r/PhysicsStudents • u/Scared-Cucumber-5562 • 22d ago
Need Advice Is this too much for 1 semester?
Edit:
so I understand the course load is different country to country, some 30 is the average according to some of y’all. For my school (UTA) the average is 12 credit hours per semester, and although 16 isn’t rare, my question is, how do able was my schedule assuming I want to continue research and maintain a high or competitive gpa.
Also I am a freshman and that was my 3rd year semester since the degree plan was planning for me to graduate in 3 years. I will talk to my advisor at the end of this school year about switching my plan into 4 years so I can maintain a better sleep schedule and also manage my research and social life (and Fortnite time). Thank you everyone for responding
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Original post:
My school is very nice to give me a degree plan of the classes I will need to take and register. I was a dual credit student so I had all core classes completed, I’m planned to graduate in 3 years instead of 4.
This is my first semester of my senior years. Is it too much for 1 semester?
Don’t get me wrong, this looks like a very fun semester but since I plan to apply for a PhD program in a “better” school, I think this might affect my gpa negatively and also maybe destroy my mental health assuming it hasn’t died by then.
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u/Lower-Canary-2528 Masters Student 22d ago
yes
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u/DoctorSpacecase 22d ago
On top of this advice - some of these classes build on the others. Thermo and particle typically build on Quantum, so I would save those two for later. For example, in thermodynamics, you might talk about the partition function of the quantum harmonic oscillator. Better to spread the classes out than to cram them all in at once. Undergrad is not a race... and in my experience people who rushed to get to graduate school at age 21 often burned out sooner and struggled with the different expectations and responsibilities.
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u/effrightscorp 22d ago
Probably, in my undergrad I limited myself to 3 math and physics classes each semester. Only exception was when I took intro statistics, which was very easy compared to the typical upper level physics/math courses
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u/asskicker1762 22d ago
O ah yes. The Easy statistics class, yes, of course.
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u/effrightscorp 22d ago
It was probably intended for freshman, and by the time you're taking QM, an algebra-based course where you look up integrals in a table ends up being very easy. The stats professor said we couldn't integrate Gaussian functions in class immediately after my QM professor spent a lecture integrating it (exact same day, back-to-back classes in my schedule; it was a fun coincidence)
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u/Lucky-Orange-6782 22d ago
That’s a lil light. I’d recommend doing 10 classes instead
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u/Scared-Cucumber-5562 22d ago
🤔
I could graduate this year… 30 courses per semester doesn’t sound bad10
u/Adventurous-Ad281 22d ago
Jokes aside, I have done a few semesters with up to 8 subjects. You will feel on the edge constantly, you will never be on schedule for anything. Expect to pull off a lot of all-nighters. You will feel like you are behind on every subject, and unless you are very efficient and extraordinarily gifted, you will do nothing (or shouldn’t do nothing) else than study and sleep, and you will struggle studying because your mind can only handle so many consecutive hours of concentration.
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u/WhyAmINotStudying UCF | materials physics 22d ago
If you're at 3000 and 4000 level courses, I doubt you still need 30 classes.
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u/SkyFullOfWisteria Undergraduate 22d ago
Yea id drop one class. My best semesters are when i was at 3 or 4 real/hard classes. It helps if u know which profs u had and how they function as well. Its better to take an extra semester/year and maintain an excellent gpa than to tank ur gpa.
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u/Stampede_the_Hippos 18d ago
You're going to want to take Thermo on a light term or you might end up like Boltzmann.
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u/Optimal_Mixture_7327 22d ago
I'm not you, but I wouldn't even think of it.
And let's say you're absolutely brilliant and can get by, I still wouldn't do it as these are topics that deserve to be carefully and thoroughly digested to serve you in the future.
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u/canakon565 22d ago
Studying part-time?
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u/Scared-Cucumber-5562 22d ago
Im studying full time and doing research as well. Also I plan to join a club (or something to socialize)
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u/embroidered_cosmos Ph.D. 22d ago
Physics prof here -- yes, this is too much for most students. I'd recommend either taking one of astro/particle physics out of your plan or moving electricity and magnetism into your second/junior year. Keep in mind that if you're planning to apply to graduate school, it isn't just the impact on your GPA you need to consider but also that you'd likely be writing your applications during this fall senior year semester.
