<p>How rigorous is Yale for physics and earth science? How would the opportunities at Yale for these areas compare to Harvard or Princeton?</p>
<p>Quoting a Yale student here:</p>
<p>So geology and geophysics is a small department with a small department, and because of that you get a lot of attention as a student in the major. I know one of my friends who double majored in physics and geology just because he loved the department so much. They fly you out to conferences and have afternoon teas with you and everything, There’s also a seminar called Global Tectonics that flies you out to Sicily for spring break to study earth formations there.</p>
<p>You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks physics is not a demanding major, but, as with all fields of study, the difficulty of it is very different for each individual. My friend, for example, is quite good at math and scientifically-minded in general, so he learns subjects like Quantum or Electrodynamics without an excess amount of effort. For others, the same material may be extraordinarily difficult to grasp. It’s somewhat hard to imagine as a high school student, when AP Physics C is quite trivial compared to the rigor you will be exposed to starting as early as sophomore year in the physics major. </p>
<p>That being said, the physics major itself is not too many credits (although they are hard classes), so my friend finds a lot of time to take classes outside of his major. I think he’s done spanish courses, american literature, art history, international studies, etc. Given the distributional requirements at Yale, you will have to spend time on these kinds of courses whether or not you think you have room for it alongside your physics classes!</p>