• Question: How can I prepare for studying a physics degree at university? If you applied to uni, what sort of things did you do to learn more about physics and make your application stand out?

    Asked by anon-351151 on 2 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Lucien Heurtier

      Lucien Heurtier answered on 2 Mar 2023:

      Dear BenL, this is a very important question, indeed!

      I won’t lie to you, the major ingredient to entering a good University is good grades in Highschool. However, there are other things that can be taken into account when professors review your application, which can help your case even if your grades are not excellent enough to enter the top Universities right away. And even if your grades are great, these actually matter, so it’s very good you ask. Here are a few tips I would give:

      1) Show your passion. From what you wrote in your profile I can already smell that you are are passionate about astronomy and high energy physics, which is good. So in any document that you write (cover letter, personal statement, or however it is called) show this strong passion for the field you want to study. Professors know that this will be a driving force during all your studies.

      2) Try, if possible, to mention example of things you did in your life (at school or not) that prove that you are truly interested. Have participated in some summer camp about physics? Have you taken part in small science competition? Do you regularly read scientific journals? Did you do an internship where you could observe scientists working? Have you done/built/designed something related to science as a kid or teenager that triggered your passion? Even very personal experiences can be helpful to support your application (professors want to read something that sounds real, not some vague words that anybody could write).

      3) Whenever you talk about personal things and show your excitement, try to make it sound like it is an adult writing, not a child. It may sound silly to write it like this, but it is very important. The panel will want students that are mature enough to get organised, to be autonomous, etc. Maybe ask your parents, older siblings, or relatives to read your application, and tell you what sounds a little bit childish in the writing style. (But be careful, sometimes people find expressing passion to be childish, in that case don’t listen to them, according to point 1) 😉 ).

      4) In the structure of your CV and other application documents, try to convey the idea that you are organised. That means, try to use bullet points, enumerations, titles, blocks, whatever would give the impression that you are an organised person. In case you are NOT that organised in reality, take it as an exercise to become one 🙂

      Hopefully these few points would help. Please, feel free to ask me more questions if you feel like I missed part your question! I’d be happy to help!

      Best
      Lucien

    • Photo: Nikita Klimovich

      Nikita Klimovich answered on 2 Mar 2023:

      Hi BenL,

      The most valuable way of preparing for a university physics degree while in high school is to build a very solid mathematical foundation. Specifically, having a thorough understanding of algebra, trigonometry, and calculus will help immensely for both understanding material presented in lectures and solving problems on homework and exams.

      Lucien has already written an excellent set of tips for making your application stand out, and I’d like to reiterate how important it is to convey that you are passionate during your application. There are countless university applicants with good grades, a variety of hobbies, and involvement in various organizations. What ultimately sets them apart from each other is the level of excitement they convey about continuing to do those things in the future.

      A great way of conveying that excitement is to tackle challenges or projects that you aren’t quite prepared for. This can come in countless different forms something as simple as taking a course you don’t have the prerequisites for to something as ambitious as using a small-scale telescope (or publicly available data) to try to detect an exoplanet. Regardless of what you choose to do, genuinely pursuing goals that should be slightly out of reach shows a level of passion and ambition that admission committees love. Building up the knowledge and skills you were lacking at the start of the endeavour is an accomplishment all on its own. And, if you do happen to succeed, the accomplishment is all the more impressive than if you had waited until you were truly ready.

      -Nikita

    • Photo: Allyson Lister

      Allyson Lister answered on 2 Mar 2023:

      I think Lucien has provided a fantastic answer here, and I’ll add to his tips with a few comments of my own. I will be speaking more from an technology/engineering perspective, which is another aspect of this zone.

      1. “Show your passion”. This deserves its number 1 spot. Take any opportunity to show your personality, your interests, and how they relate to the degree. Practice your “elevator pitch”, which is when you have just 2 minutes to convince someone of why you want this degree.

      2. Use examples. As Lucien said, you need to draw upon your particular experience. Stay truthful though; you may wish to embellish; but you don’t need to! Your experiences are just as valid as anyone else’s, and your interest in the subject will shine through.

      3. Maturity. It’s a big step up to university; you’re all perfectly capable of it, all you need to do is present yourselves in that way too!

      4. Organisation. Do you love getting new school stationery each year, or do you use electronic lists and timetables? What is your organisational method? It doesn’t have to be the same as anyone else’s, but it does need to be something that works for you.

