That link looks like it applies to transfer students, not incoming freshmen? Honestly, it seems like the easiest thing for you (if you are admitted to VT engineering) is to just get past your concerns and just take the physics course that is offered there. As part of what you are already paying in instate tuition. A community college near you may also have what you need but you would need to be very careful to check first that VT would take that course .
I would choose VTech over Purdue, a few ranking places won’t affect you career THAT much and if you’re worried on cost, VTech would take off some stress for you. Not to mention grants and scholarships. Physics is a hard course but I’m sure with both of these great schools, they will teach physics well and help you try to succeed. In the end, it comes down to whether or not you want to spend twice the money on Purdue, is it worth it in the long run. Honestly both are great schools so congratulations! Possibly look out to see if Purdue is going to give you any money and compare then?
@HardOREasy Take it from one of the VCCS’s one summer not GMU or Radford. Much cheaper and easier to deal with. If you need PHYS 2305, looks like the one you want is VCCS PHY231 General University Physics 1. Doesn’t appear to be a prerequisite for anything else at VT so personally I’d wait and take it summer after freshman year, not between HS and college . That summer is short enough without throwing a class into the mix. PLEASE double check what I’m suggesting with the appropriate VT people, I don’t pretend to be the final arbiter of this :). But a fair number of students have taken classes in situations like this from VCCS and transferred them in. I’d be little more hesitate to suggest this if it was a foundation course - like calc or something that you need a solid understanding of for future classes. But Physics doesn’t fall into this category. In my brief poking about of the VT website I didn’t see the minimum grade required but I’d be surprised if it was higher than a C. And honestly you should be fine getting that IF you put the time in, especially given what you’re taking in HS right now. But you cannot blow the class off, not show up or do the work!
BTW, you are really lucky you need 2305 not 2205…that one requires a lab and those can be a pia.
@JustGraduate Thank you for your response.
I think I found a website about VCCS credit transer:
http://www.tranguide.registrar.vt.edu/2016/vccs.html
Just for clarification, what specifically is VCCS referring to? I’m assuming it’s an acronym for Virginia Community Colleges, but given that there are so many community colleges in Virginia (VCU, NOVA, etc.) I am not sure which one to pick.
Also, could you recommend which VCCS is the ideal one for a physics-hater or “physics-newbie” like me? Please bear with me; I am considering myself a physics-newbie still even after taking 2 AP Physics courses (1 and C: Mechanics) because I had a very nice and lenient teacher (same teacher for two years) who emphasized on lab reports and homework and therefore could pull decent grades. Honestly, when I go to college, I won’t remember anything I learned, so just treat me as a physics-newbie with almost no prior experience with physics.
By the way, could you read this and see if one semester of physics (and only one semester) is really required for CS majors in Virginia Tech?
Link: https://www.cs.vt.edu/undergraduate/checksheets and go to “2018 CS Major Checksheet.”
Also, is PHYS 2305 really what I need (shown on Spring Semester Freshman course load), not PHYS 2205 or something else?
@sevmom @JustGraduate @prezbucky @happy1
Also, is there any way to find which college is more generous with grades? For example, I heard that Purdue is notorious for no grade-inflation for years.
Intuitively, Virginia Tech will be more lenient with grades. However, since Purdue is notorious for not giving high grades, low GPA should be highly respected in Purdue as well. So, can the grade generosity in a college be a factor for determining my college as well?
Thank you.
At VT, Physics 2305, Foundations of Physics I , requires a lab. CS is part of engineering at VT, so the calculus, chemistry , physics and Foundations of Engineering and writing courses will be needed to meet the general engineering requirements that any freshman has in engineering before you could move into CS. It looks like after that, CS does not require another physics course. ME and IE require 2305 but also 2306 in sophomore year (Foundations of Physics II , which also has a lab). I didn’t look at the other engineering degrees, but most likely they require more Physics as well. You may be a physics “hater” but you are not a physics “newbie.” Again , if you are admitted to VT engineering and decide to go there, I would encourage you to just go in with a determination to do well in that one physics course. It is not rocket science!
