He has taken Calc I / Phys I / Biol I all at PSU and earned A’s that should transfer in … so my question is…
Which of these classes should he “retake” at GT?
In my mind, there’s a balance… retake it to ensure leveled up to GT… and then there’s also hey, if say both Calc I and Phys I are taken first semester Freshman year… and notoriously just weed-out classes at GT where an if they’re going to put the screws to the kids… okay, maybe be smart about it… maybe retake one of them… but the other use the PSU credit to lighten load a bit, or whatever.
Really not looking to helicopter parent or bulldoze… but if there’s some common sense benefit to having PSU credits… then cool. If not, so be it.
My dd is a freshman at GT. She took AP Calc and received a 5 on the exam, so she did not take the 1st Calc at Tech. She did well in “calc 2” and is currently in Linear Algebra. Apparently physics is brutal at Tech (she hasn’t taken it yet), and many students try to take it at another college over the summer and transfer the units. During the FACET orientation, your student will be advised on what to take 1st semester. My advice is to try to keep class load to 12-13 credits. It’s an intense environment!
We were advised to take AP credit where available. My son got a five on BC Calc and took credit for that, which equated to Calc 1 and Calc 2. He has since taken several more advanced classes in math, done well, and always felt his calculus background was adequate. If you have confidence that your son has a strong Calc foundation in the dual enrollment class I would take that credit also. That being said, dual enrollment classes can vary in rigor and coverage so it is a tougher question than the standardized AP test results.
As far as physics goes, it is a very tough class and can be a GPA buster. My son got a five on AP physics 1 exam but decided to retake it at GT because he thought he needed a stronger foundation for upcoming classes like fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, etc. Ended up with a 90 in the class and 4.0 that semester but it was touch and go til the very end. He still hasn’t taken Physics 2 but is taking it his last semester “when the grade won’t matter as much” his words. I expect it will be easier with advanced classes under his belt but it is a challenge!
I believe a student can ask for a copy of an old exam and take it on their own to determine if they have a solid foundation on the material. Doing this would help make the decision on taking credit for the DE classes or not.
My son is a 2nd year at GT. He was advised to take all the AP/DE credits he could. Two other reasons besides the ones given above:
It allows him to take a slightly lighter load each semester, which is huge. He took 17 credits last semester and it was really really tough. Better if you can stick to 13 or 14. Much more doable if you’re coming in with credits.
When it comes to class registration, those with more credit hours get an advantage over those with fewer credit hours. I’m not sure if this is true of Fall semester freshman(I don’t think it is), but going forward, your time slot for picking classes is directly set by how many credit hours you have. Those with more credit-hours go first. So by not taking those AP/DE credits, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage, and you’ll be behind all those who did take the credits. Class registration can be pretty brutal, so having any advantage you can is important.
Let us know if you have any other questions!
Rachel
Okay… so … after a few hours we’re thinking we should meet with a counselor… transfer or get credit for as much as possible (AP/IB/DualEnrollment) which should be on the order 9 semester-level classes… and then use those credits for scheduling advantage… and if retake a class or two so be it… but mostly keep load to MINIMUM so to speak just to be on the safe side…
They will tell you at orientation to take 12-13 hours your first semester. I highly recommend that. If they can do more next semester, great. Lots of adjusting to do - time management, social life management, etc. Better to underestimate and then take on more than tank your first semester and have to climb out of a hole.
My GT kid freshman fall took 13 hours. Pledged a fraternity, went to every football game and lots of parties, studied a lot and pulled out a 4.0. He took a few more next semester but never overloaded. I remember at orientation them saying plan for 3 hours out of class for every hour spent in class. So that mounts up! Biggest tip is use your daytime hours wisely - go to the library in between classes and knock it out. Nothing fun is happening at 1 pm. That frees you up at night!
Likes I mentioned earlier, I pulled a 3.4GPA at equivalent school to GT and I know my son was 10x more prepared than I ever was …
So… your comments… help a TON! Light load freshman year, avoid the weedout class where they are purposely going to give out very few As, etc. etc. I recall those same kind of kids got easy 3.9 or 4.0 when I was a pup… and easy street to med school…
Can you ask your kiddo WORST (not hardest) classes to be wary of??? Specific… like PHYS9876 or MATH1234 or whatever… b/c I’m not quite used to the classes at GT vs where I went 30 years ago.
What is his intended major? My oldest is a civil engineer. Definitely be wary of professors and believe the rate your professor rating. If they say they suck, they do Also be open to earlier classes with easier professors and GO TO CLASS! Makes a huge difference. These kids are in a new world where they don’t have to do anything and no one cares what they do. No one is making sure they are out the door! Going to class is the best and easiest thing they can do for themselves even if it is at 8 am. My GT kid got a 4.0 last semester with an 8 am Friday class. Attendance mattered. Not the easiest thing to do on Friday am with Thursday night being a lot of fun but he was there!
He should try to the old final exams of the GT courses to check his knowledge.
Knows material well – do not retake.
Knows most material well – do not retake, but review what he does not know that well.
Finds most of the material difficult – retake if he will be taking another course for which this course is a prerequisite.
If he earned A grades in similar college courses recently, it is likely that he is in one of the first two categories. But he can check the old GT final exams to verify.
I looked and the courses are exactly what I’d expect Freshman year (Calc, Physics, one liberal arts course like History, etc.).
For certain will meet with GT counselor. Wave or get credit for Penn State Calc, Physics, Biology… and then use as many as GT will accept from Int’l Bacc exams as possible (so, maybe History wave some courses if needed to lighten load, or French, or English, whatever…).
I’ve concluded… get the transferred… and he can then decide later if want to retake… but if nothing else… it improves his “standing” to be able to select courses.
This particular son, at this point in time, very disciplined and will gladly take the 8AM courses
You may want to web search the GT course numbers for the physics and biology courses for exams and syllabus to see if anything like that comes up. Even if you cannot find exams, the syllabus can show what is covered and what books are used.
Other option is to ask the departments directly if they have sample or old exams.
Fingers crossed my kids are way smarter than me and can be the 3.8+ kiddos…
BUT… having gotten my ar$e kicked in early 1990’s… I will do whatever is possible to put them in a slightly better spot!
No matter what… going to have to EARN the A’s… going to have to put the work in… just don’t want to sabotage them by in my case, being an EE and for some dumb reason saying to myself, I like a challenge… and will take sophomore EE weedout circuits AND decide to take the MechE weedout Thermodynamics course at the same time which I was completley ill prepared for… and I earned a D… and my GPA never could get back to above a 3.5… it was a dead weight anchor forever.
Also be open to earlier classes with easier professors and GO TO CLASS! Makes a huge difference. These kids are in a new world where they don’t have to do anything and no one cares what they do. No one is making sure they are out the door! Going to class is the best and easiest thing they can do for themselves even if it is at 8 am. My GT kid got a 4.0 last semester with an 8 am Friday class. Attendance mattered. Not the easiest thing to do on Friday am with Thursday night being a lot of fun but he was there!