He’s in pre-cal honors right now with an A. Took college algebra last year. Probably should have reversed that.
Hmmm, that could be the problem. He hasn’t had Calculus?
@FriscoDad knows the maths TAMU Engineering expects/wants to see.
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MPE for engineering is testing pre-Cal. So your student is fine. Not passing MPE will still get accepted just taking an extra Math class.
But he has to pick up Calculus fast. Each of the first four semesters (in Freshmen and Sophomore years) in engineering have Calculus classes. Physics and Engineering coding classes are all about applying knowledge of Calculus on coding to solve scientific questions.
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@Trc5bgnd, I agree with 52AG82 that not having had calculus already could be delaying a decision, but this could be compensated for by having high math scores on the ACT or SAT. I was told they like to see a minimum of 650 math, but 700 or above is really helpful.
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My daughter is taking Calculus as a senior. Her school only offers AP Calculus and only for seniors. Does A&M expect it to be taken before senior year?
Having calc senior year is perfect! Great foundation for calc in college. As far as rigor, it is my understanding that admissions looks at what the student’s hs offers and what was taken. Supposedly, admissions does not penalize one for not taking something if their hs didn’t offer it.
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My daughter has been accepted into engineering at A&M CS campus and could use some advice. The charter high school she attends offers no AP classes as it’s all honors courses so she won’t be going in with any AP credits. I know another option could be do try to Clep out of some basics like English and poly sci, but have also heard some say it’s okay to not have any credits going in as some of the classes could be easier grades for keeping up GPA for ETAM. I just worry she’s going to feel overwhelmed with being behind on credits when everyone else will already have so many AP credits and can take fewer hours per semester. Any thoughts or advice?
@Aggie97SA I’d say try to CLEP one of the Econs and/or a History, both of those can be time consuming and hard. But many enter with few to no credits, and do fine.
My Aggie did US History Maymester via Texarkana College online-10 solid days, loved the class, got it over with.
https://testing.tamu.edu/exams/college-level-exam-program-(clep)
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I think it’s fine to go in with no credits. If it takes a bit longer, so be it.
There should be a prepared four year path forever.
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My oldest who just graduated eng in four years, only went in with credit for two classes, government and social sciences. He did take a very light schedule freshman year 12-13 credits to have a successful ETAM. CLEP was great for the two history classes, a minimester for one, and the schedule had room for the others. He could have also taken some classes over the summer, but there was no need. Going in w/o many credits really isnt an issue. It does take kids longer to graduate with they have to drop and redo classes - thats the problem
Believe it or not, he really liked english class first semester freshman year - had a great teacher and the class was small
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However, having to take precalculus in college likely risks delaying graduation by a semester, since many prerequisite sequences in engineering majors depend on when one starts the calculus sequence.
Well if not passing a test of pre-calculus, the far more important and immediate concern is getting through the ETAM to get the major in sophomore. There are four far tougher Calculus ahead in the next four semesters so getting ready is critical. Rural high schools don’t have AP/IB maths so having Math 150 allowing students to catch up is a great benefit to students.
Some majors like AERO and BMEN are so tough even those straight As in ETAM can still take 5 years to finish the degree.
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Oh that’s so good to hear! Did he do the clep history classes prior to starting Freshman year?
He took both the clep history exams over Christmas break, I believe during junior year? The grading on those clep exams is super LAX. He had some material to look at for a couple days and relied on what he learned in high school and passed the tests easily. They are multiple choice exams and can be taken at home. Your daughter might consider just taking one of those exams. A friend, who took them cold and passed was the one who recommended clep to my son, otherwise we wouldn’t have known about it
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Just to let you know, a student does not have to take an AP class in order to be given the opportunity to take an AP test. As long as a student registers and pays for an AP test they can take whatever they want to, as long as it’s close by and convenient. So if your daughter has already taken classes in government and economics, she should consider taking the AP test for those classes. My son did not take AP government but did pay for and take the AP test and passed it.
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Any holistic enge kids getting in? My all in Aggie is anxiously waiting. Non-weighted gpa is 3.73, 1430 SAT, (710 math,) year around athlete, 3 AP classes last year, 4 this year including Calculus, Physics-C, went to ME @ YAP, 4th gen Aggie, great intern experience. Has had straight A’s all Junior yr, & at progress reports this year. His college counselor isn’t worried, but he’s getting anxious. Also applied early Aug.
He attends a small private school that doesn’t rank.
Don’t think you have much to worry about. Good stats. At a minimum I’d expect Blinn team, but my guess would be full admission.
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Thank you for your input. I am still learning how to use this, if I sent that directly to you, my apologies!!!
Students still need to take the required number of classes to graduate, AP doesn’t reduce the number of credits you need to complete an undergraduate degree. Everyone needs to complete the required number of credits to graduate. Students who complete AP courses (that the school accepts) have the luxury of “skipping” some of the required classes and instead using these credits for electives. So AP students will be doing the same number of credits as she is.