10. The contest is
less about what you know going in, and more about what you can teach yourself
in the process!
9. You’ll learn how
to mix physics, teamwork, and writing into an unstoppable force to command the cosmos!
8. Competition and deadlines bring out the best in us: You’ll work harder and learn more as you
defend your University’s honor!
7. You’ll learn what
you can do without any faculty help, no training wheels, just you and your team
armed with the laws of the universe!
6. You’ll practice struggling
with open-ended problems, where there isn’t only one “correct answer” but where
there are many possible approaches that give insight.
5. You’ll learn what
you’re made of and see how you stack up against the competition!
4. Because physics
gives you the keys to unlock the mysteries of reality!
3. Because you need
more caffeine in your diet!
2. Schrodinger’s cat
would do it! Or maybe it wouldn’t. I’m uncertain...
1. Because physics is
awesome!!!!!!!
More seriously, the essential skills of this competition are teamwork, technical
writing, time management, working without outside assistance on an open-ended
problem, and of course the process of applying physics to an applied
scenario. Those are some of the most
important things that anyone can get out of an undergraduate physics education
in general, and you get to practice them in the University Physics Competition.
Looking to the future, the University Physics Competition is a chance to go above and beyond the requirements of
ordinary University life. When you apply
for a job or graduate school, it can make a real difference to have completed
more than just the compulsory projects and assignments of your regular classes. When you volunteer for a 48 hour
extracurricular physics competition, it says something about your energy, your
enthusiasm, and your spirit. This isn’t
for credit or for a class. How many
students seek out serious learning experiences purely for the fun and for the
challenge? The University Physics
Competition is an opportunity for you to prove that you are willing to go that
extra mile, demonstrating something vital about who you are.
Bottom Line: In any learning experience, the more that you put into it,
the more you’ll get out of it. The
challenge of an international competition, the pressure of a deadline, and the
camaraderie of teamwork can bring out the best in you, motivating you to work in ways that you might not usually do for a regular class. The University Physics Competition uses the
structure of a competition to create a uniquely fun and exciting physics learning
experience.