<p>I got accepted ED and plan to major in Mechanical Engineering Class of 2016. My question is if it possible to take classes at a local college/university this summer in order to get some distribution credits that do not deal with math or science out of the way.</p>
<p>probably not a good idea. My son took 3 community college classes before starting his freshman year at Rice and they said they don’t give credit for community college courses. He finally was able to get credit for a Sociology class that he took by submitting the class syllabus to head of the Sociology department. But it took some doing. He had to prove that what they covered in his class was exactly what they would have covered in that class at Rice. He also had taken Economics 1A and a Political Science class and they declined those.</p>
<p>I’d actually say it’s much easier to get transfer distribution credit for classes in your major. I’m a MechE major and having studied abroad and getting all the transfer forms signed, I can say that the advisors really just signed off on the classes after glancing at the syllabus. </p>
<p>I’ve never done transfer from a local/state school but FWIW, I got the impression that it would be very easy to get transfer credit in my major so long as I could find an equivalent course. I think it’s harder to coordinate with random distribution electives outside your major though</p>
<p>^
You probably didn’t study abroad at a community college. They’ll be more skeptical that community college courses are up to their standards.</p>
<p>The distribution requirement isn’t overwhelming, and a lot of students end up liking the classes they take for distribution. Don’t waste your summer trying to rush through it.</p>