

I've experienced both situations and it's much more fun to be relatively dumber than your peers because then you realize how ignorant you are, where you stand, and have new goals to improve yourself.

Of course if you hold all of your other application details constant (ceteris paribus) then a more well known institution will beat out a lower one. This isn't realistic though so it doesn't really matter where you go for undergrad as long as you have the tools there that you need to make a...

Physics seems to fit the bill. It has problem solving, microscopic analysis (proteins instead of reptiles), programming is used to solve many problems, fundamental answers to how things work, and hands-on experimental work (though much theoretical knowledge is a requisite).

Ask your physics teacher(s).

Obviously then, find a balance between price and prestige. Figure out what field of physics interests you and look at colleges that excel in this area, then sort by price. Public colleges within your state will be much cheaper than out of state colleges. It is not generally good to go the same...

What do you mean by 'way'?

I got a 100 on my first mechanics test. I had no idea how well I'd done and was surprised. Lately though, things have been going terribly wrong...

Have you visited the departments that you're interested in and talked to some students there about the quality of the program?

I used to be that way too. There seemed to be no purpose or spirit to high school trig/algebra and I was lazy because of it, almost failing algebra/trig. When I got into calculus and calculus based physics I saw everything come together in a beautiful tapestry; the theory, proofs, applications...