So,my first semester was pretty rough, to say the least. I had a big lapse in my mental health, where I didn’t sleep, had weird eating habits, lost all my confidence and just fell into a deep depression. With a lot of help from a counselor and my parents, i got my medication adjusted and back into a manageable state of mind. I finished my finals pretty strong and at least got a decent gpa.
Because of all that happened though, I only managed to get a D in my physics class, which was the worst class to get one in since I’m a physics major. Today, I got an email from my school that I was being dropped from the next physics class I was going to take because I technically didn’t pass the prereq. I sent an email to the professor of the class to explain what happened and begged to get into the class. I plan to retake that class next fall, and plan to stick with this major because I’m passionate about it. I love the field and want more than anything to be a physicist. Do you guys think I did the right thing? Am I screwed? Am I in the wrong for trying to get into the class?
How’d you do on the final? If it was comprehensive and you performed well you might have a case. However, if all your tests were poor I don’t think you have a great shot. Physics builds from the ground-up (I have a degree in physics), so missing themes now will hurt you down the road.
It will also depend on how classes progress at your school. At mine, certain classes were only available either the fall OR spring semester, so missing one would mean potentially losing a year. If your school has summer physics classes and if you made a case that you’d take it during the summer who knows what the physics department head will say. Bottom line, if you want to be a physicist, don’t do yourself a disservice and skimp on the fundamentals.
The class average for the final was a 45, as no partial credit was given for it, and I got right at average for the test. It was non cumulative, and only covered material on the very last three weeks of the semester. Believe me, I worked my ass off for just that score. The class is only offered in the fall semesters and not during the summer, which puts me at a disadvantage if I can’t get back into this analyt II class. From what I’ve seen, the next course is almost totally different from the first one, as this deals with waves, magnetism, fluids and electricity, all of which I did great on in past physics courses I took. I know how important the fundamentals are, and if I have to I’ll just take both again next year. I’m at a slight advantage regardless, as I have more than half of the gen ed requirements out of they way from credits I brought into college with me.
Only once per year? Must be a pretty small college with few physics (or engineering) majors.
You really should say what the class was. By reading between the lines, it sounds like it must have been a Sophomore level class at least, not one for Freshmen. If that is the case, then you are clearly ahead and perhaps you should regroup and try it again the fall to get it right instead of trying to forge ahead and just compound the problems. Yes, it might be that the material is different but as a physics professor, I can assure you that knowing mechanics well will help with E&M and so on. There is a reason for these sequences and for expecting at least a grade of C to move on to the next class.
If you are a physics major, you need to first of all make sure you master the basics. So it takes you a bit of extra time…
The problem may be that waiting until next year may result in delayed graduation, which may cause problems with affordability if the OP chose the college based on the cost of graduating in 8 semesters.
The risk of this is worse at colleges where important courses are offered less frequently than every semester.
@cat78465
Like xraymancs said, it seems that you’re in a higher level physics class compared to the average freshman student. In that case, it might mitigate the damage done by not being able to take the next level physics class.
The test would have been your main point, but it seems you only hit the average mark, which might not be enough to convince the instructors that you can handle the next level class. At the same time, I know the physics programs can be brutal in that one missed class is the same as one missed year.
If nothing else, I would recommend taking the year to get the rest of your GE’s out of the way. That way, your future years can be devoted to the major along with related electives.
(this next part is off topic, sorry)
@ucbalumnus
From what I’ve heard, it is not uncommon for schools to have a similar physics program to this. It might have to do with the small entering class, as physics majors aren’t a sizable group compared to engineers and other sciences majors.
My school, which is partly known for its physics program, has this system. The classes in sequence are offered once a year. If you mess up, you lose a year. Mess up again, and you’re out. Most people just drop the major in the first lost year, so our entering class of around ~200 physics major dropped to about less than half after our first quarter.
Is the program at Berkeley (which your name implies you attended) do things differently?
At Berkeley, the frosh/soph physics courses (Physics 7A, 7B, 7C) are offered every semester, as are the frosh/soph math courses (Math 1A, 1B, 53, 54). Physics, engineering, and chemistry majors take these courses (chemistry and most engineering majors are not required to take Physics 7C). Honors versions of all of them are offered (except Math 1A, which is often skipped by stronger students coming in with AP calculus credit), although not necessarily every semester.
The core junior/senior physics courses for physics majors are also offered every semester. There are about 80 to 90 physics majors graduating each year.
That’s basically what I’ve decided to focus on, @NotYetEngineer. All of my gen ed’s are going to be out of the way besides the humanities courses I’m required to take my junior/senior year. I’m ahead in a lot of aspects, especially my math courses which are the most important ones to be ahead in. I’m auditing the class I was supposed to be in so I don’t fall behind in it, and am just going to build gpa this semester.
Thank you everyone for the advice, I truly appreciate it!
See if you can get a retroactive medical withdrawal for the Physics class. You will be behind, but won’t have the grade.