<p>Hi, I'm a FL resident looking mainly at UF, Georgia Tech, and Carnegie Mellon as possible universities I'd like to attend. I want to go into environmental engineering, possibly biomedical engineering. Right now I am in Calculus AB in 10th grade and I have the option to go on two different math tracks. I'm an IB student so I can either do:</p>
<p>SL Math-Junior Year
IB HL Math-Senior Year (HL Math is above AP Calc BC)</p>
<p>or I can do </p>
<p>Calc 2 and 3 Dual Enrollment with FAU-Junior Year
Differential Equations/Matrix Theory FAU-Senior Year</p>
<p>I know I'm not the best in math and I would likely get a B, maybe even a C in Calc 2 so I'm cautious to take the second route for the sake of my rank and GPA. Either way, I would learn a substantial amount of calculus. What do most UF engineering majors have in knowledge of math coming out of high school? What do current engineering majors recommend? Thank you!</p>
<p>P.S. I'm supposed to take AP Physics B and then HL Physics senior year..would that prepare me enough? I ask because many kids who are not in IB at my school take Physics C while I won't be able to. </p>
<p>How bad would it look if I got a B in AP Calc AB this semester but an A the next? Thanks!</p>
<p>In terms of what colleges give credit for, usually</p>
<p>IB Math HL >= AP calculus BC > AP calculus AB > IB Math SL</p>
<p>You can search for “AP credit” and “IB credit” at your various colleges of interest.</p>
<p>But the actual college courses in calculus 3, differential equations, and linear algebra are more advanced than any of the above (they are taken after calculus 1 and 2, to which AP calculus BC or IB Math HL are roughly equivalent to).</p>
<p>Note that most engineering degree programs do not require any calculus in high school; they just expect the student to be ready to take calculus 1 as a first semester freshman. Having taken all of the above math courses will free up space in your schedule for additional electives, as well as possibly allow you to start the physics sequence a semester earlier (which gives a bit more “breathing room” in your schedule, since engineering majors often have long sequences of prerequisites that have to be taken in order).</p>
<p>Do you want to use any of this credit in college? In that case, AP and dual enrollment is of course better. If you’re concerned about your grades, however, I would look into taking a less advanced sequence.</p>
<p>You really don’t need to SL Math. It’s very easy, and most of what applies to engineering is covered in Calc AB. HL math is really just unnecessarily difficult to get credit for. Most of it doesn’t even apply to practical study. I took BC and I’m currently doing great in multivariable calculus, whereas all of my HS friends that took HL math were blown away by the exam and are currently back in Calc I. From personal experience, this is similar with all IB HL math/science courses, which is why I don’t recommend them. Not saying you won’t do well on the exam, but a B in Calc AB isn’t the best news.</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend trying the college courses to see if you can handle them. Consider doing AP Statistics next year and then Calc II/III senior year. Diff Eqs and Matrix Theory (Linear Algebra would be more useful imho) are extremely advanced for an HS student, and if you’re not crushing Calc AB right now, you might be a little overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Physics HL is even more ridiculous than HL math. I would seriously consider doing Physics C instead. Even if you’re not going to use the credit, there’s a massive amount of material you cover in Physics HL that is obtuse and overly complex, particularly to a high school student, and there’s essentially no need for it in engineering.</p>
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<p>You really ought to slow down so that you learn math well enough to get As if you want to go into engineering. It doesn’t get easier from here. Don’t worry about getting in, worry about learning math and learning how to learn math. Otherwise you’re toast out of the starting gate.</p>