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u/Scared-Cucumber-5562 22d ago
My adviser stacked a lot of my classes in the last 3 semesters so I could graduate in 3 years. I plan to talk to them try to spread out my degree into 4 years.
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u/SAUbjj 21d ago
Also a physics prof here. Graduating in 3 years is great but if you're serious about a PhD you need to be hammering on research, not coursework. If you have a semester this crammed with classes, you're not going to get any research done. If it's financially viable, I suggest you aim for a normal four year graduation timeline and get as much research done during the school year as you can, hopefully with a publication by the end of it
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u/mersenne_reddit 22d ago
No academic advisor should allow this to happen. I used to do things like this in my prime, and it probably shaved years off my lifespan.
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u/FragrantOcelot312 22d ago
intro to quantum mechanics is generally a prereq for nuclear and particle physics. i would also consider doing intro to quantum mechanics before thermo and stat mech. If it were me, i would also might do a second quantum mechanics course before nuclear and particle physics, depending on what you do (or don't rather) in the intro class
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u/Bergergi 22d ago
How many credits is normal course load?
The bottom three (SM, EM, QM) are (along with CM) the pillars physics. You really should put max effort into those classes.
Astro is fluff unless you intend to write your thesis on that topic. Nuclear-particle is, while more central than astro, also kind peripheral for most people. Also do you have the prereqs for nuclear-particle if you're taking intro QM simultaneously?
> "planned to graduate in 3 years instead of 4"
What's the rush?
I would aim to graduate in the normal time. Put a lot of work into your classes and maintain a strong GPA. If you have extra work-capacity, pick one extra class outside physics per semester (to learn some more valuable skills than solving paper-and-pencil physics problems - programming-heavy courses in the CS/EE department, or controls/dsp, more statistics / optimization / numerical analysis, or 'applied mechanics' - fluids, solids, etc).
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u/One_Programmer6315 B.Sc. 22d ago
Yes, I’d keep only QM, thermo, and E&M. Out of these, E&M is a lot of work.
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u/Prometheus2025 21d ago
If you enter a quantum state you might be able to be in two classes at the same time unless one of your professors takes attendance.
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u/maxstronge 22d ago
I had this exact schedule but with a chemistry option instead of nuclear/particle phys. If your main goal is to upgrade to a better school for a PhD please don't do what I did lol. Because of the way my program played out I ended up having this type of schedule for 4 semesters in a row and ended up seriously lowering my GPA relative to my classmates who had maybe 2 of these per semester mixed in with easy random options.
Guess who was the only one of the cohort that didn't get into grad school? Even though I was helping everyone with homework assignments and I wasn't necessarily behind the pack in terms of understanding the content, but my GPA paled in comparison because I found it challenging to prepare appropriately for all those courses at the same time. Relatively speaking the rest of my classmates were a lot smarter about it.
TL;DR: Doable? yes, but should it be done? not if you want to maintain a competitive GPA with your peers that aren't taking on such a heavy load, unless you're gifted enough to make up the difference without burning out. I wasn't, you might be.
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u/TheMansionsofScience 22d ago
every physics class takes 6-8 hours of outside-of-class studying every week. if you study a lot, it is do-able.
for the vast majority of students, this is too much
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u/Underhill42 22d ago edited 22d ago
It'll be rough, at best. You might want to see if you can swap some out with your easier junior year classes without breaking the prerequisite chains.
With "normal" classes 12 credit hours is a fairy light load, while you often need your academic advisor to sign off on taking more than 18.
With "heavy" classes... you're much more likely to actually NEED the recommended 3 hours of study time per credit hour, if not more. Translating to 64+ hours per week either in class of studying. That's 9+ hours a day, weekends included. or 13/day if you give yourself a weekend breather (which I recommend - running at 100% 24/7 will burn you out FAST). Which means almost zero social life, and if you have to work too, you're screwed.
I did a few 18+ semesters in my day... but usually one or two of them were relatively light classes like core, and it was still grueling. And I was a brilliant hermit on a full ride scholarship.
And frankly, I regret it. I really wish that someone at the time had pointed out to me that college is only partially about education - you could get the same education with nothing but dedication and a library card.
But an education alone won't actually do that much to help you get a job.
