Hi, I'm currently a sophomore at a high school in Michigan. I'm interested in Mechanical and Aerospace engineering (+robotics), and I was wondering what courses I should take to boost my engineering experiences? (dual enroll Western Michigan University. & regular) Talking with my robotics mentor, classes such as CAD came up and we also talked about taking as much calculus-based physics as possible senior year, because of this should I try to test out of Precalc/trig with a tutor so I can take both AP Calculus A/B & B/C junior & senior year? Also, since I'm taking German (at college) in addition to French next year, will taking two languages benefit me?
I’m on the pit crew of a successful FIRST robotics team and participate in science olympiad, and I try to be very dedicated to my extracurriculars. Since I have the opportunity to specialize my course load this year I’m looking for any advice I can get, and I appreciate any input you can think of. So, bellow is my plan, so far, for the next two years of high school:
*Just fyi. My local college has an advanced/accelerated pullout program called ATYP (7th grade SAT score determines admissions) which I’ve taken English courses through since 8th grade (also AP Computer Sci. this year) So:
1. As junior all English credits done + both AP English classes
2. But, I have missed out on some after school clubs/ect. due to leaving school in the afternoon several days a week
9th Grade (Completed)
-Geometry
-H. Biology
-H. US History
-ATYP H. English 11 & 12*
-French 1
-Principles of engineering
[QUOTE=""]
Science Olympiad
ATYP*
[/QUOTE]
10th Grade (So far)
-H. Algebra 2
-H Chemistry
-H. Civics and Economics
-AP Euro
-ATYP Ap Lit/Ap Lang*
-French 2
-AP Computer Science A*
FRC Robotics (Pit crew of world championship winning team)
ATYP*
Science Olympiad
11th Grade (Plan)
-H Trig & Precalc (Test out = AP Calc A/B?)
-AP Physics
-H. French 3
-AP Statistics
-Dual Enrollment
a. English class
b. ??
-Dual Enrollment
a. (Computer Science II?)
b. ??
(I plan to take German 1&2 at college (technically on my own time))
FRC Robotics
Science Olympiad
(Tennis?)
(Leo Club?)
12th Grade (plan so far)
-AP Calculus A/B (AP Calc B/C?)
-AP Chem?
-AP French
-?
-?
a. 1 Semester Required Internship Class
b. (Dual enroll class?)
(German 3&4 at WMU)
FRC Robotics
Science Olympiad
(Tennis?)
(etc)
Thank you for reading! Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place.
You do not need to try to race ahead in math. Completion of precalculus in high school is the minimum at most schools (since engineering curricula generally start in calculus 1); since you will complete calculus AB in high school without needing to race ahead, that is even better and will satisfy the few schools that want to see calculus in high school.
I don’t even know what the purpose of taking AB and BC at the same time would be. It seems like you would, at best, be spending a fair bit of time on the topics that overlap in both classes, and at worst, be hopelessly lost in BC when it assumes you have knowledge from AB already that you haven’t covered.
I wouldn’t worry too much about engineering. Take 4 years of sciences and math and you’re fine.
It’s more a question of college admissions. In that case, the recommendation is to take the most rigorous schedule offered at your high school, as that makes you the most competitive in admissions. It’s up to you to determine how much “rigor” you can handle, you don’t want to over do it and have it hurt your grades or cause too much personal stress. A balance approach is fine.
Beyond the general, very good recommendation of take rigorous maths and sciences, a lot of what’s applicable is dependent on your major and the school you go to. For instance many ME curricula have a single chemistry course. At my son’s school, AP would have only let him out of the lecture. The dual enrollment credit though let him out of all of it. For flexibility, I’d pay for the DE option when available.
Much more importantly, rather than doing what you think you should do, figure out what you WANT to do. It makes the process much more fulfilling. Again, using my son as an example, he should have taken AP Bio by common wisdom, but he didn’t like the subject or the instructor. He instead took the course he wanted, AP Art History.
As for language, take one, the one that interests you the most. Everyone likes to hype second languages and the reality is, you will likely never use it after college, unless it is something you are very passionate about.
Lastly, math. The foundation is very important. Learn it well. There’s no advantage to trying to cram BC in if you aren’t already on that path, one that is typically determined in third grade.
I would take every math class available. It’s a foundation subject for all areas of engineering. It’s not even to place out in college. Many engineering students will get high marks on AP tests and still take it again in college. Would go as far as you can in math. It’s much more than impressing colleges. Logic is critical. You will be asked to apply logic every day, every class. I think math is a great place to enhance that capability.
If school offers probability and/or stats, that will be a huge benefit. A lot of engineering school is just making a decision. Rarely, will you have the perfect answer. Professors do this on purpose. They are grading how you come to a decision and present it.
