<p>Okay, so I just read that some schools like caltech and carnegie mellon require one year of physics as a prereq. I haven't taken it yet and I'm a senior, but I have self studied physics b and c and gotten fives. I can't take the ap physics class at my school, and my community college doesn't let me clear their physics prereq with ap credit, so now I'm left with taking regular physics at school. Right now, it's full, but if a spot opens up, is it worth it to drop say AP Econ or AP environmental science or give up varsity swimming just to meet a requirement that only a few select schools enforce? I'm planning on doing engineering, so do you guys know any more schools that require one year of high school physics for admission?</p>
<p>Why not contact the schools in question to see if your scores in AP physics will substitute for taking high school physics?</p>
<p>^ This is good advice. </p>
<p>However, I think you <em>will</em> find that physics will be an academic prerequisite for engineering at most colleges, not just those that are clearly STEM-oriented. Which means you will constantly be explaining and asking for substitute credit for your self-studied APs (that is really impressive–and two 5’s, wow!). I guess it’s not that big of a deal, but it does add extra work and a little stress over the uncertainty of whether your “special case” really does go through with every college.</p>
<p>Have you talked this over with your guidance counselor? Part of the college app process involves your school’s submission of all available courses. This enables colleges to assess whether students took the most rigorous curriculum offered. It is going to look a little odd you didn’t take either regular physics or AP physics. I guess by your mention of AP Econ and AP Environ Sci, your coursework will be loaded with plenty of rigor and lots of other math and science courses of the type an engineering admissions counselor will want to see. But I’d want to know how your GC can help you out here. When you say you “can’t” take AP Physics, why? Is that because you haven’t taken the prereq regular physics? And if that is the case, then I’d try to short-circuit this whole thing by appealing to your HS to be admitted to AP Physics on the basis of your self-study AP test results. Hopefully, your GC or some other teacher can go to bat for you and make that happen.</p>
<p>Alternatively, if taking a physics class just isn’t going to work, have you considered flipping this around and making the same sort of “credit for self-study AP” appeal to your HS? You may get some resistance, but most high schools have some allowance for independent studies administered by a teacher. If you could get a credit for something like “Advanced Independent Physics Studies” with a course description that mentions “culminating in taking AP Physics B and C,” then that might work. It would be on your transcript. Even though applicants don’t normally submit AP scores (that’s done after you’ve enrolled for the purpose of getting placement or credit at your selected college), you’d want the official AP score report to be annexed to the transcript or otherwise officially acknowledged.</p>
<p>These are just ideas…hope you find some creative way to lick this technicality. Good luck!</p>