<p>i'm at a top 200 high school and in a ap physics c class where most people get 4s or 5s in past years on the ap test. i'm getting worked by this class and my teacher basically told us it is only going to get harder after rotation which we just finished. i'm pulling a low b, but it could fluctuate up or down by end of semester. i'm really concerned about what this class might do to my engineering aspirations. i mean i tell myself that most kids from school district find college easier (kids that go to mit say it is only a little harder than my high school... although they are in econ not engineering, not that mit is bad in econ)... however i can also see where if i dont do well in this class than i'll be screwed for engineering as i'm not sure whether to expect that fellow freshmen will have more or less experience than me. calculus isnt a problem for me... but i'm concerned whether or not i can drop to b and still do engineering... i mean do any of u kno kids who are doing well in engineering that had little physics in high school, or do you hafta be pullin As in calc and physics to do engineering? i'm lookin to do aero and got accepted to michigan recently. thanks for yalls help.</p>
<p>Did you skip physics B? To me the first time you are in a "true" physics class, you will need some time to adapt to the style of thinking. AP physics C is just more detail than physics B so it might be good for you to go back to B but it might hurt your chances at college admission. With respect to understanding the material in C, you just need time to grasp it.</p>
<p>well at my school, if u take physics ur junior year(honors or regs) then senior year u can do an ap science if u want(ap bio, ap chem, ap physics b, ap physics c, or ap environ sci if ur lazy).</p>
<p>It is your call, but I took physics b then take physics c and it was easier for me because b help prepare for c</p>
<p>currently im also taking physics c, the class is pretty hard but it isnt as hard as the actual physics that you would need to know and apply if you intend to major in engineering. if your stronger in mathematics you might want to go for a profession that relies more on math than physics. my brother is a aerospace engineer and he is one of the very very few that actually graduated on time for engineering. i believe that there is actually 15/100 students that actually graduate on time for engineering. my brother saw many of his friends dropping out of engineering. you should take a tour in a university and request to stay in an engineering class to see the level of difficulty that the class is for engineering.</p>
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however i can also see where if i dont do well in this class than i'll be screwed for engineering as i'm not sure whether to expect that fellow freshmen will have more or less experience than me.
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<p>I would not worry too much about experience. MIT, for instance, doesn't assume that you have previous physics experience - about 5% of freshmen each year don't, usually because their high schools or districts don't offer it - and even offers a slower-paced option for freshman mechanics for those who need it. I took physics B in high school - it was all we had at the AP level - and did fine in freshman physics at MIT.</p>
<p>The problem would be if you really just have trouble grokking physics - that will hurt you as an engineering major. This is not necessarily the case. Maybe you're over-committed and can't afford the necessary time, maybe you haven't learned effective study strategies for technical subjects, maybe the teacher is no good, maybe you just don't respond well to this particular teacher's style. But if you do actually lack aptitude, you might have trouble later.</p>
<p>a top 200 hs lol,</p>
<p>If you can get AP credit for anything in high school... stick with it. It's worth not having to do that class in college.</p>