<p>Well, the title says it all. I was considering applying to a few more competitive engineering schools like Columbia, and I have relatively solid numbers in comparison to most people in my school (top 5%, 1360 combined and my school avg is around 940, etc). Then, when I was talking to my teacher, he made a solid point by saying that I had never taken Physics, and that would definitely influence my application for the worse because most applicants have taken AP Physics. In addition, I got a 2 on the only other AP science I had ever taken (AP Chemistry) because our teacher did a really good job of making us feel smart, but a bad job of actual teaching. Now, I don't want to put all the blame on the school, but I'm putting all the blame on the school. The way schedules are determined are essentially your requirements are thrown together and that's that. You have to apply to AP classes, and they're double periods so the maximum you could take is 2 per year, MAYBE 3 if you decided to not eat lunch. During sophomore and junior year, I was accepted to 2 APs but was forced to take 1 each year because of scheduling conflicts (their periods overlapped so I had to pick one).</p>
<p>So, I already feel like I'm behind in terms of the competition,I'm a minority, most posts I see are full of APs and I'll only have 4 by graduation, I'm younger than most seniors (just turned 16), and I guess I'm wondering if there's anything I can do on my own to not necessarily cover these flaws, that's just about impossible at this point, but to show these colleges that I'm making a personal effort to improve this situation.
Did this make any sense? Half venting lol</p>
<p>Being URM would be an advantage. You can always self-study and talk about how you overcame the limitations of your school. 16 <em>is</em> young. Have you considered taking a gap year and self-study? Then, if you get to a 4 or 5 on APs, you can talk about your achievement despite your school. Also, engineering at a place like Columbia is hard, and if you’re not an athlete, there’s not a lot of hand-holding at research universities. You may want to self-study to get the knowledge and skills (minimum of a 4 on the science APs) in order to succeed at a place like that.</p>
<p>Not having taken any physics in high school will likely put you at a disadvantage in admission to engineering divisions or majors at schools which admit by division or major. In addition, college physics for engineers is likely to assume that the student has had some exposure to physics at the high school level (not necessarily AP).</p>
<p>Why is it you are so young as a senior? Is this a private school? Where is your guidance coming from? I think the problem is you could have at least 3 straightforward science APs but you don’t. you will possibly have 1, and no physics, period, this is a strange way to approach engineering but if you are making the kind of decisions at 14/15 that get you here with little help, you need to start speaking with people who can. Making the effort at college application time might not really help you at all. Have you had advice that you have disregarded about planning up to this point? Are you looking at ABET schools that would fit your profile better, that might be more accommodating of your stats and might be a better pace? Competitive engineering schools are just that, competitive. Coming in with a story isn’t going to help you keep pace if it is brutal from day one. </p>
<p>I think not having had any physics is a bad idea for an engineer. Also, have you looked at the test scores of engineers at top schools? Yours are on the low side. You want to get in but you also want to be successful. Considering that you are only 16 and your high school preparation seems a bit lacking is there a way to do another year either at high school or as a gap or something else to improve your background? I don’t think it’s true that “most” applicants have already taken AP physics (some schools don’t even offer it), but I think many engineering programs would expect at least a year of physics from their applicants. </p>
<p>Just turned 16 is quite young, just turned 14 is young for a freshman, and you must have been just turning 13 in 9th grade.
I’m shocked you are in the US (assumedly) and did not have to take even a year of physics.</p>
<p>If it is a private school, any chance you could take one post-grad year and catch up to a pre-engineering curriculum by taking physics?</p>
<p>There is no expectation that SEAS applicants will have taken AP Physics in HS. In fact, regardless of past preparation, all SEAS students are required to complete a year-long intro physics sequence.</p>
<p>That said, not having any physics in high school may be a disadvantage for admissions, and most certainly will be a disadvantage if you are lucky enough to be accepted. I’d suggest exploring other avenues, either online or community college. Will you have had a calculus course?</p>
<p>Well, let me explain a bit more.
I’m 16 now, because I skipped a grade and started school early, plus I have an early birthday (Sep 13th)</p>
<p>My high school is public, in NYC. It used to have good ratings but it’s going down the drain tbh because we got a new principal. My guidance counselor wasn’t really helpful, every year I have had to practically fight the school to get my APs and desired courses.</p>
<p>I had been looking up online courses, there’s one website called edX that teaches college courses for free. It’s along the lines of self study, especially because it’s in partnerships with top schools like BU and MIT. I was thinking maybe I could take it and get some form of physics experience</p>
<p>First of all, I looked at your chances thread and you have a 690 verbal and a 670 math. You are a bright kid and you will thrive a lot of places. Your lack of coursework may not be as big a problem to admission if you can get your counselor to include that students must choose one of two APs per year in science due to the schedule conflicts. This should also be noted under special circumstances on the common application, in my opinion. But the other problem, as people have rightfully pointed out is not just whether you can get admitted, but whether you would thrive in an engineering environment without the background of classes everyone else will have.</p>
<p>How much do you want to do engineering because of love of engineering, and how much because you found out it is a secure job for your future? If you really want to pursue engineering, I think you need to get over to the community college in your area and take physics. And since you are an athlete competing at a high level, I don’t think you have the time to do that during the school year. The summer after sophomore or junior year was probably the time to do that.</p>
<p>Perhaps you came up with the idea of engineering more because you are reading about careers and wisely realized that a technical related job would make your future more secure. I do have another idea. You might be a good fit for computer science. I suggest you study computer science at a school where you can earn a bachelor of arts instead of a bachelor of science. This will reduce the number of hard sciences and eliminate the engineering requirements entirely. It also opens you up to more colleges to consider. Many LACs offer computer science but don’t have engineering.</p>
<p>I notice on another thread you are a recruited athlete in track. Is this something you want to pursue? Also, if you get a scholarship, then that is free money to college. Mosey on over to the recruited athletes’ forum on CC for some advice. </p>
<p>Thanks @Picapole, I agree with just about everything you said, and I mentioned my school’s AP issue in the special circumstances portion of the common app.
Usually during the summer, I have to take care of my siblings (my mom works year-round) but last summer I got the chance to go to Ithaca College for a 3-week program free of charge. I think that I became more interested in engineering because of it’s stability, but also because I am genuinely interested in it. I’m definitely open to your suggestion of computer science though, so I’ll look into it more.</p>