@CollegeMom789 Do students take PHYS 208 over the summer after High School graduation or Freshman Year at A&M? Thanks for all your advice.
@Glee, Almost always after freshman year. PHYS 208 is the second Physics course at A&M. Pre-reqs include Physics 208 and Math 151/152 (Calc I & II). Unless your Aggie is coming in with AP credit for all those, he wouldn’t be eligible for P.208 this summer. Some advisors recommend against accepting AP & dual credit in subjects related to a student’s major. My daughter accepted lots of AP credit at out-of-state university. She decided to take courses in her major in college instead of accepting HS credit. She’s very happy about that decision because: 1) she’s had 4 easy classes her freshman year and 2) she’s learned things in those courses that weren’t taught in high school AP courses. My Aggie didn’t accept any STEM AP or dual credit. He took PHYS 208 equivalent through WTC during a fall TAMU semester. It worked out well for him, especially since WTC isn’t attempting to “weed out” students. I called & totally regretted it! So far, can’t enroll online there. WTC sometimes adds a section of Physics during fall or spring semester to meet demand. They don’t seem to have enough profs in summer to add physics sections.
If your Aggie wants to take WTC online physics, I highly recommend applying for WTC admissions early. Near the very beginning of semester prior to semester he/she intends to take it. Also, stay on top of registration. Last time I checked, Korie Allen is online coordinator & the one who registers the students. My son called her. I also called while my Aggie was recovering from surgery & she didn’t seem to mind. My son wasn’t able to get into Summer Physics 208, but Korie enrolled him for fall semester early…so he was guaranteed to get in. I’d NEVER call anyone at A&M. Except this week when my son was too anxious to call clinic about his issues. I totally regret making that phone call; lesson learned!
I’m sorry, hadn’t been on College Confidential until for over a week until tonight.
Thank you all for the great advice I really appreciate it. It has been a great help! This physics thing is really stressing me/us out but I’m glad you told me about the alternative
Just wondering, anyone’s child took Phys 208 in Houston over the summer and transferred credit to TAMU? Houston Community College?
@realck, My son took it at Lone Star CC the summer following his freshman year, but in was lecture format, not online. It was an easy class, rarely ever saw him do homework or study, and the class always seemed to get released early. The credit transfers, the grade does not.
Thanks for the info @lee6666 Could please share the name of the professor for HLTH 236?
@izelkay You took CHEM 107/117 in Spring, what science course did you take in the Freshman Fall? PHYS 218 or CHEM 102/112? Thank you!
@Glee, Adam Barry. Class was online.
Thank you so much @lee6666
Glee, I took PHYS 218 that fall and CHEM 107/117 in the spring. CHEM 102/112 was not a requirement for electrical engineering majors. Though it looks like freshman may be forced to take CHEM 107/117 their first semester and PHYS 218 their second semester from now on.
Thank you @izelkay
@CollegeMom789 I know this a few months late but, regarding online classes, do they still count for the same number of credits? Do they affect scholarships? How exactly did the course work and did he have to login everyday? any help is appreciated.
@NpHighTeK, online classes taken at A&M earn credit hours and count toward your GPA just as lecture classes. No difference. (Keep in mind that if you take classes at a community college – whether online or lecture – the credit transfers but your grade does not factor into your GPA at A&M.)
@lee6666 thank you.
@NpHighTeK, classes taken at WTC have same number of credits. If a student has TAMU scholarship that covers tuition, I’m almost certain it won’t pay for WTC tuition. Please find competent advisors for your preferred engr disciplines (top 3 choices). Ask what courses they will accept from WTC. Entry to major requirements seem to change every year. Please ask advisors what current requirements are to apply for “Entry-to-a-Major.” My Aggie entered TAMU Fall 2014. He was required to complete a minimum of 3 courses (MATH, CHEM or PHYS, ENGR 111 or 112) at A&M before he could apply for entry to major. There might be more requirements now.
My Aggie took WTC online PHYS 208 with Dr. Michael Hibbs. He didn’t have to log in daily, but there were frequent quizzes & homework assignments due. All 9 lab reports were due near the end of the semester. If you’re taking other course(s) with WTC PHYS, it’s easy to procrastinate on the labs & get overloaded on/near due date for labs.
My Aggie failed TAMU PHYS 218. Made A’s in WTC PHYS courses equivalent to TAMU PHYS 218/ 208 (and didn’t spend nearly as much time on WTC as the time spent struggling to make an F+ at TAMU).
If your major requires CALC III and Dif Equations, I wouldn’t take WTC CALC I &/or CALC II. Courses are still challenging at WTC, but students are allowed to use formula sheets for exams. In my opinion, using formula sheets is a great idea. For engineering, application of concepts should be the primary goal (rather than memorizing LOTS of formulas). TAMU and Blinn Calc profs require students to memorize a b’zillion formulas, which makes them much more difficult “weed out” courses. In my opinion, WTC Calc I & II won’t adequately prepare you for TAMU Calc III & Dif Equations because you probably need to have all those formulas memorized. .
@NpHighTeK @CollegeMom789 Entry To A Major has changed quite a bit. Engineering students are now required to complete 2 maths, 2 sciences and ENGR 111 and 1112 at TAMU prior to applying to their major (unless accepting AP credit for math/science).
@CollegeMom789 appreciate it. I just wanted to use that to finish UCCs or classes like 208 that are easy/‘not’ required for all majors later on and are relatively hard.