<p>This is all great information! Hope someone can help me…I found the ‘apcred2012.pdf’ a bit confusing when comparing it to the required courses for Industrial Engineering/IE degree. My D is an incoming freshman. She has decided to take the math, physics and chem at SLO although she has passed several AP tests. Does that mean she earns zero AP credits towards free electives or does she get a small number of credits? She’s a bit discouraged after all that hard work! Yes, I know that engineers don’t have free electives with almost 200 credits req for their degree! But someone mentioned possibly having the credits apply towards a minor (gee, will she have time?). Or that it helps establish the students standing so they can register for specific level classes. 
Hope someone can give me more info about this part. Looking forward to Open House next week. After reading all the suggested activities, we are planning to take in as many as possible! Thank you! … OCmomof3</p>
<p>Hi ocmom, I just looked at the IE flowchart here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/site_media/uploads/majors/ie/ie2011-13flowchart.pdf[/url]”>http://eadvise.calpoly.edu/site_media/uploads/majors/ie/ie2011-13flowchart.pdf</a></p>
<p>It looks like your daughter’s major requires 196 units and NO free electives. So if your daughter wants any real benefit from her AP tests, she would need to take the credit available according to the current AP document published for her year of entry (2013 will most likely be the same as 2012’s that you already found). If she takes the Cal Poly versions of the classes for which she should have gotten credit, she will end up with “elective credits” that don’t count toward her required curriculum at all. The only thing I can think of that would be a benefit of racking up lots of “elective credits” is that a few of the General Ed (such as C4) classes require that you be of at least junior standing and have completed certain other GE’s (like all of GE area A) before you can enroll in them. Lots of elective credits would help her to achieve that “junior standing” quicker. Admittedly, this is not much payoff for all her hard work. If she hopes to finish in 4 years, she might want to consider taking the AP credits she has earned and cut that 196 units down so that she can have a few quarters with lighter loads.</p>
<p>OK, so here is a little secret not widely known, Cal Poly has special programs for some of the very hard classes. Check these two links out. Study groups are less structured than workshops, if a class has an optional workshop you can find it here and sign up for it;
[Supplemental</a> Workshops - Student Academic Services - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo](<a href=“http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/sw/index.html]Supplemental”>http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/sw/index.html)
[What</a> is SSP? - Study Session Program - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo](<a href=“http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/studysession/index.html]What”>http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/studysession/index.html)
These can be really helpful, but as always they require hard work to get the benefit.</p>
<p>Thanks Ralph4 for the info on the AP credits. We are especially concerned about our D starting off her freshman year on the right foot so taking calc/physics and chem again will be beneficial. I hear many kids find freshman year an adjustment! </p>
<p>Also thanks to slolearner for the info on the special programs!</p>