I’m a Junior in high school with a hard choice. I want to do mechanical engineering at A&M. I just learned that I can take community college classes in between my Juinor and senior year of high school so I was considering taking Calculus 1 and Physics C: mechanics to get the credit over with. I really want to do it now, because I just finished Physics 1 and Pre Calc and I want to take Physics C while its fresh in my mind. One problem. At Texas A&M If I do this I will have enough credits to test out of all the Gen Ed Requirements(with other AP / IB / DC credits i’ve earned) and I will test out of almost the first semester of college course work.
But the problem is I need to take Foundations of Eng 1 and 2 before I can be admitted to my engineering major. So here is what my schedule would look like for first year.
Fund ENG 1 Fund ENG 2
Calc 2 Calc 3
PHYS EM 218
CHEM 107
And thats it. Can I take higher level engineering classes without being admitted to my major?
I would highly suggest NOT taking calc and physics at a cc. You will really struggle in your higher level classes because you won’t learned everything that is needed.
@anthonys621 thanks for the comment. But can you elaborate a bit more?Because I was hoping 2 years of calc 1(1 at CC and AP Calc AB) would prep me for calc 2. I was hoping it would give me an easier A GPA for the CBK
Aren’t their freshman who transfer in with Calc 1 and 2 w/ AP? Do they struggle? What about for Physics Mech? Do people who test out of it struggle in Physics EM?
I wish I could take a humanities, but it won’t transfer. The only class I still need credit for is (that will transfer) is Texas State gov, but to make my school pay for it i need to take at least 1 more class over summer. Can you make a recommendation? Or should I just take a random class that won’t transfer?
I mean it is possible and people have done it, but not many suggest it. From what I have heard physics is especially difficult at A&M. the problem with AP is that they only have a certain amount of time to teach the material so they teach to the test. With the test they can’t have problems that take a ton of time. So you end up having knowledge gaps. You will need to fill in these gaps on your own while learning the harder material in the next level
@anthonys621 Alright I think I understand and I shouldn’t take physics. But i want to take Calculus at a school that is also a TAMU engineering academy(el centro college). Won’t they both be teaching the same thing as if I took calculus at TAMU?
Okay, I’ll go visit and ask more about it. And as far as alternative class to take goes… would I be better off taking random class that doesn’t transfer?
Currently a freshman engineering major. I came in with credit for Calc I and II from the BC test. I recommend retaking Calc I here, it was an easy GPA booster for me as long as you do your homework, and it was a good refresher. Avoid taking physics here though, I took mechanics, it was the worst class I’ve ever taken, can’t imagine how bad 208 is LOL.
You can always take the Calc I and Physics at the CC but not accept the credit when you go to A&M. That way you have the experience under your belt and will be much better prepared when you take Calc I and Physics at A&M.
No, you cannot pick and choose which classes to transfer from a college. You can choose to use or not use AP credit. Your option when you transfer in credit from other colleges is to take and replace the grade. Some schools will not let you do that unless you did very poorly (D or F). Another option would be to take it in cc and then audit the class at TAMU.
Well for now I’m thinking to just take Texas Gov, and Stats (It counts as a senior elective) and just deal with AP Calculus AB and hope year of calc is good preperation. Any other commentary?
Hey another question, Since i will have all the core curriculum exempted (and I doubt I should try graduating early) I’m debating if I should consider a petroleum and mechanical engineering double major. Thoughts? I wan’t thinking about working in petroleum intially, but it seems like a good paying job while I’m trying to become a PE mechanical engineer. Is this a good Idea? or is PeTE at Tamu too hard for that?
you need to slow down & just work on getting to TAMU next year. Decisions like this are not needed now - there is no admission for double majors as freshman. Everyone comes in as a one major student. Very few students double major and only some have minors. Once you declare something (double major or minor) you can’t reverse it so they do not recommend freshman start off with declaring them. You take courses that would count, see if you like them then declare later. None of those decisions need to be made now - right now, concentrate on your HS GPA & just apply in August to Engineering.
Focus on getting into A&M engineering first. They are reviewing every applicant for engineering so no guarantee you will get in. I recommend that you get as much experience with Physics, Chemistry, and Calculus as possible. Even if you do not accept credit for those it will be to your benefit since you already are familiar with the material. Knock out some of your basics like Political Science, History, and English. It will put less burden on you. Also work on some projects that are related to your major of choice. Double majoring in engineering… will be pretty difficult. Half of the Petroleum Engineering degree does not cross over with the Mechanical Engineering degree. My suggestion is if you come in with lots of credit hours just take 12 credit hours a semester when you are in college. It will put less pressure on you and you get a better college experience like more time for organizations.
Fair point i was getting ahead of myself. Its cause I was also planning to do some professor led study abroad tours over summer along with a co op and if i did I would occasionally be taking less hrs a semester then a full time student due to the strict prerequisites to take higher level classes. And most scholarships say you need to be a full time student. But that’s a problem for another day.
@gio123
I was wondering since all my core classes are done. Completed. But , i still need my Texas State gov credit and som other classes I’m transferring from that CC, but like @Torveaux pointed out, if I can’t pick and choose which classes transfer, I don’t really have the option any more to take calc and physics at CC if they will stop me from retaking it at A&M. I’d be better off studying for their AP exam counter parts. Guess I have to stick with AP calc and chem. I just didn’t want to since i’m taking AP chem next year and I would have to self study for Physics Mech. Thank you though.
Check with all the universities you will be applying to if the course will have to be taken as credit - there is no national ruling on it. Your summer plan should consider both TAMU rules & any other university you are applying to next year. You seem to be trying to squeeze too much into your summer - GPA is important, you will need time to do well in your classes (quality over quantity).