My D’s school does this with Chem 105 (first semester chem class). I didn’t realize this until hearing the horror stories from other parents - unconfirmed rumor was 60% Ds and Fs. Never been so happy about an AP score that allowed her to skip it.
At UW in Seattle, students apply into their majors after junior year, so two full years of high-stakes coursework. For engineering and CS, only about a third are accepted and there are GPA requirements just to apply. I doubt S1 would have gone unless he received direct entry.