I am currently in the beginning of the second semester of my senior year in high school. I currently plan to attend Purdue University’s College of Engineering, to which I have already been accepted. My only problem now is that I do not believe that I have been sufficiently prepared for the rigors of engineering. My school offers no calculus or physics classes of any kind. They only offer three AP classes (Environmental science, and two English classes). We also have a slew of classes referred to as “college credit” from a crappy community college, and almost all of them are just as easy as a regular class. My current schedule is AP Environmental Science, College Credit Trigonometry (It was my only option), College Credit Biology (already took CC Chem), Economics, English 112, College Credit Advanced Manufacturing (Only CC class left), and a student assistant period because the only classes left were worthless cooking classes.
I have taken the hardest schedule available, but the lack of access to calculus, physics, and other AP classes will hurt me, right?
What can I do to remedy this situation?
What are my chances of being able to get through the Purdue Engineering program with a good GPA?
Even if it isn’t the best school, I think I would take Calc over the summer at your CC That should get you ready for Calc at Purdue. You sound smart and committed, which will help you succeed. People come from worse and do fine!
Second the vote for taking a calc course over the summer: don’t worry about it in terms of getting credit for it- think of it as a way to make the autumn less painful.
There will be plenty of other students who are under-prepared, so you won’t be alone in that, and the school knows that and will have a *lot of resources available (tutoring centers, TAs, prof office hours, online supports- all kinds of stuff). Look for and use every form of help available from day 1, in every class. Don’t wait until you feel behind, just use the resources available to the max, right from the beginning. Engineering is a long, challenging road no matter how prepared you are when you start- there is no point being too proud.
*though you might feel that way at first, as everybody else who is feeling insecure about how prepared they are will be trying to look confident.
Thank you both for the advice. I will definitely try to see if I can get into a class over the summer. I will likely only be able to take one class, so would you happen to know if it would be more beneficial to take calculus or physics? Thanks again.
Calculus. It is a pre-req for so many other courses. And realize not every student goes to a high school that offers 20 AP courses and college-level math classes. You will not be alone. What will help tremendously is reaching out to other students to form study groups, and seeking out tutors and help whenever possible. The resources are there in college - however you need to find them, they won’t find you.
If your high school isn’t strong, then you may not have developed the study and time management skills you will need to succeed. That trips up many students when they get to college. Many colleges will also offer help in these areas.
Also realize it’s difficult to complete an engineering degree in 4 years in the best of circumstances given the number of credit hours required and the strict sequencing of courses due to pre-requisites. You may need to take courses over the summer or stay an extra semester if you’re going in without credits that will allow you to place out of some classes. Many engineering students take 5 years to complete their degree.
I would highly recommend that you take Calculus I course at your local Community College or even a nearby 4-year University over the summer term. The fact that the course will be done over a summer session means that the course will be done at an accelerated pace and it is easy to fall behind. Since it is a college level course, the credits will become a permanent part of your college academic record.
Did you do Pre-Calc in high School? If not, that might be where you start instead of Calculus I. You could potentially audit the Calculus I course, while taking Pre-Calc or take Pre-Calc for summer A session and Calculus I for summer B session. Calculus is an engineering “weeder” course and many students fail to get pass the calculus series (I, II & III), thereby short-circuiting their engineering aspirations.
My guess is that (most) incoming freshmen at Purdue pursuing STEM majors (engineering, physics, chemistry, pre-med, etc.), were exposed to some form of calculus in high school (Calculus Honors, AP Calculus AB/BC, etc.) and are just retaking the course for an “easy” A-grade or to filled gaps in their high school knowledge of the subject. What Math course are you taking your first semester at Purdue? Is this based on your SAT/ACT math score or an entrance exam?
Also worth noting is that colleges receive a school profile that lets them know that your options were limited and that you took the most rigorous course load available.
Yes I have already taken Pre-Calc. My Trig class was really just a semester, but my teacher offered to help us establish a basic understanding of some claculus concepts in the second semester. I recognize that it is better than no calculus exposure, but it is in no way on the level of an AP course. We are moving at a snail’s pace, which is great for our understanding, but I doubt we will cover the majority of the material that an AP course would. Is this sufficient, or should I still try to enroll in a fast-paced summer course of calculus? Thank you all for your help.
You’re going to be ok, just behind a little bit in the beginning, but you will catch up. Don’t enroll in math classes right off the bat that may be too hard for you. Start in the level you’re comfortable in (through placement tests), and work your way up. If you can take some kind of calc this summer–even online-- it will help. But don’t feel you have to immediately jump into the level of classes that others may be taking because they came out of an IB program or whatever. Work your way up and maintain a good GPA. Plan to spend a summer in college taking a couple of classes and you’ll get right on track. Protect your study habits–I think this is the most important thing than which level of math you start in your freshman year. In the long run you’ll get there and you’ll be glad you took the slightly slower route. It might actually be a blessing.
I feel so bad that your school only offers 3 AP’s. But, that should not stop you from picking up a calculus textbook and learning calc. I am so happy that my school offers 21 AP classes. However, if they weren’t offered, I would learn the classes on my own. Being reliant on schools to teach you stuff is incredibly stupid. Learn the courses you want and test out of them.
Okay, I feel a little bit better about all of this. Would I be fine if I tried take a free online physics course at say Khan Academy, or should I really try to enroll in a college physics course? I have no previous phsyics experience, so I don’t really know how difficult it would be for me to grasp the material. Is this something I could catch up on fairly easily in college?
i had a niece in a similar situation and she got AP books, learned the material on her own, and took the AP exams. she rolled up a LOT of college credits that way.
You keep asking and everyone is saying, try to get a jump on this. You can’t control what your hs offered, but you can control what you do next.
You do sound smart, for even asking about calc. Now you do what you can. Get a calc textbook, look for intro online videos, now, then explore what the local college offers.
You had no physics, at all? First, calc. As you feel some mastery, you can pick up some physics, as an intro and to see how calc applies.
This can be fun. And what redpoodles said. Depending on what’s offered, start the college math and physics at the right level for you.