DS20, a rising senior, intends to major in computer engineering (or EECS) and plans to apply to a mix of state flagships (UCLA, UOM etc.) and some private engineering schools (MIT, CMU, USC etc.) . He has so far taken two Comp. Sci APs, AP Calc BC, AP Phy 1 and 2, honors Chem, honors Bio and an IB engineering class. In total he has taken 9 AP’s so far and has scored 5’s. Scored 800’s in SAT II for Math, Chem and Physics. His senior year he signed up to take 6 classes including both AP Phy C and AP Chem but the school class schedule cannot not accommodate AP Chem and the school only gave him AP PHY C (both M and E/M) with a free period.
I know for EECS, physics is far more relevant, but I am not sure how not having AP Chem in his senior year course schedule will impact his chances at the schools he is applying, especially because his EC’s are not that STEM heavy. Should he try and drop AP PHY C and take AP Chem instead (sorry about the long post)? Any input will be helpful.
Bottom line, if he can only take one (and it’s just as well that they will only accommodate one) then AP Physics should take priority over AP Chem. Not that it will make a big difference in admissions one way or the other, but physics will better prepare him for college classes.
Quite possibly it’s because some periods on the cycle are double-blocked to accommodate labs.
I agree. If only one can be taken, then prioritizing Physics C makes sense.
Make sure he applies to matches (universities with 40%+ acceptance rates) and safeties (50%+ or he meets criteria for automatic Admission/merit scholarship) – Engineering is always more selective than the average at the University.
Look into WPI, RIT, Clarkson, Union, perhaps Trinity CT or Lafayette?
Admission rates alone do not determine match or safety.
^you’re being too general - I was speaking based on the OP, which listed all-reaches for Engineering. When students have high stats, as this student obviously does, looking at average and top 75% stats is deceptive wrt odds of acceptance, and complicating these odds with acceptance rates is necessary.
For EE, physics tends to be more relevant generally.
However, note that some colleges do not give advanced placement for AP physics C (or only give it for mechanics), because college physics courses for engineering majors may use more advanced math (particularly in E&M).
@myyos1634; Thx for the response. He has safeties/matches, just want to make sure he is competitive for the reach schools.
@ucbalumnus; Thx, he is going to take with AP PHY C, my only concern was to see how lack of AP Chem will impact his overall application. But at this point, it is what it is.
While the comment about AP credit is valid, it goes back to my earlier point that taking AP Physics, even if credit is not given and the course needs to be taken in college, will better prepare for college physics than not having AP Physics at all.
It won’t.
@skieurope: Thx, I am not overly concerned about the college credit. You are correct that having two years of Physics (APs 1&2, M/E&M) and two years of Calc (BC) and Linear Algebra will prepare him well for EECS.
Many EE majors enter college having just had regular high school physics, and then do well in calculus-based college physics and EE courses. So having two years of AP-level physics is more than enough physics preparation (though the student needs to avoid getting bored learning the same physics three times with a little more math each time).
Beyond the physics prerequisites, starting in math higher than calculus 1 (as the student appears prepared to do) allows the student to complete multivariable calculus before taking the physics course with E&M in college; this can help the student understand E&M better (compared to taking multivariable calculus concurrently with the physics course with E&M as is commonly scheduled).