JUDGING YOUR PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS

All students need to know something about how well they are progressing toward their goals and something about their prospects for success. These always are difficult things to determine, and every individual's case is different. Neither you nor your instructors nor your advisers are likely to be certain about the answers.

Although information in this section is based on a detailed study of students who earned bachelor's degrees in physics at the University of Washington in the late 1970s, the same appears to be true in the 1990s. While this section may not answer all of your questions, it will give you an idea of how your own work compares to that of successful students.

The cumulative grade average (for University of Washington courses) at the time of graduation averaged 3.1 for physics majors, with approximately 90% of all graduates having a cumulative average better than 2.6. For physics courses only, the average grade for all undergraduate work was 3.1, with about 90% averaging better than 2.4. Average grades in physics courses tend to drop as the course level goes up. The average for 100-level courses was 3.2, for 200-level courses 3.0, and for 300- and 400-level courses 2.9.

Almost all successful physics majors earn lower grade averages in college than in high school. Those who came to the University directly from high school had high school averages of 3.6, with about 90% being above 3.3. Their overall college grade average was lower by about 0.3, and their physics course average lower by about 0.6. Students transferring to the University from other four-year colleges earned the same average grades at the University of Washington, while those transferring from two-year colleges earned overall University grades averaging 0.4 lower than in the two-year college and physics grades 0.6 lower.

By the time they graduated, the physics majors had earned 207 credits, on the average, including transferred credits. Of these, 136 were earned in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics (about 90% of all graduates earned at least 117 credits in these areas). An average of 56 credits were earned in the humanities and social sciences (about 90% of all graduates earned at least 45 credits in these areas). Please note: since 1980 the general graduation requirements outside the sciences and other technical fields have increased. Hence, the average number of credits earned in these areas could be larger than 56.

The 136 credits earned in sciences, engineering, and mathematics were distributed, on the average, as follows:

Physics: 57 credits
Other sciences: 28 credits
Engineering: 12 credits
Mathematics: 29 credits

These data, of course, are averages. No single student had exactly this pattern.

The physics degree requirements allow substitution of up to eight credits in other departments for physics courses presented to fulfill the 53 credit major requirement. Only one in five graduates, however, made use of this possibility.

About two-thirds of all physics graduates earn the equivalent of a minor in some other field, that is, they complete a substantial number of courses in a single department other than physics, including advanced courses intended for majors in that department. The most frequent minor fields are mathematics (19%), engineering (14%), astronomy (11%), chemistry (8%), and "pre-med" (5%). Others in recent years have been business administration, biophysics, computer science, English, history, geophysics, "pre-law", oceanography, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. It now is possible to earn a formal minor in most departments by completing 25 to 35 approved credits. If you are interested, check with advisers in that department.

Early mathematics and physics scores and grades provide some guidance, especially if you are in doubt about how well you will do in physics. The quantitative or overall math score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Washington Pre-College Test (WPCT) is one useful indicator. More than 93% of those who graduated in physics had a quantitative score of 630 or better. Similarly, practically no student who graduated had low grades in 100- or 200-level University of Washington mathematics courses. Low math grades or scores are a warning. If that is your case, either you should think of another major or you quickly should locate your problem and correct it.

Grades in 100-level physics courses also are good indicators. More than 85% of all physics graduates earned 2.6 or better grade averages in 100-level physics courses. If your average in these courses is close to 2.0, the chances of your graduating in physics are small. Below 2.6 they are not good.

Finally, the verbal score on the SAT or WPCT is a guide. More than 90% of physics graduates scored above 500 here and the average score was 594.

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