<p>Howdy! I am attending Texas A&M this fall as an intended Civil Engineering major. As I'm sure everyone on this board knows, this week is the start of the second week of AP Exams, with the Physics C exams (Mechanics and E&M) being tomorrow afternoon.</p>
<p>As an Engineering major, I am in the elite Calculus and Physics courses offered at my high school, Calculus BC and Physics C. I took Calc BC and am going to take the Physics C Mechanics and E&M exams purely for myself. I am aware that 99% of the time, no university will allow someone to be awarded a huge AP credit if that credit is used towards an integral part of their major. But, I was wondering if it is common for colleges (specifically Dwight Look at A&M, obviously) to award a credit for the E&M exam, especially since my specialty will be Civil Engineering (not electrical, mechanical, or anything more E&M-centric like that)? I have heard no word on this and was wondering.</p>
<p>In addition to what’s in the catalog, which I take it is the “law” on the subject, the department likely will advise you to accept credit for Electricity and Optics (PHYS 208) only if you score a 5 on the AP exam and only after you complete MATH 151 and Mechanics (Phys 218). It will advise you to accept credit for PHYS 218 only if you score a 5 on the AP exam and only after completion of MATH 151. Consistent with your thinking, it strongly discourages students interested in Mechanical Engineering from accepting AP credit for PHYS 218, no matter the score, and it discourages students interested in Radiological Health, Electrical, Nuclear, and Computer Engineering from accepting credit for PHYS 208 at all. I’ve seen no such discouragement for Civil Engineering, other than the general limits mentioned above for all disciplines (score a 5 and complete PHYS 218 and MATH 151). The department also says that the best single predictor of performance in PHYS 218 is not the AP score, but A&M’s math placement exam, so they’ll take that into consideration in advising you. </p>
<p>I actually had my NSC this past week, and my advisor told me to accept all of my AP credits. I scored a 31/33 on the MPE, and today I found out my exact scores on my AP Exams; I got a 5 on Physics C: Mechanics, and a 4 on Calc BC along with a 4 on the AB subscore. Those along with my other AP credits puts me a whole semester ahead of the catalog’s schedule (except for ENGR 111). I am very excited to start my college career ahead of the game. Contrary to what I’ve always heard, my advisor told me that the engineering department’s general rule of thumb isn’t “don’t accept any of the credits” (which is what people like to say), but instead is “if you did well on the MPE, went to a competitive high school, AND did well on the AP exams, then we recommend that you take the highest classes you received from AP credit” or something along those lines. It just so happens that I fit all of that criteria, and was advised to take my PHYS 208 credit (especially since I scored a 5), and to take MATH 152 since I received credit for both MATH 151 and 152 from my BC Calculus score.</p>
<p>I think it also depends on which major in Engineering you are seeking. My S is a Mechanical Engineer and it is not advised for him to take the Physics credits. He is going to take at least 1 math credit. His advisor said that the ME department has “concerns” when accepting students that have not completed the Physics courses at TAMU, no matter the AP or MPE scores. With the change in how you apply for your Engineering major this year, my S decided it wasn’t worth the risk to take his Physics credits. His stats were about the same as the above posting and he is also in the Honors program.</p>
<p>I am going into EE, and this thread raised a good question for me. I have several large scholarships that require me to keep a 3.5 GPA, and I got a 4 on both AP Physics C tests. For the sake of my grades, would I be best off just ignoring the school’s recommendation and accepting those credits? I have heard more than one person claim that PHYS 208 may be the hardest class at A&M.</p>
<p>PHYS 208 is definitely not the hardest class at A&M, but I’d only recommend you skip it if you got a 5 on the AP test. This is because most classes after 208 will be just as hard (in most cases, harder), and it’s better you experience and get used to the workload in 208 sooner rather than later. </p>