<p>I'm thinking about majoring in engineering in college, and I'm taking regular physics right now as a senior. Will I be at a disadvantage in college since I'm not taking AP physics this year?</p>
<p>In general, colleges don’t assume you have taken physics or calculus before starting your program. That is the reason they have the full physics and calculus series as part of the core curriculum is because not everyone has taken those or seen it before. In practice, most first-year engineering students have taken at least some calculus and calculus-based physics.</p>
<p>High school physics may be listed as a prerequisite for college physics, but AP level is not required. Of course, a more in-depth high school physics course can ease the transition into college physics.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While likely true (at least for calculus, probably less so for calculus-based physics) at the more selective colleges, there are many less selective colleges that offer engineering majors where this may not be true.</p>
<p>Even the more selective colleges offer engineering majors where that isn’t true. High school curricula haven’t historically included calculus and physics until relatively recently and many still don’t, so even the most selective schools often have their programs built for people who haven’t taken them. I still contend that most incoming engineering students these days have at least some exposure to the subjects though I don’t have a link to any statistics to back that up.</p>
<p>FWIW, even non-calculus-based physics is good in that it at least exposes students to the physical way of thinking.</p>