<p>I'm a senior this year, and I'm seriously beginning to think about what I want to do in college. I know I would like to do something in the math and science fields, because I love those two subjects the most. Most colleges allow students to go undeclared, but I would like to go in with clear objective, y'know? I've been thinking about biomedical engineering, but reading these threads have somewhat lowered my opinion of it. I'd like to be able to smoothly transition into a job if possible...Tell me what you think. Should I stay with biomedical, or are there alternatives that I could look into? Explain why too (sorry for sounding like a teacher lol) Thanks! :D</p>
<p>The BME field is relatively new and there is little industrial employment for B.S. holders. A large number of BME majors go to medical school or graduate school.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a field which has more employment opportunities for a B.S. holder, then Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering are usually the ones which do best.</p>
<p>^ Absolutely agree.</p>
<p>Thanks @xraymancs, I was considering chemical or mechanical engineering, but I feel a bit shaky because my chemistry/ AP chemistry teacher wasn’t too great… I aced the class of course but it was because of his extreme generosity.</p>
<p>If you choose chemical engineering you will have to take a number of chemistry courses of course, but chemical engineering is actually quite different from chemistry and includes quite a bit of physics as well. In any case, if you are unsure about your AP chemistry, no one is forcing you to take the AP credit. Just take the course in college and because you have seen the material already it should be a bit more understandable.</p>
<p>There are a few colleges which disallow students bringing in AP credit from retaking the course for which the school considers the AP credit equivalent to, although sometimes the student is allowed to take the honors version of that course. But this is uncommon; in most cases, it is the student’s option to retake the course or move on to a more advanced course. In such a situation, you may want to try the college’s old final exams for the course to be skipped in order to determine how well you know the material from the college’s point of view.</p>
<p>For sure if you retake the AP equivalent course, you loose the AP credit in most, if not all, schools. Still, some students will retake the course for having a better foundation of that area or to get a better GPA. For examples, many students feel they are not ready for Calc 3 even they have the AP Calc BC credit.</p>
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<p>And many (not all) are correct to feel that way. The quality of calculus instruction in high schools is often lacking.</p>
<p>I vote for enrolling in Genera Chemistry 1 & 2 at college and forget about the AP credits</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your opinions, and I agree. My chemistry teacher recommended that we should retake the class in college even if we do well on the exam so we would be more acquainted with the topics, so that’s what I think I’ll end up doing for whichever college I go to. Fortunately most of the colleges I’m looking at have chemical engineering as well… Thanks again guys this type of opinion is EXACTLY what I needed.
EDIT: I took biology and earth science in middle school, so when I got to high school I took chem freshman year then AP chem sophomore year. The school didn’t give me a science junior year because I had finished my requirements from 9th grade, and now I’m in AP Biology senior year…I hope I’m not too rusty</p>
<p>@xyranmcs I agree with both of your posts.</p>
<p>But don’t stress over this elan913 - unless you are at a large inflexible public, changing majors from one engineering to another is very easy and VERY common (I did it, and had no problem graduating on time). At most private universities you won’t even declare your major officially until until late in your sophomore year so there is plenty of time to decide whether you like biomedical or electrical or mechanical or chemical etc. after you have had a course or two. The first year courses for engineering students are similar across engineering majors.</p>
<p>The average college student changes majors multiple times - don’t worry much about this now.</p>
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<p>If you major in mechanical engineering, and need to take no further courses in chemistry beyond the one for which your AP score will fulfill, you may want to just use the AP score. However, if the course that can be skipped is an important prerequisite for more advanced chemistry or other courses, then the best course of action would be to try the college’s old final exams for that course. If you find them difficult, you can retake the course, but if you know all of the material well, you might as well give yourself a free elective now or later by skipping it.</p>
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Exactly.</p>
<p>You have taken high school physics too, right? </p>
<p>Unfortunately, no. My school is kinda strange in the way that they stop giving you classes after you pass the requirements, so I had to start pushing to get all my classes after freshman year.</p>
<p>Did you take high school physics in middle school? That would be good. Engineering has A LOT of physics and calculus. </p>
<p>Think about doing some kind of online or local college physics class before heading to college. </p>
<p>I’ll probably end up doing that in my free time, after I send out the Common App. I took an class called Intro to Physics, but (again, my weird school) the teacher just handed out worksheets every day.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad and @ucbalumnus always offer GREAT advice on using AP credits. Once you’re accepted, look up old tests on the web or call the department. Tell them the truth, that you want to see if you’re ready to skip the class you’re getting AP credit for. If you fly through the tests, your ready to move forward. If you reveal a few shaky concepts, review and move forward. If you are completely overwhelmed, repeat. For classes that don’t build, like chemistry for a ME, take the credit and run. You’ll never need it again. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone! This was REALLY helpful and now I have a better idea of what to do</p>