Hi, I’m currently a junior in high school selecting my courses for senior year. I plan on being a mechanical engineering major in college, so I am taking a large amount of math and science classes. My problem is, I don’t know which ones to take. I would like to have at least some experience with coding, so I was planning to take AP Computer Science Principles, however when I visited the class at the electives fair, it seemed a bit basic. However, since I don’t have much com sci experience(only knowledge is from a class I took in middle school), I decided that Com Sci A would be too difficult. I was considering taking AP Chem, but I haven’t taken Chem since sophomore year and I was worried about the workload.
My schedule for this year:
Film Study
English HN
AP Micro/Macro
STEM Engineering(Intro engineering class offered at my school)
History HN
Precalc
AP Physics 1
What I plan on taking senior year:
AP Physics C
AP Calculus AB
STEM Engineering 2
Engineering Math
Gov Honors
English Honors
Classes I’m considering as an elective:
AP Computer Science Principles
Computer Science
AP Chemistry
I have also taken AP World History and learned I hate the AP History curriculum, so don’t say take AP Gov.
I am taking AP Chemistry as a senior and while I can say the class does build a lot on Honors material and that the juniors/seniors who took Honors Chemistry last year are definitely somewhat favored, I think taking it two years after learning chemistry initially is doable.
Also, since you are a hopeful STEM major, I don’t see any harm in you taking Honors Government and English whatsoever.
You have taken Chemistry. You will have to take Chemistry again in college.
You have not taken Comp Sci…you will have to take Comp sci in college.
I would take some kind of comp sci this year to give you some background…Take Comp Sci principals so you have some background but maybe try to do some extra programs for practice.
AP computer science peonxipels exposes you to coding bit also other fields within CS. It’s not too difficult but since your schedule include 4 hardcore stem classes, I’d see that as an advantage.
AP CS principles is a good course for learning about how CS relates to other things.
A mechanical engineering major will likely have to take a computing for engineering course using MATLAB, so neither AP CS course is likely to give an exemption from that. A mechanical engineering major will likely have to take a semester of chemistry, but some colleges allow a high enough AP chemistry score to give an exemption from that.
What is “engineering math” in high school? The math expected for engineering majors in college starts at calculus 1 (a high enough AP calculus score may give exemption) and more advanced math like calculus 2, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
^ guessing: applied math Other engineering applications.
Note that I would NOT recommend taking both AP chem and p physics c whole starting calculus. It’d be too time intensive with the labs in addition to class.
Yeah, looking back on it, two lab sciences will be very time intensive on top of other demanding APs. Also, as a future STEM major, you will probably have to retake physics, chemistry, and/or other classes that are prerequisites/tracking requirements for graduate programs.
In college, calculus-based physics is typically started after a semester of calculus (what high school AP calculus AB covers). So taking AP physics C concurrently with AP calculus AB may be difficult.
Another possible schedule would be:
AP chemistry
AP Calculus AB (or BC if available and you want to learn at college speed)
STEM Engineering 2
Engineering Math or other elective
Gov Honors
English Honors
AP CS principles
Differential equations isn’t basic math. It’s sophomore math for engineering students who’ve gone through the weed out first math courses. My guess is that you do something else
in that class - enquire to the teachers, explaining you’ll be taking calculus concurrently.