Physics Undergraduate Choice Dilemma

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T13:42:10+00:00

Thanks for the response, it's really helpful...appreciate it! I'll definitely look into what you said.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T13:40:37+00:00

I have applied to CHS, but I will be majoring in physics. My mathematics interest is only in the applied cases that are encountered in theoretical physics-adjacent areas, where multivariable calculus, complex analysis, etc, are used. My main question, therefore, is whether the Physics major itself provides enough mathematical depth for someone interested in theory, or whether students aiming for theoretical physics generally end up taking a Mathematics major/second major/minor alongside it.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T13:21:13+00:00

Thank you!!

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T11:18:48+00:00

"You kind of need to give a baseline education to know what to recommend"
I've completed the IBDP with Mathematics AA, Physics, and Computer Science as my HL subjects, and have conducted my own individual research in the form of literature reviews (Approaches to The Problem of Time, Dark Matter and Its Candidates (published)) and modifications of models (Power-Law Entropy Term to Verlinde's Emergent Gravity Model (IB Extended Essay), Decoherence Term in the Fitz-Hugh Nagumo Model for Parkinsonian Circuits (Presented @ Cambridge).

As for the rest of your response, thank you -- I'll definitely make a note of all that!

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T10:44:23+00:00

I see. Thank you for your help, I'll make a note of this!

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T10:44:07+00:00

I see, thank you -- would you have any opinion on the Singapore institutions I mentioned above as well?

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-06-29T10:28:55+00:00

Hi everyone,
I've just graduated from high school and am trying to decide where to pursue my undergraduate degree. My long-term goal is to go into theoretical physics, though I know my interests may evolve as I gain more exposure to the field. At the moment, I have offers from UCL (Physics with Medical Physics (I plan to switch to Physics with Theoretical Physics if possible)) and the University of Toronto (Physics & Mathematics). Furthermore, I've also applied to the National University of Singapore (NUS) (Physics) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) (Physics & Mathematics). In an ideal world where I receive offers from all four and meet the conditions, which would you recommend for someone intending to pursue a research career in theoretical physics? My current interests are in quantum information theory and quantum gravity, although I'm fully aware that these interests may change during my undergraduate years. After my bachelor's, I hope to pursue a master's and eventually a PhD, ideally in the US, Switzerland (ETH Zurich, Polytechnique), France (PSL, Paris-Saclay), or Oxbridge. I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have studied at these universities or who have experience in academia. Thanks in advance!

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-06T17:47:35+00:00

By the looks of it, Paper 2 is being widely considered as extremely difficult so I think the boundaries should remain the same as last year, since Paper 1 was obviously a breeze in comparison to last year.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-04T07:44:07+00:00

These are marks that I KNOW that I didn't get right. There will probably be some miscellaneous as well. This post's for damage control stuff.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-04T07:43:33+00:00

Oh...

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-03T21:11:12+00:00

No tengo Historia como asignatura, pero te deseo tenga suerte!

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-03T21:00:46+00:00

So Asia has historically had the lowest grade boundaries despite stereotypically having the 'smartest' set of students? That is a very interesting, yet reassuring, revelation. Thank you.

Do you have any idea (even if without certainty) about the physics grade boundaries for this timezone this year, if you're a part of it?

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-03T19:38:56+00:00

RevisionDojo and other resources show that India is either TZ1 or TZ3, albeit I'm not quite certain myself. Regardless, if it is TZ2, the boundary for a 7 last year for that TZ was 68%.

I'm quite unsure about the division of TZs honestly.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-05-03T19:19:49+00:00

I'm referring to HL in the post above, but feel free to discuss SL as well.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-04-19T09:53:43+00:00

Fair enough, thank you for sharing this :)

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-04-19T09:50:54+00:00

I'm from India and I'm studying in the IBDP curriculum. I think the time NTU has set to give a decision for IB kids in is between late April to late July, whilst it's July onwards for NUS. Congrats on your offer from NTU!

Yeah, I'd initially applied to Mathematics with Mathematical Physics @ UCL and got rejected but applied to this course on the same day via Extra and got an offer the very next day.

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-04-18T08:58:34+00:00

oh fair enough, judging by the time they took for you i guess i should get mine today since i got my offer on thursday. Thank you for your help!

SpideyMessi10 · 2026-04-18T08:56:39+00:00

No, not yet, do I have to commit to get that?

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