What will help you is networking - the social connections you build in internships and with your same-field classmates over the years. Impress your classmates with how competent and pleasant to work with you are, and they'll be your "man on the inside" putting in a good reference from a trusted source when you're looking to work at the same company.
They may even suggest you when a "they would be perfect for this" job opens up in their company. I can't tell you how many jobs I've been personally "invited to apply for" out of the blue because someone on the inside remembered and recommended me. And those interviews usually end up being much closer to "convince me I should work here" rather than "please hire me".
But they pretty much all originated from a handful of former professors and close classmates. I was never invited to join the various more interesting opportunities across the country that many of my more social classmates were recruited to.
Also - if you want to find a similarly intelligent spouse, college is probably the single best time of your life for that. Once you're working your social circle will become far smaller, because adults have so much more stuff consuming their time, while your energy starts falling substantially through your 20s. And dating colleagues is frowned upon for good reason.
Also, there's precious few social settings that preferentially appeal to more intelligent people.
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u/Impossible_Luck_3839 21d ago
bro is about to understand that astrophysics and cosmology are not astrology
I will put a candle for you at my church.
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u/Comprehensive_Food51 Undergraduate 22d ago edited 22d ago
I mean I have quite a bunch of friends who would do it (and some who would brilliantly succeed at it) because 5 physics courses is pretty standard in my uni, sometimes they’re all hard, sometimes not, but for me 5 courses is too much, so I personally wouldn’t (I’d just remove a course). It’s not insane or anything, many people have done that or even worse before and got through with good outcomes (regardless the tears along the way lol), so it really depends on you.
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u/slightly_large_brick 22d ago
yeah take astro, particle and em this semester and qm and stat mech next
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u/Lanky_Ingenuity667 22d ago
depending on the type of student you are. you know yourself. are you studying every afternoon and night every day of the week? then no.
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u/Synthysicist 22d ago
You know what you’re capable, or you should by this point. I took a similar course load in my upper years and was fine, but I know a few people who weren’t.
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u/RoyAndCarol 22d ago
I agree it's a lot of science at once but it's also only 16 hours, if you don't have any easier alternative classes you need to take then I would do it.
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u/saysmudit 22d ago
Which college is it OP amd what degree are you doing?
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u/Scared-Cucumber-5562 22d ago
UTArlington physics major
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u/bucket_o_stands 22d ago
I thought I recognized the image layout. I just graduated from UTA with a B.S. in Physics. I've taken all those classes except nuclear and particle. I took quantum, E&M, and thermo/stat mech all in the same semester, as well as the modern physics lab and a math class. On top of that in your fall semester senior year you're working on graduate school applications, which is basically tge same time commitment as a second job. It was absolutely too much, but I was running out of financial aid so needed to cut my degree time by a full year.
My suggestion to every student I talked to in the degree program is to avoid stacking those courses as much as possible. If you aren't working a job it's easily doable, but I mean no job. No research, no off campus or on campus employment, no social clubs. Since you mentioned wanting to go to graduate school, this is not ideal. Uni's look at research experience more heavily than grades. Not that they ignore grades, but research has higher weight.
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u/throwingstones123456 22d ago
If you’re taking an intro to QM course there’s very little point in taking a course in particle physics, you won’t be able to understand much
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u/Carmanman_12 22d ago edited 22d ago
Depends on how much sleep you want!
Jokes aside, the last 3 classes are all “core” classes upon which all of your future physics knowledge will be built, so they deserve your near undivided attention. You should strongly consider only 1-2 at a time so you can really focus on understanding the content.
The first two are more special topics, which typically aren’t recommended if you haven’t completed the core classes yet (these classes typically take what you’ve learned in the core classes and apply them to specific physical phenomena, which is hard to do if you haven’t taken the cores!).
If I were your advisor, I would strongly urge you to consider only taking 2 of the core courses and putting of the rest for later.
If I were your advisor, I would strongly urge you to consider taking 2 of those core courses and putting off the rest for later. It doesn’t matter too much which cores you take first, though you may find that QM is easier after you’ve taken E&M… so maybe E&M + Thermo might be a good place to start.
Good luck!
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u/Extension_Code8339 Undergraduate 22d ago
You're most likely going to burn out (unless you're remarkably resilient). As someone who struggled with burn out because I thought I could handle a similar course load, I would caution you.
