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How hard is Honours Physics and Astronomy

 
Old 11-17-2013 at 11:54 PM   #1
gibbonsio
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How hard is Honours Physics and Astronomy
I'm really passionate about astronomy and am considering majoring in it. However, I'm nervous about the 16 units of physics in second year. How bad is it?
Old 11-18-2013 at 09:30 AM   #2
starfish
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Lol I saw this post literally as I was listening to this: http://io9.com/so-this-physics-grad-...mia-1333515132

Someone posted it on facebook. Anyways...

It really depends on you. My opinion is that if you're majoring in something, having to take lots of courses in that area shouldn't daunt you, nor should those be your hardest or least enjoyable courses. It's what you're choosing to major in, so you should enjoy it and be relatively good at it.

Incognitus likes this.
Old 11-18-2013 at 03:36 PM   #3
Incognitus
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Ultimately, whether or not this is difficult would depend on your experiences with physics itself. Second year physics hits many students hard, while others fly through with very few issues.

Take this with a grain of salt: In my opinion, if the idea of a pure physics or pure math major scares you (ie. concentrating solely on physics or math), Physics and Astronomy is probably not for you either. There is one introductory course in Astronomy that is pretty light on the physics, but afterward it becomes very physics and math-heavy. I'm basing this off of past experience, but of course, experiences may vary.

EDIT: Starfish - AMAZING link. Really appreciated that one!
Old 11-18-2013 at 07:37 PM   #4
Atheist?
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From my personal experience 2cd year is not so bad, it definitely takes getting used to (some take longer than others) but you will be fine. The main thing I would recommend is take Math 1B03 BEFORE going into second year. If this means you take it next term of during the summer it is fine. Just make sure you take it before second year. I know it says you can finish it in second year, but you will hate yourself for it if you go into the program without at least Linear Algebra I.

The 16 units should not be an issue if you are interested in the material. I'm in 3rd year right now and this year I have 24 units of physics courses (technically 21 phyiscs and 3 biophysics but same difference). As long as it is something you want to do you should be fine.

Also something to realize is that the program is not very large (each year is 20-30 people) so you will end up knowing almost everyone in your year and people in the upper years. If you have any more questions you can always come and talk to Sarah Cormier (she is in ABB 2cd floor, right in front of the physics office) or to one of the undergraduate academic advisers in BSB.

Good luck and hope to see you in the program next year!
Old 11-19-2013 at 04:30 PM   #5
Alomar12
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Ultimately your choice of program needs to be based on what you are good at. The toughest part of deciding what to do in university can involve differentiating between a skill/talent and a hobby. The jump from high school to university is huge, as is the jump from first- to second-year. This is true of any program. The best thing to do is to go and speak to an academic advisor and be honest with both them and yourself about what you excel at. It isn't good enough to just enjoy an area of study, or even to be "good at it". You need to excel at it. Many people who are "good" at something (or even many who "excel" at something) will find it difficult in university.

I'm not saying you need 99s in HS and 12s in first year, but you need to be honest with yourself. You may see a small mark bump in winter of fist-year as you learn a better way of handling the university academic life, but material is cumulative - it gets harder as you progress through your degree. You need to look at results in PERTINENT courses and not just your overall CA. Getting a 10+ in a humanities or commerce course (like English or Economics - two common first-year electives), or even biology and chemistry does not mean you will perform at this level in an physics or astronomy program. Instead, evaluate how you perform in the courses that teach direct required skills (physics and mathematics, for example). if you are only meeting the minimum entry requirements in these courses for your program of choice, you likely ill not do well.

If something is interesting to you, but you may not be skilled in it, you can always return for a second degree later on.



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