- #1
QuietMind
- 42
- 2
Hi all,
I'm a college sophomore studying physics and computer science, and I was hoping to get a bit of perspective on graduate school and careers with respect to physics. In high school, I was very much a slacker, who would slide by in the "Honors Classes", but would occasionally do quite well at math competitions or such. I was quite lucky in getting into a relatively nice college, if you go by US News Rankings a top 15 university, but I guess I have found the experience so far to be a little less than ideal.
College so far has been a mixed bag-- first semester was pretty good and made me really enjoy problem solving. But lately, classes have seemed quite underwhelming. I've switched into engineering so I can focus on STEM, and have taken up to sophomore quantum physics, Multivariate Calc, Linear Algebra, DiffEQ, Intro Programming Course, and a Data Structures course. The grades are good (4.00 cumulative GPA) but I fear that is because the classes are designed to be way too easy and aren't representative of the material itself.
It's been kind of hard to find an "atmosphere" of interest in physics as well. Seems like the other majors switched out. I tried to get an astronomy club going to no avail. I don't claim to be a particularly good leader, but I can't seem to find other people interested in solving extra problems outside of class. We didn't have a Society for Physics students until my second year, but it seemed to be rather casual like movie watching. I hear about places like MIT with huge student interest in problem solving, and legions of students who ooze passion, and I get rather jealous. I recognize this may be quite distorted, but I do feel let down by the current situation. I don't know how much potential I have, but it's been hard to get ahead of the curriculum and really explore to see what I'm good at, if anything. I was really hoping to find a strong community of physics students to help guide me, but that just hasn't been the case, and I've been trying to figure out how to go about doing well in college.
I've tried to pursue a 2 research opportunities, both on volunteer basis. The first time, I was given a large book to read and was directed to a graduate student for help. I managed to get a little bit done with simulations, but never felt like I remotely understood what was going on. The other research opportunity-- the professor had to keep rescheduling and gave me very little time to get anything done. Perhaps the core issue with both is that classes ate up too much of my time to really invest in the research. As I said, the classes lately don't feel very stimulating, just a lot of busywork. They certainly didn't make me feel ready for research.
I am taking this semester off due to an injury. I have contacted a local observatory to try to volunteer on astronomy/ data science analysis project, and have been learning python to prepare (gone through 2 books in the last month), but the volunteer sign up process has been really slow. Otherwise, I hope to self-study as much as possible, but I procrastinate and struggle to stay productive. I was offered a summer research project on Condensed Matter Theory, and I plan on taking it.
I am considering grad school, but I just don't feel that I will have built up my skills enough by the time I'm a college senior to make it worth the while. I really feel like I've learned very little in college. When I get back, I'll have 2.5 semesters left. In the meantime, I'd like to hear your perspective on how to make the best of my situation. What can I accomplish in the few months I have? I've had thoughts about transferring schools, but I don't know how big a difference it'll make. I certainly feel a lot of doubt about the future.
Thanks for reading, and apologies for the amount of text. I hope I've expressed my doubts without being overwhelmingly negative.
I'm a college sophomore studying physics and computer science, and I was hoping to get a bit of perspective on graduate school and careers with respect to physics. In high school, I was very much a slacker, who would slide by in the "Honors Classes", but would occasionally do quite well at math competitions or such. I was quite lucky in getting into a relatively nice college, if you go by US News Rankings a top 15 university, but I guess I have found the experience so far to be a little less than ideal.
College so far has been a mixed bag-- first semester was pretty good and made me really enjoy problem solving. But lately, classes have seemed quite underwhelming. I've switched into engineering so I can focus on STEM, and have taken up to sophomore quantum physics, Multivariate Calc, Linear Algebra, DiffEQ, Intro Programming Course, and a Data Structures course. The grades are good (4.00 cumulative GPA) but I fear that is because the classes are designed to be way too easy and aren't representative of the material itself.
It's been kind of hard to find an "atmosphere" of interest in physics as well. Seems like the other majors switched out. I tried to get an astronomy club going to no avail. I don't claim to be a particularly good leader, but I can't seem to find other people interested in solving extra problems outside of class. We didn't have a Society for Physics students until my second year, but it seemed to be rather casual like movie watching. I hear about places like MIT with huge student interest in problem solving, and legions of students who ooze passion, and I get rather jealous. I recognize this may be quite distorted, but I do feel let down by the current situation. I don't know how much potential I have, but it's been hard to get ahead of the curriculum and really explore to see what I'm good at, if anything. I was really hoping to find a strong community of physics students to help guide me, but that just hasn't been the case, and I've been trying to figure out how to go about doing well in college.
I've tried to pursue a 2 research opportunities, both on volunteer basis. The first time, I was given a large book to read and was directed to a graduate student for help. I managed to get a little bit done with simulations, but never felt like I remotely understood what was going on. The other research opportunity-- the professor had to keep rescheduling and gave me very little time to get anything done. Perhaps the core issue with both is that classes ate up too much of my time to really invest in the research. As I said, the classes lately don't feel very stimulating, just a lot of busywork. They certainly didn't make me feel ready for research.
I am taking this semester off due to an injury. I have contacted a local observatory to try to volunteer on astronomy/ data science analysis project, and have been learning python to prepare (gone through 2 books in the last month), but the volunteer sign up process has been really slow. Otherwise, I hope to self-study as much as possible, but I procrastinate and struggle to stay productive. I was offered a summer research project on Condensed Matter Theory, and I plan on taking it.
I am considering grad school, but I just don't feel that I will have built up my skills enough by the time I'm a college senior to make it worth the while. I really feel like I've learned very little in college. When I get back, I'll have 2.5 semesters left. In the meantime, I'd like to hear your perspective on how to make the best of my situation. What can I accomplish in the few months I have? I've had thoughts about transferring schools, but I don't know how big a difference it'll make. I certainly feel a lot of doubt about the future.
Thanks for reading, and apologies for the amount of text. I hope I've expressed my doubts without being overwhelmingly negative.