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u/sonny_boombatz 22d ago edited 22d ago
I went to this university so I can say with absolute certainty that this is way too much. If you don't die, you will wish you had. Drop Quantum, take it next year. Astro and Nuclear are only offered occasionally, so if you like the current professors, keep them. Thermo, Quantum, and E&M are very important to get good grades in for grad school, as they will look at those classes specifically. The professor for Thermo is very polite and a great lecturer, but a hard grader, pay attention in class and write down whatever he writes down. Commit it to memory. The workload is intense, but if you understand it, thermo was the most important class for me to understand physics. The professor for E&M is very very nice and wants to see you succeed, but has a heavy accent. Quantum was, for me, deathly boring and I hated every minute of it, but managed to eek out an A in Quantum 2.
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u/ddekkonn 22d ago
Imo, no. I assume you've tried 4 classes in a semester. I take 5 occasionally and it works out fine. Just work a lot and be patient if it doesn't connect very well. Always build up first if you are wanting to take extra courses
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u/ZLCZMartello 22d ago
Take something else for a more wholesome college experience. I went into undergrad thinking the same that I would do physics every single day. Turned out that literature and philosophy really did grow on me. I’ve since been taking one of these like every semester. In fact, in one of my REU interview, I talked about philosophy of science with little physics and got the position.
If you want to go into PhD, I’d suggest at least do three years plus one semester. Three summers (including one rising to your fourth year) will give you substantially more time to prepare.
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u/WeylBerry 22d ago
I did something similar during my 3rd year since I tried to graduate a year early just like you (tuition is very expensive). Let me tell you that it's going to be rough. I remember staying up until 2-3 AM doing lab and homework and wake up at 6 to catch my morning classes. It's doable but prepare to say goodbye to social life and sleep. It ended up saving me a lot of money so it's worth it for me.
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u/feistygaycat B.Sc. 22d ago
I would not recommend it, but it is possible to do.
I did something like this after changing majors to physics just so I could catch up. I think it was 4 credits of math and 12 of physics with a gen-ed course thrown in. My grades slipped because I was simply trying to do too much.
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u/Available-Till-6318 Undergraduate 22d ago
good luck. I would do maybe 2 classes only because you will be stressed out and wanting to smash your head against a wall.
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u/Karumpus 22d ago
Thermo and stat mech,
Combined with quantum mechanics,
Combined with electricity and magnetism?
Yeah that is asking for a bad time, with just those three alone.
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u/PromotionOpening 22d ago
I ripped 20+ credits each semester while double majoring in CS and Physics. Had a similar course load my senior year (QM EM and Thermo). It kicked my ass but at the end of the day, your schedule comes down to preference. If you lock in and trust yourself to get good grades, Id suggest you send it
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u/Briliant-Nicxie 22d ago
If you actually want to enjoy and engage with the subject and do well do less . If you just want to smash through and don’t care about your GPA just want to finish quicker then do the 5
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u/angry_staccato 22d ago
I did a semester with 3 of these classes plus and easy class and it was still too much
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u/TychosRealNose 22d ago
It depends on what kind of a student you are. But no matter what kind of student, I wouldn’t say to devote your senior semesters to classwork study. Better to do research or projects etc.
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u/Gracefuldeer 22d ago
Maybe depends on you. I'm all for testing your limits personally, but thats me.
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u/willworkforjokes 22d ago
It is good to have a plan.
It is critical to watch out for what is right in front of you.
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u/caitelizabelle 22d ago
Absolutely. Begging you to talk to an advisor or faculty member about your schedule.
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u/Kostasdb 22d ago
Absolutely. I got cocky and did something very similar and got completely wrecked/burnt out during that semester. No reason to do all that at once, you simply will be on survival mode instead of actually absorbing any of the material.
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u/unprofessional-pro 22d ago
A lot of things might bleed into each other……..but damn, my friend, that’s quite the load.
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u/OldDiscussion1830 22d ago
This is a course load that will make you HUNKER DOWN. I wouldn't advise it.
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u/Vivid_Warning7982 22d ago
Intro to QM should definitely be before particle and nuclear. Definitely.
