<p>My son will be a freshman engineering student at Tech next fall. Could someone please recommend any professors for his freshman classes. Also, how difficult is it to get the professors you want? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’ll post a more detailed post later (you’ll probably get excellent responses from the other guys on here shortly) if needed, but a few things first:</p>
<p>Is your son an honors student? Also, how many AP/IB/DE credits if any and what classes will they get him out of?</p>
<p>3 websites your son should keep bookmarked and use thoroughly: ratemyprofessors.com, rateVTteachers.com, and ■■■■■■■.com. All three have rankings for professors and reviews, with VTteachers being the most comprehensive. ■■■■■■■ is pretty unique in that it includes a lot of other helpful study material and neat graphics about average GPA and all of that stuff; it’s a must see. Obviously with all 3, buyer beware. Apathy abounds for some students and teachers can often have unfair ratings and reviews. Be skeptical and try to get a general sense rather than one poor student’s thoughts. Also check that the review provided is for the course that your son will be taking: many teachers teach multiple courses and they are certainly not always equally skilled and/or qualified to teach each of them.</p>
<p>Getting your courses generally isn’t all that difficult if you are active and figure out what you want/need. Get familiar with hokieSPA once drop/add opens up to snipe those better timeslots and professors.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. My son will not be in honors. He was invited, but did not choose to apply. Also, he is currently taking AP Calculus, AP Physics and AP computer Programming (A’s and B’s). He does not intend to use these to bypass any classes. So, he will be taking the basic Freshman engineering classes this fall. Thanks!</p>
<p>Our son will also be in freshman engineering, Steve. </p>
<p>He is in AP Calc 2 (got a 5 on the AP Calc 1 exam) and in AP Physics C (got a 4 on the AP Physics B exam). He will be taking the next set of AP exams in May, but we are not sure it’s a good idea to bypass too many classes come freshman year. We want to make sure he has a firm understanding of the calc and physics and also stay in the right sequence with his engineering classes. Maybe we worry too much(?). </p>
<p>I’ll check out the links, Hokagesama. Thanks!</p>
<p>Chang. For. Physics. He’s one of the best professors at VT and by far the best in physics. Sadly he only teaches the first semester. I agree on not using the AP credit to bypass physics, unless somehow you can bypass BOTH physics (or just the second one) in which case go for it. The second semester of physics sucks.</p>
<p>Calc is a grab bag, but I’ve never come across any math professors that were particularly bad. The Calc classes actually tend to be smaller than the other freshman engineering classes (30-40 people) which helps. If he can get into a computer based calc class then do that. You still have class like everyone else, it’s just that your tests are online. It means you have to drag yourself to the math empo every few weeks, but you get multiple attempts at each test (!!!) and more in-class instructional time.</p>
<p>Intro to engineering professors rotate out so I don’t know who will be teaching it. Don’t take it with Ohenahi though, if at all possible. He doesn’t know what’s going on and even if he did you couldn’t understand what he’s saying. Bad professor.</p>
<p>And yeah, ■■■■■■■ is awesome. Total lifesaver in intro classes.</p>
<p>Speaking generally to both people: </p>
<p>I sound quite a bit like your son in terms of credit. I did not have the physics credit your son has but had credit for several other classes and I went for using them. I’m SO glad I did. While your son is obviously good with calculus, it might be a good idea to jump over 1205. You never know what can happen with grades and focus may be an issue because of the classic “I’ve had this before” syndrome.</p>
<p>There’s a basic (and I mean BASIC!) skills test you take at the start of 1206 and if you don’t pass it within the first two weeks you’re dropped from the course, but your son won’t have an issue with it.</p>
<p>+1,000,000 on Chang. He was the entire hinging point around me accepting all 40 credits or using none and doing the standard freshman schedule. An advisor in the CEED office told me it was worth it and I am thankful every day. Freshman courses aren’t particularly difficult, and with the relatively easy time in Chang’s physics (people with an F on the first test can still easily get an A), a 4 credit class, and your son’s ability in Calculus, it could be a good chance to start with a high GPA. Linear Algebra (Math 1114) is also really easy provided you can put the time in.</p>
<p>Basically, if your son has even halfway decent time management skills and can spend a few hours of serious work a week, early freshman intro classes shouldn’t be a problem. I’m curious as to why you would bypass Honors; the benefits are pretty big. FYES is a great freshman seminar pass-fail class to take and the priority registration over other students is nice as well. <em>edit</em> the Course of Study Planner is another gigantic perk to this and the Honors only department-specific advisors are understandably great. My advisor mapped out all 4(ish) years with me!</p>
<p>Taking AP Computer Science is another great step, and I’d recommend maybe skipping over that first CS class. Neither professor is particularly strong and it can be a similar situation as to what I described with 1205.</p>
<p>What other AP exams will your son(s) be taking? I’m not advising your son to completely load up and pound himself or extend over what he thinks he’s capable of; just to consider it. His work ethic and load will keep increasing in college, and he’s more capable than he thinks. I know at least I was and I’m glad I let that advisor talk me into it.</p>
