<p>Since I will have enough AP credit to take care of freshman year, I could potentially graduate in 3 years. But also, I have discovered that it depends on the school. Some schools may take up to 5 years so really I would graduate in 4. But anyway, I want to take this into consideration when selecting a school because if I can graduate in 3 years vs. 4, then that's a whole year of schooling that I do not have to pay for. What is your opinion? Would it be better to do 4 years and try to minor or double major or would it be more wise to do 3 years?</p>
<p>(I want to go to graduate school, most likely, afterwards.)</p>
<p>Then 4 years sounds like a better plan. It’ll give you more time for research experience and take more chemical engineering courses so you have a better foundation as a chemical engineer. However, I don’t think its possible to graduate in chemical engineering in 3 years (without hurting your GPA seriously) even with AP credits from a decent engineering school. I know where I went, the average undergraduate spend 5 years on average, and that wasn’t even a top 20 engineering school.</p>
<p>My friend was also in the same position. Very bright and could have graduated in 3 years, but he choose to not overload himself and do 4 years. Just took light loads every semester and a lot of extra curriculars. He’s gonna graduate with a 4.0 and already has an awesome job offer. I would do the same if I were you.</p>
<p>But, the school I would like to go to is Rose-Hulman and their years are set up differently. They split the year up into quarters where 3 are devoted to classes and 1 (the summer) is to an internship. Therefore, your courses are already split up and you aren’t overloaded each “quarter”. I have looked into it and I would be able to graduate in 3 years because all the basic courses freshman year would be taken care of. So it won’t be like I’m adding on additional courses to my other years. What Rose does is they take how many students they have in say ChemE and put half of them on one track and half on the other to split up the number of people in the courses. So basically, your schedule is already set in stone, no struggling to try to get in classes or schedule so you could graduate in 4 years. They guarantee you to graduate in 4 years. So really, I wouldn’t be putting anymore weight on myself as I already would have had my last three years. The reason I am considering 3 years is because this school is expensive, but the one I want to go to. So if I can chop a year off it would be even more appealing. Of course I will talk to the program supervisor about it, but if I could do it I would really want to. The only real benefit 4 years would have is allowing me to take random math and chemistry courses to add to the major.</p>
<p>I don’t see a problem in graduating in 3 years, especially with current tuition prices. Depending on the double major, I don’t even know if 4 years with an engineering degree would be possible. The only downside I can think of is that you’ll have less time to pursue research/internships but that can be circumvented if you start early. </p>
<p>Go ahead and start your 3-year plan, you can always decide later to stay an extra year.</p>
<p>If you have AP credit for Calc 1 & 2 and the general chem series, then I’d say it wouldn’t be a bad idea to graduate in three years. If you only have AP credits in like English and Algebra based physics then I can’t imagine graduating in three years being a good idea.</p>
<p>I tend to agree that a school that does quarters rather than semesters would be a better choice because of the flexibility. Oh and ChemE departments are all small enough so that you don’t have to worry about not getting into your ChemE major classes.</p>
<p>I should have AP Credit after my coming exams for:
Physics C (the two calc-based exams)
Calc BC
Chem
Eng Lang & Lit
Stats
US Gov
Macroecon
Psych
Human Geo (if I decide to take it)</p>
<p>I’m in the same-boat, Salve!, ChemE {math minor} and 3 years is the plan. I had the same credits you have, but I don’t think skipping college gen chem is a wise decision at all. physics, and going into Multi/Linear/DE, fine. But, please, take chemistry. Unless you got a 5 in AP Chem, 800 on Chem SAT II, and have done some post-AP general chemistry. Perhaps not for Rose-Hulman, but I find the gen chem at my school tough, even with the 5 on the Chem AP.</p>
<p>Actually I’m on the other side of Techy’s argument. I APed out of Gen Chem and went straight to Organic/Physical Chem and found it very do-able–the professors are usually good at reviewing the basic topics. </p>
<p>However when looking at Calculus 3 and the math classes, I found myself reviewing some of the basic topics.</p>
<p>I was fortunate enough to take DE/Multi, etc as a high school student, and reviewed calculus {and pre-calculus} extensively. Most kids who are confident enough to skip math, I find, {as in taking Calc I and II, and feeling comfortable enough to move to Multi/DE, in college} do well. As is evident in some of my other posts, nshah9617, I am a huge advocate of pre-calculus and HS algebra. </p>
<p>From personal experience, however, I took OChem for three days, was so confused, and dropped it, and am now happily taking general chemistry.</p>
<p>I am limited in perspective. I have not taken a <em>true</em> Organic nor Physical Chemistry class, at this point. I just can’t help but feel that gen chem is so important to the ChemE curriculum, that only those at the tippy-top of the chem scale should skip out on taking it again in college. If you’re good at chem, too, it’s your freshman year, the beginning of which can be a difficult, transitional phase. You don’t want to have to worry about a 6-hr OChem lab, along with the usual stress that entail starting university.</p>
<p>I suppose what I’m trying to say is this: It is usually unwise to use all of your credits. Unless you are mentally prepared for a masochistic frosh year, OChem, Linear/Multi/DE, at the same time, can make transition into college particularly difficult.</p>
<p>Actually Techy, I took O-Chem in high school so I think that is why I was a bit more confident in chemistry, but I completely agree with your point.</p>
<p>Salve!, I too APed out of my entire first year and to be honest, my freshman year was pretty rough. Make sure you are prepared for the rigor in your schedule, especially since you need to plow through the pre-reqs to graduate on time.</p>