AP Credits

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lehigh University
1

<p>My son is entering in the fall as a BioE major. Question is whether to use the AP credit. He got a 5 on AP Chem and AP Calc AB and still waiting on AP scores for other classes. I'm concerned that using his credits may not be the right thing to do. Any insights from other engineering students?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>There was a lot of caution thrown out there on candidates day about placing out of calc wih ap credit. They do not recommend it and said tha most tes the kids end up sliding back to the lower calc class in the first few weeks. On the other hand, I believe if you don’t take credit and find the class too easy you can also slide up to the next level within the first couple of weeks.</p>

3

<p>LU2017,</p>

<p>I was advised not to use my AP credit for chemistry, calculus (equivalent to Lehigh’s Calc I), and physics. I chose to use only the physics credit, and only because it was electromagnetism, which is not used often in chemical engineering. In the end, I was glad I did not skip calculus. There was a lot of additional information that I forgot.</p>

<p>Calculus is fundamental to engineering. I have used it in every single one of my ChE courses. It’s extremely important to be really good at math before applying it to engineering principles. To skip one or two classes is not worth potentially not knowing the material as well.</p>

<p>If your son is taking a calc course at Lehigh, he thinks it’s too easy, and he has the AP credit, he can always skip ahead. There is a 2-3 week window for switching out of classes without penalty at the beginning of each semester.</p>

<p>Best,</p>

<ul>
<li>Mike</li>
</ul>

4

<p>Thanks Mike.</p>

<p>Did you find it was worthwhile to take Chem and not use AP Credit?</p>

5

<p>LU2017,</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Definitely. I took AP Chem when I was a junior, so I ended up forgetting a lot of important material. And obviously, as a chemical engineer, I have to be good at chemistry. Plus, the chemistry courses at Lehigh flow nicely into each other. I ended up having the same professor for two chemistry courses in a row.</p>

<p>Best,</p>

<ul>
<li>MIke</li>
</ul>