<p>I swore this was already asked, but I can't find the thread</p>
<p>For freshman engineers, it's suggested that we take 17/18 hours. Other people tell me that 15 hours is already overwhelming. Has anyone taken the recommended 18 hours? Is it that rigorous?</p>
<p>Don’t take the recommended 18. </p>
<p>First semester I took 14
This semester I’m taking 14</p>
<p>Trust me on this</p>
<p>If you come in with AP credit there is much more flexibility in this. However, I would say to just not take 18 even if you don’t come in with any prior credit. I’m taking 14 right now, it is plenty challenging as it is, and I see no need to make it any more difficult than it has to be.</p>
<p>Here are are couple of threads:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1029494-engineering-students-scheduling-question.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1029494-engineering-students-scheduling-question.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1092438-how-many-credits-per-semester.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1092438-how-many-credits-per-semester.html</a></p>
<p>If you are at the top of your class - maxed out the SAT/ACT - have wicked math skills: Go ahead and take 18 hours. Otherwise… stick to 13-14 your first semester.</p>
<p>Taking 17/18 hours your first semester is unwise. Take 12-15, get acclimated to the atmosphere and course load, spend time meeting friends and/or joining organizations, etc. ENJOY your freshman year, because as an engineering major, they get MUCH harder and getting burnt out early can be detrimental.</p>
<p>With that being said, I’ve taken 17 hours a semester and normally average 15 hours and with proper time management skills it’s quite easy to manage. Just don’t do it as a freshman, if you are really worried about the amount of hours your degree plan calls for, take summer classes.</p>
<p>^ Listen to this guy. He hit the nail on the head.</p>
<p>Took the online math test required for engineering majors the other day and missed two (score: 31/33). After I finished, a message came up that stated, “CONGRATULATIONS! Your score on this exam allows you to enroll in Math 151-Calculus 1” My question is: if I take it over again and don’t miss any (scoring 33/33), will I be able to sign up for the second Calculus course? Or will they say I have to wait until my AP test (for Calculus BC) come back in the summer?<br>
I’m just concerned because AP test scores don’t come out until mid-late July, and my New Student Conference is in June. If I make a 4 on my AP test, would they let me change to the next Calculus since the advisor at NSC will have already put me in the first calculus?</p>
<p>s will be starting at A&M as a computer engineering major; he took that math test too and received the same message.
My question for anyone who knows about Computer Engineering, which classes do the students in that major take for the first two semesters?
How are the freshman English classes over there? He didn’t sign up to take the AP test in English either junior or senior year, and now I am afraid it may be harder at A&M than he thinks. Suggestions?</p>
<p>Well that practice test, as you could see, only covers topics through pre-cal. So doing any better will not get you through to the second year of calculus, and if you do not score a 5 on the AP Calc exam then I would not skip to the next year anyways. Once you get your AP Credit you will be able to drop the calculus 1 and add calculus 2, nothing is set in stone until after the first week of classes.</p>
<p>@jackfly
I had that exact same question and from what I understood when I visited A&M is that at your NSC you can tell them “I feel strong that I passed the exam so go ahead and sign me up for Calc II” or “I dont think I passed, so sign me up for Calc I” and then wait for your scores to come out, and THEN make adjustments accordingly.</p>
<p>Haha but if you can’t even pass the AP test for calc… I would suggest rethinking engineering as a major.</p>
<p>But yeah its quite common to take summer classes just to take stress off of the normal semesters.</p>
<p>Carolein, It’s not the the English is difficult at A&M, but it is difficult to fit it in with all the other stuff. Many kids take English during a mini-mester at a nearby community college on a break. The mini-terms give a full semester of credit, are very easy and only take 2-3 weeks. My son has already done the one over winter break and will be doing one a another CC in May.</p>
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<p>That’s very naive of you to say. One of my best friends started at Texas A&M in Pre-Cal (MATH 150), and will now be graduating cum laude under arguably the most difficult degree plan at A&M. </p>
<p>How you perform on a standardized test says very little about your intelligence and/or capability to do well in engineering.</p>
<p>Well if you can’t pass the AP test for which it takes a 3, that is about a 45-50% of the questions right. And its not the fact that its a standardized test, but its similar to a final and if you can’t pass then you most likely did not work hard. All i am saying is that if you cannot do well in the EASIEST courses in engineering then you probably need to reconsider or change your way about your school.</p>
<p>Obviously your friend pulled his stuff together. It’s naive of you to think that a test doesn’t give some sort of indication about knowledge/determination.</p>
<p>ohmyghosh09:
Those so called difficult AP exams required the determination of one nights study before the exam to make a 5. These tests really aren’t make or break or a good indication of anything related to college success despite claims from collegeboard and the likes there of. Honestly, people put too much stock in these AP exams. </p>
<p>If you are a science/engineering major, you either make a 5 and skip to next calculus or else you start from calculus 1. Those are really the two choices. Some people test better than others so AP exams are different for everyone. It’s not a shame to start in calculus 1, I did because it was my first time taking a true calculus class (IB kind of was behind at my school for some reason) and it was absolutely a breeze.</p>
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<p>No, you are not necessarily correct. Freshman and sophomore engineering classes, for the most part, are all about beating the curve and surviving, e.g. “weed-out courses”. Because of the nature of this beast, you don’t take along much from these courses over the long haul other than a work ethic and study habits, which some may argue is more important than intelligence itself. </p>
<p>Personally, my last 3 semesters as a senior/junior have been my best academically (GPA-wise). Doing well in MATH 151 or PHYS 218 has little correlation to doing well in Advanced Engineering Math or Orbital Mechanics, despite what you may believe. </p>
<p>And with the “my friend” example, he always had his stuff together. Valedictorian of his H.S. to soon-to-be cum laude graduate. My point is, how low you start on the totem pole doesn’t necessarily indicate your end result.</p>
<p>Lol i agree we’re just saying it a little differently.</p>