Post
by CosmicSans » Tue Apr 04, 2023 7:02 pm
For math textbooks I'd recommend
Mathematical Methods for Physicists: A Comprehensive Guide (Arfken) or
Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences (Boas).
But speaking from my experience, I wouldn't use these books directlly to study their content. They handle a broad subject and it is easy to get lost. My professors would recommend me to use them as a kind of wikipedia, where you look up the math when you're stuck on a subject where you don't know the math.
For example, I would use the book when group theory would come up during QM, or when special polynomials like the bessel function would show up during EM.
As for college curriculum, I would just stick to the one your soon-to-attend college provides. While there might be slight variations, what really matters is getting the four basics of CM, EM(usually 2 semesters), QM(usually 2 semesters), SM. You can worry about other advanced subjects like condensed matter physics, particle physics, relativity, etc. once you're done with the basic 4.
Also, as you are only beginning your degree. I would recommend to not rush it too much. A typical curriculum would require at least 3 years to finish the basic subjects, so no need to try and finish them in one year or so.