Learn English – The word for last year school, first year university students

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I'm looking for term to describe students which didn't study theoretical physics, but who learned physics in school. These are last years school and first years university students with major physics. Is there a word for this?

Best Answer

The generic term for first-year university students in the United States is "freshmen":

freshman — first-year student: a student in the first year of high school or college

You can use this within the context of a specific major:

Our physics freshmen are...

The term for last year schooling in the United States is "high-school senior" or "high-school graduate" depending on when graduation takes place. The relevant terms, chronologically:

  • Before high-school graduation: senior, graduates
  • After high-school graduation: high-school graduates
  • Shortly before university starts: incoming freshmen, high-school graduates
  • After university starts: freshmen

If you need exactly one term, the closest match is "incoming freshmen" which refers to any student that will be a freshmen after the school year starts in the fall.

There is another relevant term that refers to first- or second-year students at university:

underclassmen — freshman or sophomore: somebody in either of the first two years of university

Aside from these terms, the most appropriate would be words similar to "novice" -- of which there are many synonyms.

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