<p>Due to scheduling problems my son has to take physics outside of his high school. The first thought is EPGY, but I do not think he has a math score high enough to qualify (that is not his best area.) Scheduling also precludes physics available at our local college and community college.</p>
<p>I found some online physics courses at community colleges and also Empire State College --but how would these appear on the transcript?</p>
<p>Empire State has a physics course that seems lighter than the Community College ones --with a second semester in astronomy. I have advised my son he would be better off taking these less (ie "college physics lite") but he insists he needs something that appears more rigorous.</p>
<p>I am not sure that is true at all, as long as he makes the effort. He is a future English major and already has 3 lab sciences. I even think he could do something funkier from Empire, like a course on "Machines and Consciousness" for one of the semesters to fill the science slot. </p>
<p>Again --he does not agree with me, but keep in mind, he is not going to ace physics without a lot of work --this is not his area of greatest strength or area of passion. I believe he would learn MORE from a less math-intensive, more humanistic approach, and that it would be far more fun for him, and good enough for any college. What do you all think --links below if you care to see more. Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Where is he applying? Does he really need to take the physics at all? You say he has three lab sciences already and plans to be an English major--I only know two schools that require physics in HS and they're MIT and CalTech, and neither would be a good choice for an English major.</p>
<p>I'm with dmd -- if he already has 3 lab sciences, take something else or spend more time on EC's. IMO, physics is not something easily self-taught by a kid whose strength lies in humanities.</p>
<p>I agree --I have tried to convince him, but he is insistent that he must have physics (even though he will dislike it.) In the meantime, he is forgoing an extra college class at the state U (where he has been approved for dual enrollment) in his real subject, history/literature, to pursue this. </p>
<p>But I posted before on this same issue, when I was trying to convince him to skip physics, and a number of people from this same board posted to say it was important he take it, thus giving him ammunition to "win" the argument.</p>
<p>I did call a school he is applying to, Vassar, and the adcom said she wanted to see physics or another advanced science --they want four years: further shooting me down.</p>
<p>Well, can he take another advanced science course? A lot of kids at our school like to take astronomy or psychobiology or marine biology or some such course. For students who are somewhat weak in math, that may be a better option than physics.</p>
<p>sorry for third post. My links don't work so I will post descriptions. </p>
<p>These are from SUNY/Empire State College distance learning courses, do you think they will be viewed with credibility by college admissions?</p>
<ol>
<li>Inquiry into Physics (1 semester): Liberal Study
Lower Level, Credits: 4, Meets General Education Requirement In: Natural Sciences: This will be a one-semester introductory physics course. The emphasis will be on phenomena and applications students encounter in their daily lives. There will be experiments for them to do at home, with materials they have on hand. The content will be both verbal and quantitative, but the required mathematics will be simple. There will be a humanistic component, as students will learn about the history of physics through the lives of major scientists. The course will appeal to both verbally-inclined and mathematically-inclined students since they will have the choice of writing a term paper on either (1) the history and philosophy of physics, or (2) the mathematical basis of physics. This course fully meets the general education requirement in Natural Sciences. Note: This course has a required video component. </li>
</ol>
<p>ALSO 4 CREDITS: MINDS AND MACHINES
This course will introduce students to the theory of consciousness, artificial intelligence and argue the possibility of building a machine with a mind. The course will be based on introductions to the following topics in the order given: mind versus brain, artificial intelligence, natural language, formal systems, truth and proof, syntax and semantics, Godel's theorem and the halting problem, the Turing test and the Chinese room, internal and external points of view and possibilities of formalizing a logical model of a brain/mind. The evolutionary development of the brain/mind will be emphasized throughout the course.</p>