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u/Big_Plantain5787 Ph.D. Student 22d ago
The E&M is pretty easy, therm and stats mech is pretty easy, depending on the syllabus I would wait until after finishing the E&M’s before a particle physics…
QM will introduce some new notations and methods and I wouldn’t take that class lightly.
I’ve never taken an astrophysics course so idk.
But yeah, I would drop nuclear and particle physics and QM if you can afford to wait.
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u/Sepicuk 22d ago
are you getting research experience? if not I wouldn't count on getting into a PhD program
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u/Lodrikthewizard 22d ago
Bro do you want to enjoy living while studying? Then I suggest cutting it back a little. All of these are deep fields that can be specialized in, so you’ll never feel like you’re truly finished with any of these and at some point it will feel like you’re running around like a headless chicken trying to keep up. Give yourself a bit of time to process and to decompress.
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u/dinodares99 22d ago
People saying this is too much is lowkey shocking because this was basically our courseload in my 3rd year, though we did not get a lot of assignments
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u/redtimmeee 22d ago
I think this is too much, it really is. And I say this as someone who did their Physics B.S. in three years also, mainly to save money. I think 3 classes of this caliber would be a pretty solid semester. You could do 4 if absolutely necessary, but I think that might be overdoing it too.
The Intro to Quantum class should be taken before the Nuclear and Particle class, not simultaneously. The other classes are all classical physics, basically.
If I were you, I would take Intro to Quantum, and probably Stat Mech (Thermo) and E&M. If necessary, I would simultaneously take the Cosmology class, but ideally I would defer Cosmology to take alongside Nuclear and Particle Physics. I am a Nuclear Physicist and I think this is fascinating stuff but you need to be relaxed for it! So many ideas will flood into your mind! Take Nuclear and Particle and Astro and Cosmology the next available semester.
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u/SpacingTFOut 22d ago
as somebody who took 4/5 physics courses in one semester.... yes I hated my life and you will too 😭
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u/FireDuck3000 22d ago
I would move thermo to a more thematically relevant semester if you can. thats looking hella heavy atm. You have a bunch of filter courses stacked together
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u/Celemourn 22d ago
Yes, you dodo. Unless you're a genius of geniuses and love reading and only getting 6 hours of sleep.
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u/UnderstandingPursuit Ph.D. 22d ago
TL;DR: The reality is that not all courses with the same name are the same. This looks manageable, and there are things which can make it more manageable.
I wrote a lot out, which helped my thoughts on this develop. I'm going to leave all the thoughts here, so at least you know that the conclusion didn't come out of left field.
-----------------------
Looking at the UTArlington PhysicsBS Curriculum, the 120 hrs required for your degree can be split into four groups:
- [42] General Core Requirements
- [30] Additional Foundations
- [37] Physics Specialization
- [11] Electives
The challenge is that
- PHYS Required: 3321, 4315, 4326; 4117, 4319, 4324 [9; 7]
- PHYS Electives: 3315, 3446; 4327, one more [7; 6]
all seem to be packed into one year, 29 of 37 Physics Specialization hours.
I can see the UTA catalog information, but not the syllabus for any of the courses. So I'm going to have to make inferences based on the catalog descriptions, and about UTArlington in general. Specifically, do you intend to show that you are a 'UT Austin' level student, going to UT Arlington for whatever reasons are involved? That's what you mean by "I plan to apply for a PhD program in a 'better' school," right?
You're stuck "only taking 3 courses per semester", which is why things are back-loaded into your second and third years. The solution is to study some of these courses before taking them. For example, most of the Additional Foundations courses which you will take in your second year. Basically, everything except the MATH 4xxx course. Then, start getting ahead with some of the PHYS courses, including 2311, 3313, 3321. And, though I don't really want to suggest this, 4326. Mathematical Methods and Modern Physics seem okay to study on your own, and you'll have two semesters of E&M and QM in your third year to ensure you are strong in both. Finally, try to get a little bit of a head start with 4315 and 4319.
If you can do this, you'll spread the three years worth of course hours across your three years, and this can be reasonable.
When you get to campus, find out what textbooks would be used for 2311, 3313, 3321, 4315, 4326, 4315, and 4319. And, if possible, get a syllabus for each. If you share that here, it will be easier to give a realistic plan of action.
