We heard great advice at an accepted students day from the undergrad dean of engineering. If you get your AP results and you’re surprised to see that you got a 4 or 5 - Don’t take the AP credit, take the course. If you felt like, of course, I knew the material, I expected a good score - take the credit and placement. It can be an advantage in engineering because 1. there are so many requirements, AP credit/placement gives some breathing room and opportunities to take other courses 2. As mentioned above- you can take other physics classes earlier. But if the student doesn’t feel comfortable with the material, they shouldn’t take the credit. Calculus is the basis for everything.
My D’s school gave placement for 1 semester of Physics from AP Physics C - mechanics, but not E&M. Once again, this was for engineering majors