<p>Question: We live in a rural community without a lot of AP courses. My son is taking all of the AP classes he can, but we found out that AP physics is no longer being offered, nor is a physics class. My son wants to go into Engineering at an Ivy League University, but I [...]</p>
<p>I agree with Sally’s advice that this student should find an online physics class to take. Perhaps his school will be willing to help him find something suitable, and/or cover the cost. </p>
<p>I don’t have a particular class to recommend but I’m going to anti-recommend the Gifted Learning Links course through Northwestern university. Our school usually offers AP Physics C mechanics, but a series of unfortunate circumstances led to it not being offered this year. The school helped the students enroll in this online class (which I think may have been chosen solely because they could start in January, which was when they needed to start, and finish the curriculum in time for the May AP exam, with a lot of hard work on the part of the students). It served the purpose of putting AP physics on their transcripts, but I thought the course was awful. There was no instruction (neither real time nor videos to watch) – the students were supposed to read the text, do the problems, email solutions to the instructor, who emailed back terse comments. He was available by email to answer questions and give hints, but it might take a day or two for him to reply. So… it was far from ideal. It will be interesting to see how the kids (all extremely bright) who took it ended up doing on the AP exam. </p>
<p>I hope the OP’s son finds a better online physics class!</p>
<p>Excellent question and excellent advice offered by the Dean and mathmomvt!</p>
<p>Physics and calculus as preparation for an engineering degree can be crucial. It is no mistake that so many top programs highly recommend or require HS physics. At schools that cannot afford to, given their applicant pool, many students have to delay their graduation or switch majors if they don’t have this preparation.</p>
<p>I believe many schools will be understanding of your son’s limited opportunities at his HS. I would not discourage him from applying because he lacks physics. </p>
<p>At the same time I strongly second encouraging him to pursue online or independent study of physics. First, it will prepare him to succeed in engineering, both the material and the independent study. Engineering programs are technically demanding and few offer much handholding. Some might argue that few offer top quality instruction. Second, it may better inform his interest in engineering. It’s hard to get a sense of what engineering is like, but physics probably come closer than any other common HS subject. </p>
<p>Third, it will likely impress many admissions committees to see that your son had the interest, resourcefulness, and determination to study, perhaps even master, physics with little support from his HS. There are so many amazing MOOC’s available now. And many students still learn well independently from textbooks. If he really gets into the subject and wants to demonstrate his mastery, he might take the SAT subject test. If he is not yet a senior, he might be able to take an AP or IB exam or even enter the F=MA physics contest, with some support from his school or another nearby school or college. These may give him the opportunity to demonstrate what he’s learned. Better than HS grades, colleges know what these signify independent of an unknown teacher’s grading standard and if a student has the choice of whether or not to share the results of such assessments on their applications. Top engineering programs, in and above the ivy athletic league schools, are flooded with applicants who’ve been blessed with amazing learning opportunities. Such students have a hard time standing out. Your son has an amazing opportunity to shine by finding or creating his own learning opportunities.</p>