<p>Is it possible to complete a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Astronomy in 4 years? I would have credit for the following AP/Dual Credit Classes: calc bc, chem, phys c mech, phys c elec and mag, eng lang, eng lit, psych, 2 semesters us his, macroeconomics, and 1st semester government. i will have very minimal programming experience btw</p>
<p>It all depends on the individual…some may and some may not.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it. Start taking classes and work the astronomy ones in. If graduation day nears and you won’t get all your astronomy classes in, you can either drop your astronomy minor or extend your graduation date.</p>
<p>However, you’ll have your hands full just getting your degree in engineering and I wouldn’t worry too much about a minor at this time.</p>
<p>thanks bigtrees! astronomy is just so fascinating to me. and honestly, if life as a scientist didn’t suck so much, i would rather do that than be an engineer, but engineering is definitely interesting too :)</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with taking astronomy classes as your shedule allows, even if you don’t get a minor in it.</p>
<p>You might consider trying to get employment at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California after you graduate. Their mantra is “the robotic exploration of the universe” which might be up your alley. They hire a lot of mechanical engineers, and having a couple astronomy courses under your belt wouldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>It is possible. Just know that you might have to tack on an extra course every couple terms and that you might not have as much free time as your peers during those terms.</p>
<p>thanks again bigtrees and thanks for your input jjsoa1!</p>
<p>bump 10 char</p>
<p>I would think long and hard about testing out of Calc II and above and Physics. Your AP classes/exams will not cover them with nearly the same rigor that your college class will, and those two classes are incredibly important for you, as an engineer, particularly mechanics.</p>
<p>you could not test out of physics, calc, and chem, at least not at my school…Also keep in mind to grad. in 4 yrs is already pretty tight for engineering. </p>
<p>you definitely could designate a tech elective or maybe even Gen Ed. requirement to a course or two in astronomy, I think it’s a good idea, I’m always hearing people list that as something they always intended on doing but never got around to it. I would suggest to wait until your junior year when you’d be eligible to take some high level coursework in astronomy.</p>
<p>Most programs have something called “Tech Electives,” which are credits you can choose off of an approved list of courses. For example, in MSE at VT I took several metal casting courses, while others took classes on polymers or design of experiments. The degree we get is exactly the same, it just lets us tailor our courseload to our interests.</p>
<p>What you may be able to do, if your school has tech electives and you can get in good with your adviser, is have some of the astronomy classes count as tech electives. Here at least if you can make a good case for how the class ties in to your studies in engineering you’ve got a good shot of getting approved. This could make the minor easier to get by ‘doubling up’ some of your credits as counting both toward your minor and major.</p>
<p>edit: Yeah, what cyclone said basically.</p>
<p>thanks for all the input guys! boneh3ad, so your saying that it would be best to test out of calc 1, chem, and all the other english/social studies classes, but definitely dont skip calc 2 or physics 1?</p>