      I also volunteered a lot while in school, and ensured that I had a well-rounded set of after-school activities. Some related to my degree, and others were just things I enjoyed. They allow you to show how you are comfortable outside of your comfort zone, and interested in things outside of the degree you’re interested in.

      Good luck!

    • Photo: Joshua Bibby

      Joshua Bibby answered on 2 Mar 2023: last edited 2 Mar 2023 4:10 pm

      Dear Ben,

      I think the other answers coves how to approach your application very well so I won’t add anything there. However, I think I can offer some ideas on how to prepare for studying at university.

      University is a different learning experience than what you would have likely experienced before as you are left to work independently a lot more than at school. You also have much more freedom as to when you do your work as you are likely to be living away from home so will be in charge of your own schedule. Deadlines, lectures and tutorials provide a rough framework and you have to work out the rest yourself, helped by the guidance of your tutors of course. Therefore, my advice would be learning to find resources yourself and use those around you to learn by asking as many questions as you can. We call things like this ‘soft skills’ and these can be just as important as the knowledge you will gain about whatever you study. Developing these skills early allows you to learn more efficiently and will help you through your whole education and career.

      The good news is that you are already on the right track! Taking part in extra-curricular activities such as this one is a great way to gain scientific knowledge as well as those soft skills. Learning to make time out of your normal day to learn something new is a big step, that discipline and eagerness will serve you well at university!

      If you have any more questions then please ask and I will be happy to answer.

      Best,

      Josh

    • Photo: Clár-Bríd Tohill

      Clár-Bríd Tohill answered on 2 Mar 2023: last edited 2 Mar 2023 4:13 pm

      Hi Ben,

      I agree with the others and think that Lucien has given some great tips for applying to do a physics degree. I think the most important thing is to show your enjoyment of the subject and try to make your application reflect this enthusiasm.
      If you are currently completing your A-Level in Physics it is important to focus on preparing for your exams and understand the concepts covered in your course as these will all help to prepare for a degree in physics. Having a good grasp of mathematics is also extremely important as the first year of a physics degree can be quite math heavy so feeling comfortable with this is also worthwhile.

    • Photo: Ansh Bhatnagar

      Ansh Bhatnagar answered on 2 Mar 2023:

      Hi Ben,

      I’d like to echo what others have said here. Being confident with manipulating mathematical equations, and finding resources yourself via books and the internet, will be key skills that set you up well for a degree in physics!

      When it comes to applying to uni, the admissions team are looking for people who display real enthusiasm and drive to learn about physics. For my application, I discussed how I loved learning about physics from YouTube videos and popular science books. This showed that I really did care about the subject and was willing to spend my own free time outside of school to learn about topics beyond the school curriculum.

      If you have any achievements you can relate to physics, for example a certificate from the UKMT maths challenge, or some other STEM competition you may have taken part in, those will be excellent examples to write about in your personal statement.

      Good luck with your application!

    • Photo: Kanad Mallik

      Kanad Mallik answered on 2 Mar 2023:

      Hello BenL,

      The best approach is to start love physics as a subject. If you like to ask questions and find out why things happen or how things work, you are on the right track. Practise being more curious and ask more ‘why’s and ‘how’s and try to find the answers.

      Physics is a subject that tells you principles of how you can work out your answers. You also learn how you can find out what is correct by doing experiments. So if you like to play with something like Lego modelling or make things, do these more.

      Physics is a numeric subject. Everything related to physics can be expressed through numbers, equations, and graphs and charts. So make friends with numbers, calculations and the art of presentation of numbers through graphs, charts, tables.

      These were what I did when I was at school.

      All the best!

    • Photo: Stuart Clare

      Stuart Clare answered on 7 Mar 2023:

      Hi BenL,

      Some great answers above.

      The key skill for any scientists is to ask good questions – why is it like that; what would happen if….

      Get used to thinking about the physics you see every day. You may not know the answers now, but as you start to cover some of the answers in your physics degree, having a natural curiosity will change the experience from just learning a lot of facts, to trying to understand the world.

      Stuart

    • Photo: Kathryn Boast

      Kathryn Boast answered on 8 Mar 2023:

      Follow your heart! Find some bits of physics that really actually genuinely interest you, and dig into them. Read books, listen to podcasts, watch videos. Three benefits of this: (1) it gives you good material for your personal statement (2) it helps you check you really do actually enjoy your subject and have the motivation for it when no-one is telling you that you have to do it, (3) it helps you prepare for self-studying, which is a really important skill for studying at university.

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