Picking Senior Classes. Which will look better on college applications for Engineering?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Which classes help my son’s application? So far he wants to apply for Engineering (maybe MatE) at Northwestern and UIUC

  1. Should he take either an accelerated, or AP, PLTW class instead of AP Spanish 5?

  2. Should he take AP Chem or AP Physics C? Which looks better, prepares him more and gives credit for required classes?

  3. Will Multivariable Calc/ Differential Equations Dual enrollment with CC, but taught at the HS, count as transfer credit for Calc 3/ Diffy Q? If so, it looks like all 4 math classes required for graduation will be satisfied?

He wants to stop after Spanish 4. He thinks he needs an Engineering class on his application. He just decided he wants to study Engineering so he does not have any Engineering classes, or clubs but he does have really strong STEM. I don’t know if one PLTW class senior year will make much of a difference to help his application? He will give up potential Spanish AP credit but he is not liking Spanish much anymore. His block schedule does not leave room to take a lot of classes.

Re AP Chem vs Physics C. Looking at Northwestern MatE as an example, a 5 on AP Chem gives 3.68 credits vs both Phys C would give 2.68 credits. Looks like there is a third Physics class which sounds difficult after skipping the first two classes due to AP credit. I only see 3 Chem classes required, a 5 on AP gives credit for 3 classes (plus labs) but I can’t seem to determine if credit is given for the correct classes. Does anyone have know which chem classes are credited?

For reference: 4.8 w 3.85 uw, 1st attempt SAT 1470 (800 math), currently AP Physics 1, AP Calc BC, AP English, APush, Spanish 4 Accel. 9th and 10th grade: AP world history (5), AP Euro (5), no AP science offered, he took Accel Chem and Bio.

Thank you!

2
  1. PLTW may help him verify his interest in engineering. Otherwise, AP Spanish may be more helpful than a random easy AP like human geography or environmental science. Can he take both AP Spanish and PLTW?
  2. Check various colleges for what subject credit each AP gets. Subject credit may differ from credit units.
  3. Check college policies on transfer credit. Note that some colleges combine differential equations with linear algebra.
3

UIUC might give an AP+ PLTW scholarship.

I’d encourage him to take both AP Spanish and the PLTW classes, if possible.

4

MVC/Diff Eqs, PLTW, AP Physics C would be a great combination preparing for Engineering.
If he can take AP Spanish and English (regular or honors) he’d be fine for his full year schedule. If he needs to add one more, have him pick a non weighted “fun” class such as Current Events, Culinary Arts, Theater Tech, etc. (It will NOT be counted against him in Admissions and may even make his profile stand out).

5

I would suggest 1 more SAT to be on the safe side since a 1470 will be a bit low for Northwestern.

6

Thank you for the thoughts. Block schedule doesn’t leave opportunity to take both PLTW and Spanish, which one if you have to pick?. He will take SAT again - we think he can do better than 1470, hopefully he will get the 800 on math next time too though. I will look into PLTW + AP scholarship from UIUC, that is an interesting thought. AP Chem or Phsics C? Thanks!

7

Many schools do not offer credit for ap physics c but will for chem. So credit wise chem is more useful. Has he taken a normal chem or physics class? I find myself using physics principals much more often so material wise it’s better. Really can’t go wrong. And don’t worry I didn’t do a single academic let alone engineering extra curriculars in hs and managed to get into a decent engineering school.

8

Stopping after Spanish 4 is fine.
I would take AP Chem as that would prepare you for college Chem/possibly let you place out.
Who knows if it will transfer…if it doesn’t, he can just take it again.

9

Then I’d take PLTW.