How should I prepare for the Qual?
The best preparation for the Qual is to attempt previous years’ exams. These are available on-line qual archive. A sensible way to prepare is to attempt an old Qual under exam conditions, so that one’s areas of ignorance or lack of facility are clearly exposed. Reviewing this material and then iterating this process a number of times will quickly identify and improve areas of weakness. Some students form study groups and work problems together. We encourage this activity, but strongly suggest that it does not replace individual study, as described above. We estimate that a month’s preparation time is sufficient and will be of considerable benefit to the consolidation of your physics knowledge and facility.
