<p>DjBoom: I haven’t read all of the other replies but my S is in his freshman year in Civil Engineering. Senior year he took Calc BC. He was a little afraid of it but his teacher told him if he found it too hard he could switch to AB. He stayed in BC and got a 5. So depending on your abilities you might consider this. My S didn’t use the AP credit but was really happy to have had the foundation. He also took AP Physics B which doesn’t get him out of anything but he is glad he took it because he felt it was good prep for the calc based physics in college. He did not take AP Chem but if he did and scored well enough it would have gotten him out of chem which isn’t all that important for Civil (or so we hear). It has been a while since he had a chem class and I know he is a little concerned about that this semester. If you are up for it I would suggest taking all three. This could give you the opportunity to skip chem in college and also possibly skip calc or at least be better prepared for it as well as physics. Good luck!</p>
<p>@Spectrum, best reply by far so far! Thanks So Much! It’s reassuring hearing a somewhat first hand account =) AP Calc AB is all we have at my school but I will take it for a head start for college Calc. At least AP Physics has helped him a bit when it comes to Calc-based Physics, thank god. I’m pretty sure as well that Chemistry isn’t big in Civil Engineering except for the basic soils, metals and other materials that aren’t as important x) So AP Chem is a light option I’ll think about, I actually wouldn’t mind just having it in college in trade for lightening my senior year. My question is pretty much answered so thanks guys! Any more suggestions or tips for AP Science or Civil Engineering would be great =)</p>
<p>Most colleges will let you skip first semester freshman calculus with a high enough score on the calculus AB test. This can give you some additional scheduling flexibility.</p>
<p>It is, however, a good idea to check the college’s final exams for the course you may skip, to make sure that you know everything that the college expects you to know.</p>
<p>Sure thing Ucbalmnus! I hope AP Calc is a good and better yet seamless class for me so I know that I’m prepared for Calculus in college (whichever one I go to) It really shocks me though that my school keeps promoting that a 3 on any AP Exam is passing and gets you credit. Some of the schools I looked into are asking for perfect 5s to recieve credit xP</p>
<p>With regard to taking AP Calc credit that is a personal decision. Three of the main reasons my S opted to repeat it were that, he thought it would be good to start college with a math class that he was familiar with, particularly because the second Calc semester is known as a “weedout” class at his school. Also because Matlab is a component of the Calc classes that he was not familiar with and use of this is expected in the more advanced math classes and finally because the Engineering department at his school pointed out that a review of their student’s performance indicated that whatever math class engineering students started the program with, even if that first course was pre-calc whatever their grade in that course was, was an indicator for how successful they would be in the program. He did get off to a very solid start his first semester and hopefully that will help him stay on track. As far as the chem question I do understand what you are saying and I expect he felt the same way and chose not to take AP Chem. I however heard him mention that he was concerned about taking Chem this semester since it has been a couple of years since he had any chemistry and he definitely felt that he had an edge with both Calc and Physics because of his HS work. I guess we will know at the end of this semester if he has any regrets about not taking chem in HS. As others have said, though many recommend taking Calc in college even if you have the AP credit, most people say, take the AP chem credit and be done with it. I think his summation would match yours that getting as comfortable with Calc and Physics as possible is most important, getting out of Chem or being better prepared for it is nice but less important…Now ask me that same question at the end of this semester. 
Good Luck</p>
<p>Feel free to ask if you have further questions, we are just one step ahead of where you are now.</p>
<p>I will surely follow up with you spectrum when this semester ends x)</p>
<p>I just got my semester grades for the first half of junior year and its exceeded my expectations so far things are looking up! Anyway, our counselors will be meeting with us juniors individually to work out a schedule so I’ll decide on whether to take on AP Chem by then. I’m 99% sure I’m getting AP Calc and Physics, no matter the situation.</p>
<p>At the end of the day,*I just hope all of the work I do here in High School will make college less scary than it is. Thanks again guys!</p>
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<p>Sorry it has taken a while; I don’t check these all that often.</p>
<p>When the UC system calculates GPA, they add a full point for AP level courses but only a half point for honors. If you can make As in your classes, AP courses give you a distinct boost.</p>
<p>As for the physics class, the Physics B will not result in college credits and you have already taken HS Physics. Next year you will have to take Physics I (with 2 years of practice) and Chem I (with no practice). This, to me, seems harder than taking Physics I (with only HS Physics) and placing out of Chem with AP credits.</p>
<p>@Magnetron, sorry but I haven’t told you my whole science coursework yet so your a bit confused:</p>
<p>Freshman: Biology Honors
Sophomore: Chemistry Honors
Junior : Physics Honors (Currently In)
Senior : AP Physics or AP Chem (either one or both)</p>
<p>So I do have a background in chemistry and I’m not done with HS Physics yet.</p>
<p>Also, I do know that the UC system gives extra points to their GPA for Honors, AP and IB. Unforutnately, since I’m from out of state all roughly 16 Honors Credits I would have taken are useless and only my APUSH class this year will add 2 points of weight =( So my UC GPA is basically unweighted</p>
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<p>No, UC-approved honors courses and AP courses each get +1, up to a maximum of 8 semesters’ worth (however, only California public and private high schools have UC approval for non-AP honors courses as listed at <a href=“http://doorways.ucop.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://doorways.ucop.edu</a> ). This is the case for both UC and CSU.</p>
<p>[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - GPA Calculator](<a href=“http://www.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp]CSUMentor”>Cal State Apply | CSU)</p>
<p>So I’m correct in my case UCbalumnus?</p>
<p>I stand corrected. </p>
<p>Chem I may be an easy course for you, but I still think you should grab “free” college credits where available.</p>
<p>The “.5 bump for honors” came from a conversation my daughter had with a UC rep at a local college fair. It looks like the person manning the booth was wrong about that.</p>
<p>Unless your high school is in <a href=“http://doorways.ucop.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://doorways.ucop.edu</a> (you can check, but I have not seen any non-California high school there), only AP courses get the +1.</p>
<p>I do agree that you should consider doing AP chemistry to possibly get credit for the relatively peripheral chemistry requirement for your major.</p>
<p>Wait. I’m confused on one key issue. Ucbalumnus or anyone, do you get an extra point of weight PER SEMESTER or PER YEAR? Like would my year long AP class give me 1 or 2 extra points?</p>
<p>The deciding factors between taking AP Chem is if my senior load would be too heavy and if it will greatly increase my chances for college (senior program wise) Is Chem really that insignificant when it comes to civil engineering?</p>