<p>Did anyone take Project Lead the Way courses in high school? How did you go about getting the college credit? Did the college you went to end up accepting the credit as an elective or an engineering course? Did you choose your college BECAUSE it recognized Project Lead the Way? Were the classes you took helpful/give you a jump start on you engineering classes if you are in engineering design (not engineering technology?)
Just wondering if you felt it was worth it.</p>
<p>From another parents prespective…</p>
<p>My student took the first two classes (years) of the PLTW program in HS. Although qualifying for the college credit, we elected not to take it due to the cost and noting that it really didn’t help to complete a college engineering major unless the school you are going to accepts the credit. (Many don’t) It just would end up as more credits but really would not eliminate or replace any course work in most college programs. (Maybe an intro to engineering 101 at some schools).</p>
<p>The most important part of the program IMO is that it helps the students determine if engineering is really something that they want to continue. The courses are generally fun and I do recommend the program highly. They obviously cannot get into much depth since many of the students have not taken much math at that point and some of the students are not going to be that strong or committed.</p>
<p>My son is a project lead the way program graduate. He realy enjoyed the program. However, he did not get any college credits for project lead the way. It did help confirm that he wanted to go into engineering and he is now a sophomore in college majoring in Material Science and Engineering.</p>
<p>Son is current junior in third year of PLTW. Agree that best part is finding out if you really like engineering. We hear about so many kids intending to major in engineering, then switching once they realize it’s not for them. PLTW kids already know they like it, and have proven they can handle it. This must be a plus to adcoms, especially when accompanied by a glowing recommendation from the PLTW teacher. As for credits, we assume the better colleges will not accept them. However, the sponsoring college will. They are actual transcripted credits from that school. In our son’s case, that school is RIT, and it happens to be very high on his list (it’s also his safety).</p>
<p>This is all really good to hear; thanks for the feedback. I’m on the advisory panel for PLTW in Houston’s ISD, which we just got accreditation for a few months ago… The program is new to our area. It’s nice to know what the realistic advantages of the program are so that we can try to highlight those in talking to students and parents. I wouldn’t want for us to tout the “get college credit!” aspect of the program if it ends up not being that useful to potential engineers.</p>