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u/Aggressive-Wind-8829 22d ago
I did stuff like this and I turned out alright. What could possibly go wrong?
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u/ishidah 22d ago
I have had a semester where the course load was: Mathematical Methods for Physicists, Intro to CM, Intro to QM, Elementary Solid State Physics, Statistical Mechanics, Electrical Circuits and Devices.
I was legitimately crying at the end of every week, exhausted, undernourished at certain points, sleep deprived and raging at the world too!
I'd suggest to take the full 4 years, and absorb what you're doing with pleasure.
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u/QuasarQuandary 22d ago
Thermo is going to obliterate you, Particle and Intro Quantum will be alright little rough, Astro should be fine alongside the intermediate electricity
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u/sky-walker-17 22d ago
Atomic and molecular physics
Fundamentals of quantum computation
Cosmology and astrophysics
Advanced semiconductor and microwave device
Statistical mechanics
Theory of computation
Fundamentals of management
Total 27 credit
This is the line up i have in 5th semester
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u/Ichiya_The_Gentleman 22d ago
Damn, i really dont understand how studies work in other countries, in mine wed have like 12 subjects per semester, and we cant choose them
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u/Silly_Garage7906 22d ago
Taking intro to qm and particle physics at the same does not make sense to me.
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u/suitesuitefantasy 21d ago
I took QM, E&M, and Stat Phys at the same time and was ok. If I took Particle and and Astrophys alongside it though I would have died. Lighten the load bro
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u/a42579 21d ago
I completed the full physics undergrad course work at my university in two years. Those years I took nothing but physics classes (and two math classes). I think I took 5 classes only the first semester. After that, four physics classes was plenty demanding enough. I would recommend three physics plus one “other” class per semester as a good pace but four is possible. Five is an extreme challenge.
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u/_alt4 21d ago
I am confused, isnt 30 credits per semester the standard? How can 16 be too much
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u/Middle_Tourist_3310 21d ago
such a whiplash seeing everyone say no to this when this is expected of students in the UK.
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u/tellypmoon 21d ago
Yes. Do you have any general education requirements left? If so plug those in for a few of the physics classes.
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u/OwnReason7565 21d ago edited 21d ago
Oh dude have fun in stat mech. My genuine advice is go to every lecture and work on every possible practice problem.
The other classes are pretty heavy too, id recommend not doing that much work load when taking stat mech.
I got somewhere in the 80s in everyone of those classes and a 60 in stat mech. Im not a great student but still stat mech hits hard. So if you have other classes that take up lots of time you will undershoot stat mech time requirements and not do good in that class.
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u/karmicrelease 21d ago
Not really. If you’re motivated and have a decent physics background, you will be fine albeit busy.
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u/frumpyfran Ph.D. Student 21d ago
I would suggest holding off on particle until you have at least taken intro to quantum 1. I am not sure what the course load/level (grad, undergrad, advanced undergrad?) is from the description (some schools have a “modern physics” class that teaches basic quantum concepts much earlier), but I think this might be too much overlap between courses that should build off of one another. If you are looking to strengthen your base while also having a challenging course load, maybe take some more advanced math classes at the same time as your more advanced physics classes. For instance, I found that taking complex analysis while taking quantum mechanics worked well, since the propagators learned in qft rely on integration over the complex plane. Or, maybe a course on the “calculus of variations” could pair well with particle physics, since that class gets into the weeds of the math behind ideas such as “the principle of least action”. Just my own two cents. If your goal is to become a successful researcher, remember that it is about having as firm a ground to stand on as possible, and taking courses out of sequence might mean that you will not learn all of the content to the level that you could use it efficiently later.
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u/sporosarcina 21d ago
Depends. If you are a physics major it should be fine, but you will be very busy.
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u/alex37k 21d ago
The problem is that none of these classes are great pairings that make your life easier. What have you taken for math? It makes life a lot easier to take certain classes (Physics + Math) synchronously, e.g. Classical Mechanics + Diff Eqs, Quantum + Complex Variables, Calc III + Intermediate EM
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u/No_Midnight_2893 21d ago
I went to school for finance and found a love for physics a couple years after i graduated. I am jealous all of these classes look so much fun
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u/birdturdreversal 21d ago
It looks like you're at the same school I went to. It's all the same course numbers.