@sevmom Thank you 
@sevmom thanks for catching that 2305 takes a lab. Somehow I skipped over that but I should have known given it’s a 4 credit class. It’s always confused me that VT chem breaks lecture and lab out separately with 3/1 credits but physics lumps it all together.
Purdue shows 2 courses required for Computer Engineering that might be considered Physics - PHYS 17200 Modern Mechanics (looks like physics and physical chemistry) and PHYS 27200 Electric and Magnetic Interactions.
I think he is looking at CS at Purdue, not CE? CE at VT also requires more Physics than CS at VT, even though both are within the College of Engineering.
@sevmom thanks again, I incorrectly assumed he was going engineering school route at Purdue. My bad. I’m not doing well with reading comprehension tonight lol, think it’s time to pack it in this evening.
It sounds like you really want to Purdue, and your mom wants you to as well. The only question is money. Only you and your family can decide whether it’s worth the extra $20K/year to go to Purdue, depending on what $80K means to you financially. If it means taking out loans or financial hardship, then absolutely not. If you can easily afford it, then sure, go to school you really want to go to.
My D truly hates physics (she’s a chem eng. major), but she bit the bullet and got it over with. Remember, it’s only one course out of your 4 years of undergrad. Don’t get too hung up on it.
For employees, a degree in CS from VT compared with Purdue will make zero difference, US News notwithstanding.
The OP has not been accepted to VT engineering yet. Hopefully that will happen so that he has choices. The money is a big issue here (2x the cost at Purdue vs. VT), depending on the family’s finances- but as @insanedreamer says, only the family can decide how much they want to spend.
Thank you all for kind responses.
@JustGraduate Going back to my post #23, what exactly is VCCS and which VCCS fits for me?
VCCS = Virginia Community College System. http://www.vccs.edu/about/where-we-are/college-locator/ shows which community college is in your area. Many students take a class at their local VCCS school in the summer when they are home and transfer it to VT (or GMU, JMU, UVa, etc). There’s also a CC in the Blacksburg area that students have taken classes at (during the semester in addition to their VT classes or summer if they don’t go home). This system is linked to the VA university system and can act as a feeder to the 4 year schools. The other bonus is that VCCS classes are cheaper than university credits.
Also, VCU is definitely not a community college. Don’t know where you got that idea.
Another thing to consider: many, many people change their majors, usually within their first year or two. Find the school that will allow you to succeed with alternative majors should you be one of those people.
And would being accepted into either school’s Honors College help with your decision?
@NJProParent I am worried about me changing my major during college, too, although I have been wishing to become a computer scientist and have loved coding since young. One thing guaranteed is that my love and passion for technology will never change. Somewhat I think UMass-Amherst has a solution to this potential “conflict” (go to https://www.cics.umass.edu/ugradexploratory and check About). What do you think about this, too?
Also, I honestly do not have any alternative major or minor or something along the lines. Originally, I was actually very hesitant on choosing my future and had no definite dream until two years ago, when I realized how great a passion I had for computer science during a trip. Since then, I just have given up on other “passions” and have chosen to pursue only this.
I want to go to honors college, but I am not sure if I will be able to manage that on top of the rigor of mere college works. I didn’t apply to Honors college any schools; I’m not sure if I’m automatically considered for it for UMass and UWisconsin, but at least I didn’t write the honors college essay for Purdue. I’m not even sure if I’m qualified for honors college first, haha.
@HardOREasy, you should pursue your dream and at this stage, don’t worry about a minor. Just be open to other options if you find other things that interest you, and I think your school choices would allow you to explore other interests. You will be notified if you are being considered for Honors at VT; not sure about the other schools.
And don’t give up on other passions. That’s one of the reasons you will be going to college. You’ll have chances to join clubs and become involved in activities that may or may not align with your major, and you will likely find things that will broaden your experiences and make your college career more enjoyable. Visit your schools on accepted student days over your break, and don’t fret.