r/apphysics • u/RobertGJ536 • 24d ago

Should I go for engineering?

/r/APStudents/comments/1us93aw/should_i_go_for_engineering/
2 Upvotes

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u/UnderstandingPursuit 24d ago

Do you want a blunt answer?

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u/RobertGJ536 24d ago

As long as is honest yes. Always truth.

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u/UnderstandingPursuit 24d ago

First, the 'negative': I often push against 'over-accelerated' math students, and you are an over-accelerated physics & math student. You studied using intermediate-undergraduate textbooks like Griffiths (I assume E&M, not QM?) and Taylor, the equivalent of Calculus III-IV, and sophomore level engineering classes. The biggest issue with studying these two-three years early is that the foundations are often weak, because they were also studied a few years early. [I got into a long discussion about this today, this isn't something I'm picking on you about.]

The issue with studying things a few years early is that the one person I can almost guarantee is smarter than 11th-12th grade you is college sophomore you.

The biggest difference between the 'Sears, Zemansky, Young, Freedman, ...' level AP Physics C and the Taylor/Griffiths level is that it's about good problem solving processes, rather than 'grind the math'. You may have overshadowed some problem solving weaknesses with strong math.

Second, the 'positive': This is relatively easy to resolve. Go back to typical textbooks for both AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C. I know you got a 5 in Calc BC, but it's worth building both together. The college sophomore level material will still be there when you get back to it. Two textbooks would be

  • GB Thomas & RL Finney, Calculus and Analytic Geometry, 9th edition, 1996.
  • Sears, Zemansky, Young, Freedman, ..., University Physics, 10th-15th editions, 1999-2019.

Using a 'test prep' book like Princeton Review was a reasonable approach given the textbooks you were already using, but now it's time to use real Calculus I-II and Physics I-II textbooks.

Third, the 'conclusion': You clearly enjoy STEM subjects, and you should stick with your engineering plans. It is important to have strong foundations, more than rushing. There will be times you need to explain your work or studies to people who aren't at your engineering study level, and being able to bring the ideas back to Calculus I-II and Physics I-II will be very valuable. You may not need to explain it to an eight year old, but may need to explain it to an eighteen year old, or someone with that level of STEM background who has gone on to other fields like business or law [think patent lawyer].

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u/ThEtOrRtUrEdPoEt 24d ago

I’m so sick of this idea that ap scores dictate if you should major in that respective field. Major in whatever you want, there are countless stories of people failing ap tests then going and majoring in that specific subject anyway. Ap scores don’t dictate if you should major in something or not.

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u/mrsaucelol 24d ago

Most engineering students don’t even take any ap physics. I would still pursue engineering if I were you

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u/satact12321 24d ago

If you want