Question about a high school student wanting to pursue Physics in college.?

Question

It's not really a question, but more of a request for some advice. I'm a 16 year old, 11th grader, who aspires to pursue a career in Physics. From as far back as I can recall, I've always been intrigued by Science, in particular the Physics branch. In the past few years I've become very passionate about Science and have devoted a great deal of free my time to learning as much about particular avenues of Physics (as well as biology) as my schedule permits through independent research (mainly books and the computer)

Anyway, I would like some advice on what to study or how to prepare for pursuing a career in physics. What courses should I take? What should I look for in colleges? What are some necessary, imperative skills I must hone? Any information on various careers in Physics?

Any answers will be much appreciated.

Answer 1

The skills you should focus on right now are math, science, and if you can, research.

In high school, make sure that you're taking as much math, to as high a level as you can. You're going to need to take calculus and other more advanced math in college, so take math all four years in high school, and to as high a level as possible.

Take at least four years of science in high school, preferably bio, chem, physics, and AP physics.

Otherwise, do the standard college prep route, and try to get on the honors/AP track in the subjects you do well in.

In addition to whatever other activities you do, try to participate in science related activities at your school and elsewhere. Contests, competitions, teams, etc. Anything that interests you. This is related to the research I mentioned, but it also bolsters your college admissions chances.

Possible careers in physics include teaching, software engineering, working as a physicist/scientist, working for the US government, working for NASA, being an astronaut, doing work for the military, astronomer, seismologist, engineer, forensic scientist, scientific writer, research assistant, hydrologist, quality control manager, nuclear power plant manager, and lots of other jobs.

In terms of colleges, you want to look for a school that provides good opportunities for undergraduates to get involved in research - not just grad students. You want one with a solid reputation in physics, and a good overall reputation.

Some of the colleges that I know have amazing physics programs include (this list is not exhaustive, btw): MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech, Harvard, Princeton, U Chicago, U Cal Berkeley, Cornell, U Texas Austin, Columbia U, UC Santa Barbara, U Illinois Urbana Champaign, Harvey Mudd, U Michigan Ann Arbor, Yale, U Maryland College Park, UCLA, UC San Diego, U Colorado Boulder, U Penn, U Washington, U Wisconsin Madison, Johns Hopkins, SUNY Stony Brook, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers New Brunswick.