<p>Thank you, Chuy and Hokagesama!!! I hope you don’t mind me chiming in, Steve58p.</p>
<p>I had heard and read that Chang is outstanding.</p>
<p>Unlike Steve58p, my son was not offered honors. We were told the invitation is based only on GPA and SAT/ACT test score. Our school does not weight any of the honors classes he has taken (been in honors level since elementary school), so his GPA 90.22 which is about a 3.6 (only the AP classes have been weighted). His SAT was math 730, reading 670, and ACT 32. </p>
<p>Also, my son will be in the Corps of Cadets (Navy ROTC) and if he had been offered honors, we thought that might be a a lot to handle (?). He needs to learn better time management in our parental opinion, but he is a naturally good test-taker thankfully. In addition to the 5 on AP Calc 1, 4 on AP Physics B, he got a 3 on AP Government (but, he had a car accident on the way to take the test, so I believe he was a bit rattled that day). I doubt he will get any credit for that. This year, he’ll be taking the tests for AP Calc 2, AP Physics C, and the AP English Lit and Comp. </p>
<p>We hope he gets a decent advisor that can truly help him and knows what they are doing.</p>
<p>In a lot of cases, your freshman year of engineering is structured in a way that you don’t have a lot of choices when it comes to instructors. Still, if you’re able to move your schedule around, there are some considerations:</p>
<ul>
<li>There really isn’t a huge difference in the teaching style of math teachers. You’re pretty much going to be copying down examples for the entire class regardless of your instructor. Because of that, the thing to watch for is differences in grading. Some instructors give take-home quizes, others will only use tests to determine your grade, and others will grade (bi)weekly homework.</li>
<li>The freshman introduction to engineering courses are a bit of a toss-up because you’re going to spend most of your time in the workshop. In Enge1024 especially, the lecture serves simply as a series of announcements. There’s really no way to ensure that you get a good TA, except hoping for the best.</li>
<li>For Chemistry get Trivedi. He teaches straight from his DVD, so you know exactly what kind of questions he gives, and you don’t have to buy the $250 book.</li>
<li>Chang for physics, obviously. The one downside from Chang is that your head might explode after he figures out sin((19/23)^2) in his head</li>
<li>For the rest of your classes, definitely look at ■■■■■■■ or one of the ratemyprofessor sites before you sign up for a class. Even if you want to take a subject you’re really interested in, it may be better to hold off a semester until a better teacher is teaching it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Also, as far as the AP stuff goes, I would generally recommend that you take the AP credit whenever possible. Calculus, Computer Science, English, and liberal arts classes are particularly good ones to get out of the way. I have a friend in my hall who decided to take the second semester of Calculus despite having credit because he felt he was a bit shaky on the material, and ended up regretting it. He ended up doing a lot of tedious work with material he already knew.</p>
<p>Haha, yes, watching Chang do sines and cosines in his head is pretty astounding. He’s a genius and a fantastic professor. </p>
<p>As far as Chem goes, even if you don’t get Trevedi (I never did but I heard he was good) it’s worth it to buy the DVD. It’s not a DVD like you watch on a TV but a DVD with a computer program that has all of the lessons. It has a ton of really good examples and stuff that really got me through Chem when I was struggling.</p>
<p>CronusMom, Where in MD are you located, we also are in MD. WE live in Arnold, which is right outside Annapolis. Just checking to see if by chance you are close by for shared rides!
Thanks, Steve</p>
<p>Steve,
Sent you a PM.</p>
<p>help! I keep reading about this “great site” ****.whatever and how helpful it is! Can someone please help this poor mom and clue me in on what the site is??? haha</p>
<p>The site is k00fers.com, but replace the zeros with "o"s. It used to just be a repository for old tests/homeworks/etc. for VT students (yep, it started here), but now it’s something much bigger. And no, it’s not cheating to use the site, at VT at least.</p>
<p>Classes can outlaw k00fers, but it’s not enforced usually. Most classes don’t say there’s anything wrong with k00fers and it’s highly unlikely that you’d ever get busted for it.</p>
<p>Outside of them watching your internet like a hawk (extremely doubtful) the only way they’d find out is if you showed them a printed study guide or something stupid like that.</p>
<p>I’ve actually had professors tell us to go there to study for tests. I kind of like the site better back when it was simple and not so “WEB 2.OH” but it still gets the job done I guess.</p>
<p>It’s MUCH more useful for lower level classes though, because of how the tests tend to be structured and the fact that far more people take the average 1000 level class than 4000 level, so more people are likely to have uploaded something.</p>
<p>I’ll second the chem teacher trevedi or whatever his name is. I have him and I’ve only been in one of his classes… but so far he seems like an AMAZING teacher. Very bold, fiery, fiesty, and exciting. I wish I knew he didn’t use the book before I freakin bought it but whatev. He wouldn’t outright tell us we shouldn’t buy the books but he implied it for sure.</p>
<p>I would reccomend never buying books until after the first day unless the teacher specifically emails you to get something.</p>