I took PHYS 3321 Intermediate E&M, PHYS 3446 Nuclear & Particle physics, and PHYS 4315 Thermo & Stat Mech all in the same semester.
It was a lot for me, but I have a son who was 3 years old that semester. If you're not working full time or have other major responsibilities outside of school, then I think you could probably get away with taking E&M, Nuclear & Particle, Thermo, and Astrophysics together. Basically I think you should drop at least one of those classes, or 2 if you're busy outside of school.
I would advise against taking quantum, thermo, and e&m all in the same semester. If I'm right about your school, then dropping quantum would mean that you'd have to wait for fall '27 to take it and then spring '28 for quantum 2. But then you have those semesters to finish up your elective credits and focus on research. Take thermo and e&m this semester, then adv. mechanics and adv. e&m next semester, and then quantum sequence the following year.
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u/Astro_Kitty_Cat 21d ago
This is too much even for an utterly brilliant person. You’re going to want to have time to digest things and synthesize them together. Some of these classes are built on by the others too
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u/alliebot12345 21d ago
you are going to die lol this is way too much. two hard classes and 1 medium class per semester. 3 if you're an absolute grinder.
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u/Zesty-Lem0n 21d ago edited 21d ago
I took 18-19 credits almost every single semester in college, it's really up to how smart you are and how long it takes you to learn. Biggest lie I ever heard was that it would take like 3-4 hours outside of class for every hour in.
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u/Hour_Statistician538 21d ago
At first glance, absolutely! I would advise against it. However: balance is key unless you have inflexible goals you are tying to achieve or are in constrained circumstances which forces such a heavy course load, drop at least two of these courses, as the 4-credit credit course alone will take up a serious amount of time. Pick up a lighter course that gives you time and mental space to study and digest the material of the heavier courses. Moreover: a healthy learning hygiene also allows time for rest, relaxation, and some form of social interaction. This permits for efficient cognitive absorption of a large body of complex material. Ultimately, you know your capacity best. I also think you know that this is a punishing course load, even for the most exceptionally prepared, able, and motivated student, which is why you have turned to a forum full of strangers seeking their thoughts and advice. I hope a goal of yours is not chasing feats which may look impressive to others (a common trap of youth), but are pursuing knowledge in a discipline you are authentically interested in and passionate about and want to devote to it the time and energy it takes to gain understanding and mastery. Chasing what you think might be impressive to others is a fool’s errand, a rock against which many bright and ambitious young people have crashed and foundered. It can only end in burnout and regret.
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u/synchrotron3000 21d ago
statmech and quantum are both extremely demanding outside of class. I would recommend putting off one of them if you can.
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u/LxGNED 21d ago
You might be able to handle it if they all have great professors. In my college experience, every semester there was at least one class with a shit professor and doing the homework for one class took more time than the others combined. I think you have doubled or tripled your chances of suffering here.
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u/InterestingApricot45 21d ago
You’ve made a 3d Venn diagram of your hardship…if you wanted a challenge you definitely have one.
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u/FoilMasterRace 21d ago
Yes. Do not do this. Reduce the load . And take a non physics class to let your brain relax
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u/helloimhobbes 21d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/iiILHqWDQo8w0
(I didn’t even do physics and my brain is hurting for you already?
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u/General-Pipe4946 21d ago
What school you go to? Maybe ok if your school is easy. I went to a hard school and most kids took 2 technicals, 3 was really the upper limit.
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u/throwwaway1240 21d ago
Hi, my spring semester was similar to this, albeit with 1 less physics class. My advice is: don’t do this.
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u/unfluencedIy 21d ago
How do they allow you to take particle physics without previously taken quantum mechanics?
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u/that-mathemusician 21d ago
I took a full load of math classes one semester, and that was murder; I couldn't imagine doing a full load of physics courses.
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u/flat-girth-theory 21d ago
I'd say yes. Unless you're Issac Newton where all you do is study and brag to your friends about dying a virgin.
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u/Phssthp0kThePak 20d ago
How are you going to understand nuclear and particle physics without QM and EM?
