<p>If you want to go to grad school, keep your GPA up, from the start. Get used to working independently: on psets, on lab work, whatever. Look for opportunities, get to know your professors, find a lab sophomore year and stick with them for several years, you might get some real results and publish but if you don’t at least you won’t be scrounging for a senior thesis come IAP senior year 
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<p>Go for the hard classes. Right away. You might realize you have a talent for something and that confidence will carry you. On the other hand, it’s also better to find out sooner rather than later if you’re no good. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Some people are good at some things, and some people at others. Put your talents to use, don’t struggle needlessly in a subject that is too difficult for you.</p>
<p>DON’T be embarrassed or afraid of stepping off the straight path. </p>
<p>And just non-grad school other pieces of advice.
don’t get behind on HASS’s. Take one every semester. I’ve had to take 4 HASS classes senior year and it’s really started to get on my nerves when what I really wanna be taking is GR and astrophysics and statistical mechanics and whatnot.</p>
<p>I dunno, don’t ask me, man. Here’s my path. I’m an immigrant, I went to 8 schools in as many years, I took AP Calc in high school but not physics. I started MIT as a 16 major. Took 8.012 and thought it was pretty cool and I might be pretty ok at it. Declared a double in 8 and 16. Sophomore year after taking Unified and 8.03 and 8.033 and an 18 class, I realized what I really loved was physics and man I hated engineering classes. I dropped 16 as a major and never took another class in it even though I planned to. Worked w/ the Man Vehicle Lab, LIGO, NASA, and I’ve been on the science/instrument team of a exoplanet satellite (launch 2012…or so they say…) for the past 2 years and will do my senior thesis with them. I’ve TA’ed and now I’m grading in physics classes. I’ve gone on field trips with physics dept and dinners. I own a SPS (society of physics students) shirt. After freshman year I never worked with anyone on my psets again (except maybe once). You learn how to get through this place, you fall into your ways, it’s nothing I ever planned for.</p>
<p>Listen, I love physics but after some soul searching this year, I didn’t apply to grad school and am in the process of taking at least a year or a few off before making that kind of commitment. From high school, it’s a straight shot to college, but things get a lot more complicated between college and grad school. But I have no regrets. That door is wide open for me should I choose to step through it. My philosophy throughout college, that’s served me well, I think, is, until you decide, keep as many doors & windows open as possible. And the key way to do this is keep active, keep looking, stay curious, and get good grades.</p>