Second Year TP

pantalaimon

Hi, I'm a second year TP student up in UCD. The tests are coming up in a few months. I was just wondering what the percentage dropout rate of second year is. Or if any third or fourth years are lying around would be very grateful.

rainbow kirby

3rd year maths physics in UCD, and I haven't a clue what the dropout rate is. (though most people who drop out leave during or after 1st year, I'm leaving MP at the end of this year to take 2nd CS next year) I know 2 of the TPs switched to single honours because the experimental physics department sucks so much. And just make sure you pass your exams in May. Fail 1 subject and you repeat everything to get honours 3rd year. That made last summer REAL fun for me... Are you thinking of jacking in TP?

JackKelly

dont like the sound of this. Im hoping to do TP in UCD next year.(with a bit of luck)

Not to rob from the topic, but whats it like?

toastyred

Hey i'm doin experimental physics at the mo. TP is the same up until 3rd year. Then they do more Maths phys and they don't have labs. Personally i think the Experimental course gives a better grounding in the industry since you do experiments. TP seems to be a course for people who like physics but aren't arsed enough to do labs. Labs take up an awful lot of time but it's well worth it. I'd do a joint in maths phys and exp phys if anything else...

Anymore specific qs, just ask..

pantalaimon

So would be doing MAPH, MATH, EXPH etc. I realise that it will be close to impossible to know each topic. So i've decided (and ive never done this before) that i will only study the bare minimum of topics.

I guess my question is, does it get easier in third year?

David19

Pantalaimon i doubt its going to get easier. I imagine it would get harder if anything. At least next year you'll remember to study more! You should talk to a lecturer or two about all this.

rainbow kirby

pantalaimon wrote:

So would be doing MAPH, MATH, EXPH etc. I realise that it will be close to impossible to know each topic. So i've decided (and ive never done this before) that i will only study the bare minimum of topics.

I guess my question is, does it get easier in third year?

I wouldn't say it does. It's good that the lab load goes down, most of the TPs in my classes just found it such a relief to not have to do labs any more. You'll be down to about 14 hours a week next year, but the maths physics problem sheets are hell.

pantalaimon

I don't find the material hard i just don't have the time to study it. When the labs are gone i'll have plenty of time. I just don't have the time to revise cos of the labs. It's just a matter of finding the time NOW to get prepared for the exams you know?

Thanks for your replies though.

planck2

toastyred wrote:

Hey i'm doin experimental physics at the mo. TP is the same up until 3rd year. Then they do more Maths phys and they don't have labs. Personally i think the Experimental course gives a better grounding in the industry since you do experiments. TP seems to be a course for people who like physics but aren't arsed enough to do labs. Labs take up an awful lot of time but it's well worth it. I'd do a joint in maths phys and exp phys if anything else...

Anymore specific qs, just ask..

Eh, that's a pretty big generalisation you've just. So TP's can't be arsed doing labs, labs do take up an awful lot of time and in the end they are worth it. TP's don't have to do labs when they get to 3rd, they have a choice. Most of them don't do them(labs) because they are not forced unlike the the single honours or joint honours. If they were they would do them. Physics isn't just about being better for industry, some people do physics because they love physics, and sometimes they make choices that wouldn't make if they had to do it all again. So cop yourself on and listen to your elders.

toastyred

Hey i'm doin physics cos i love physics! In 3rd year it would be easier for TPs since you don't have labs so have much more time to study, do prob sheets etc. YOu can actually do a lab unit if you want to. PErsonally i think labs provide you with a better understanding of the physics as it is applied to real life as opposed to learning a whole load of equations.

Professor_Fink

toastyred wrote:

Hey i'm doin physics cos i love physics! In 3rd year it would be easier for TPs since you don't have labs so have much more time to study, do prob sheets etc. YOu can actually do a lab unit if you want to. PErsonally i think labs provide you with a better understanding of the physics as it is applied to real life as opposed to learning a whole load of equations.

TP is by far the hardest of the physics courses. In 3rd year you take around 3 4th year subjects. These are not easy at all. TPs can drop one of these and do labs instead. It still adds up to 50% more final year units than EXPH and 25% more than joint honors.

Professor_Fink

pantalaimon wrote:

Hi, I'm a second year TP student up in UCD. The tests are coming up in a few months. I was just wondering what the percentage dropout rate of second year is. Or if any third or fourth years are lying around would be very grateful.

Last year, 6 graduated from a class of about 15 (a few people transfered in after 1st year). However from that 6 there were 4 1s and 2 2.2s. I don't think anyone dropped out after 3rd year.

pantalaimon

Thank you so very much. Especially the last two posters, they were very insightful.

I came across my QM lecturer in EXPH there in the Jax outside the Second year labs, and he really did make the Joint Honours sound good. I love the maths-physics end of things but I REALLY enjoy writing up the Experiments plus I'm averaging 8-9.5 in the Write-ups, I love the projects. Having Said all that, there isn't enough maths in it all. I mean for the EXPH QM course, it never went into the workings of it all. A lot of it you just had to accept.

planck2

Who be Professor Fink, give your identity and I shall give mine, since I sat my finals with you

Professor_Fink

Indeed you did Pat. I'm Joe.

Woden

ahoy joe,

dave from exph/chem here also

[flame] tp's aren't real physicists as they cba doing labs [/flame]

personally i do think the tp's had it easier as they didn't have to do labs. fair enough i recognize that some courses have more content than others but overall the labs tie you up quite a bit (every afternoon basically and then the write-ups also).

pantalaimon, the 3rd and 4th year physics labs in ucd are massively different imo then those in 1st and 2nd year. personally i thought they where and crap run badly. in 3rd/4th year how it works is you are handed some journal papers and some undoubtedly piss poor apparatus and basically told go figure out what experiment you wanna do and do it. this is all fine and good but the support network is not there imo to help you out when you need it, you do however get used to it eventually but i will never look back fondly on them.

planck2

Dataisgod wrote:

ahoy joe,

dave from exph/chem here also

[flame] tp's aren't real physicists as they cba doing labs [/flame]

personally i do think the tp's had it easier as they didn't have to do labs. fair enough i recognize that some courses have more content than others but overall the labs tie you up quite a bit (every afternoon basically and then the write-ups also).

pantalaimon, the 3rd and 4th year physics labs in ucd are massively different imo then those in 1st and 2nd year. personally i thought they where and crap run badly. in 3rd/4th year how it works is you are handed some journal papers and some undoubtedly piss poor apparatus and basically told go figure out what experiment you wanna do and do it. this is all fine and good but the support network is not there imo to help you out when you need it, you do however get used to it eventually but i will never look back fondly on them.

Bitter
. Good to hear from you Joe

Professor_Fink

Dataisgod wrote:

ahoy joe,

[flame] tp's aren't real physicists as they cba doing labs [/flame]

Funny that, because all the famous physicists were Theoretical Physicists: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Paul Dirac, Neils Bohr etc.

They didn't do labs either :-)

In Isaac Newton's day there doesn't seem to have been such a distinction, but his chair is now occupied by a theoretical physicist, Hawking.

Jealousy is a terrible thing ;-)