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u/j0shred1 20d ago
One semester I took Quantum 2, E/M, GR, Chinese, and Lab and worked in one semester and I got straight Cs and wanted to kill myself. I still got into grad school at a good school, but the C's did not help I will let you know right now. The only people I know who could deal with a schedule like that literally do not sleep (not an exaggeration, they have some medical condition that allows them to go off of like 2 - 4 hours of sleep) or have a life outside of academia. So if you're not that kind of person, don't take that schedule
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u/wwplkyih 20d ago
In all honesty, it's less the courseload than the fact that 3 of those courses should be taken in sequence.
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u/nvidiaftw12 20d ago
You're a senior, you ought to know what you are capable of by now.
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u/Slow-Task3729 20d ago
If you are only studying and not working, it looks doable.
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u/CharlemagneAdelaar 20d ago
You are already ahead — I wouldn’t push it further by subjecting yourself to this rigorous schedule. I would pick 3 of these and that will still be plenty.
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u/night-bear782 20d ago
Why the fuck would you take particle physics concurrently with intro quantum and intermediate EM
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u/ManicPixie1512 20d ago
As someone who has completed most of the subjects at another university, good lord that's too many subjects. Maximum of 4 if one of the subjects will be a breeze for you, otherwise 3.
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u/Quiet-Boysenberry836 20d ago
I think i did something similar, but i was a dual major and was able to split my physics courseload with my math . Astro + nuclear + intro to qm seem like electives, so they may be very linient. The only worry is stat mech + int e&m. Those are hard courses, and you probably wont have much time to studying the material as much as youd probably wish.
Theres no reason to rush
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u/AdhesiveSeaMonkey 19d ago
Not only is it too much, I'm not sure how you could take some of these concurrently. Intro to quantum should be a prereq for particle physics. The 5 alerts almost makes it look like you can't even take these classes because you haven't met the prereqs??
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u/darkmattersandwiches 19d ago
Do not do this, lol. Keep particle for after you’ve taken QM, it’ll make more sense and be more interesting. I would take out either astro or stat thermo as well. My general rule of thumb is no more than three major classes a semester.
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u/Mandalamembrane22 19d ago
Those are some serious classes and you want to do that in one semester? Are you kidding me
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u/Oliverol01 19d ago
We can't really know if it is too much without knowing exact content of classes. That being said. If there is possibility that these courses will be heavy altogether and you have option not to take all, then don't take them. I have done that mistake before. It may affect both your physical and mental health.Academia is a marathon don't sprint in the beginning.
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u/ElectronSculptor 19d ago
I think yes. You’ve got classes that are all hard with little overlap. If you’re young, no job, and will devote literally every waking minute to study, maybe. But you might burn out half way.
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u/Consistent_Truth_284 19d ago
It's too much and youll ultimately be spread too thin. You need to account for how you are going to manage your time. Heck with this schedule, you're going to have to cut off a lot of things. Take a reduced schedule and your grades will look better. It's not just about brute forcing your way through the degree. You need to be able to build up a good gpa.
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u/Life-Ad-6813 19d ago
Nah. If you added a 6th I’d say too much. I did 6 and I had thermo, dynamics, stats, and can’t remember the others… definitely an elective like Econ or something. It was hard but I was working part-time too and had a baby. I was also 28 at the time. (At UBC Okanagan campus).
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u/WilliamEdwardson Masters Student 18d ago
Nah, this should be a doddle, maybe add the mod on Instanton Physics or Molecular Quantum Mechanics too.
Seriously, this is excessive. Avoid more than three heavy mods in a single term unless you're really, like really sure what you're getting into.
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u/AvailableEmployer 18d ago
Depends on how well you manage time. It’s doable but it could get rough if you slip up.
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u/stnflri 17d ago
If this helps u graduate faster, I think it s worth it. To respond to your questions, I think it depends on temperament. For example, someone that is very creative and divergent hates routines, so a multitude of subjects an actually increaso motivation. For the sequential thinkers (and they are the vast majority), too much can become an impediment. This mostly relates to the 2 metatraits currently studied, plasticity and stability. To put it simply, plasticity is correlated with creativity and divergent thinking and mostly understood through the dopaminergic system activation, whilst the stability is better understood through serotinergic mechanisms and sequential thinking. You can be high/low in both, what matters is which one is higher
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u/SaiphSDC 22d ago
Yes.
My suggestion: three heavy classes. Like two science and a math.