by Reid Case

Created on: October 06, 2009   Last Updated: October 09, 2009

As an ambitious high school student you have your career planned out to the T. The only problem is your desire to begin on that path, hindered by the confines of secondary education. Where, and what, can an aspiring student study to get an advanced start towards his or her educational goals?

Most of your education and training will be done in college. High school should be a preparation for that environment. However, there are many resources available to the high school student who wishes to study past the standard curriculum. A physicist is a scientist who studies, calculates, and experiments with physics. As a result, the obvious, standard curriculum should be a heavy load of math and physics.

Some areas have specialized high schools organized to teach specific subject matter in a more advanced setting. Most of these institutions operate in a similar manner to a college or university. Enrollment is limited and very selective. If you manage to get in, then you will be inundated with information and advanced teachings in subjects like math, science, and the arts, all dependent on the institution. Likewise, some community colleges, trade schools, junior colleges, and full-fledged universities offer cross-enrollment options for advanced high school students. These programs require academic responsibility manifested as high GPAs and possibly other proof of ability to learn and behave as a mature and knowledge-seeking college student. Finally, most high schools offer some number of AP courses. These courses are taught at the high school and follow a college-level curriculum. In some cases, they will transfer over to college credit once enrolled in undergraduate studies. Along with the benefits of knowledge gain from advanced subject matter in high school, the reward of college credit early on is a great start. It will reduce your overall university expenses and bring your graduation closer.

The real key is to study. You must put academics first. Put extra time into math and science courses. Work your way through every math course offered by your high school; they usually have a specific path. Typically this starts with algebra, and then continues through geometry, algebra II, and then moves to more advanced subjects like trigonometry and calculus. In college you can explore trigonometry and calculus in greater detail. Science is slightly limited in high school, usually starting with some form of environmental science followed by biology, chemistry, and physics.

An area that is sometimes avoided, or unknown to be related to physics, are computing subjects. In high school, computing education is extremely limited. Most courses cover the basics of PC use, some courses cover basic programming and hardware concepts as well. If the option to take cross-enrollment courses is available, a good subject in math to explore is computational math. This is a course that typically focuses on binary algebra and should work its way into logic and the application of logic to circuitry. Other courses could be basics to electronic circuitry and some statistics courses. Do not be swayed by statistics, it is absolutely necessary for a scientist to fully understand statistical concepts.

Over all, your high school time should be spent preparing you for the rigors of college. Understand that a valuable career in physics will require not only a bachelor's degree, but should include more advanced degrees such as masters and doctors. Take the extra time to study, enroll in summer courses at local colleges and universities, and don't let yourself be distracted by trivial high school drama.

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