How I Went From Failing My First Physics Test to Studying Physics at MIT

My first physics test ever? I got a 60%.

Not exactly how you’d expect an MIT student’s story to begin. But that’s the truth—and honestly, I think it’s the part that matters most.

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The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything

I was a junior in high school when I took AP Physics 1, and I had no clue what physics even was. I’d always loved math—aced every test, top of the class, eye on valedictorian. So I figured physics would be the same.

It wasn’t.

The first test was on kinematics. I bombed it—barely scraped a 60%. It hit hard. I’d never earned anything lower than an A in my life. And this wasn’t just any class—if I dropped it, I’d lose my shot at valedictorian. But there were no other classes left to take. I was stuck.

Or so I thought.

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Rewiring My Brain, One Problem at a Time

Instead of giving up, I started grinding. Watching videos, doing problems over and over, learning not just how to get the right answer—but how to think. With enough repetition, physics went from confusing to familiar. And then… it actually became fun. By the end of the year, I had brought my grade up to an A.

That fear? That moment where I thought I wasn’t smart enough? That’s what pushed me to become something more. That’s where the real story began.

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From Panic to Passion

In my senior year, I took AP Physics 2. Halfway through the year, the teacher left. Instead of falling behind, I decided to move ahead—and ended up helping teach the class.

Our school didn’t offer AP Physics C, but I wanted to learn it anyway. So I bought a textbook and started teaching myself college-level mechanics and E&M on my own… for fun.

That was the moment I realized something had shifted: what used to scare me now fueled me. Physics had become something I chose to learn, not something I had to survive.

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From Aerospace to Pure Physics—And Why I Chose MIT

I originally got into MIT to study aerospace engineering. But once I got a taste of real college-level physics, I switched majors.

The deeper I went, the more I fell in love with the way physics explains everything—from gravity to quantum mechanics to the structure of the universe. And it all started with one bad test and a decision not to quit.

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Why This Matters for You

If you’re a high-achieving student dreaming of schools like MIT, Harvard, or Stanford, you don’t need to be perfect—you need to be willing to grow. What matters most is the ability to struggle productively, to embrace challenge, and to ask better questions.

If you’re on that path, I now offer advanced physics tutoring for high school students just like you—students who are smart, curious, and want to push themselves beyond the textbook. Whether you’re prepping for AP Physics, aiming for the Ivy League, or just want to understand physics on a deeper level, I’ve been where you are.

And I promise you:

What was hard is now easy—and it can be for you too.

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