<p>My son is a HS Junior picking his classes for next year. He wants to major in Engineering, possibly Civil. So he's in an accelerated math program now; Honors Pre-Calc, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC in 3 years. It's normally only offered to students during their sophomore year but he was an exception and started as a freshman. He got A's in all 5 semesters & hoping for another in May, and received a 4 on AP AB test last year.
He's thinking he would like to take AP Physics C and Honors Physics B next year (senior) to have 4 years of science. His school doesn't offer AP Physics B at all, and only offers AP C every other year. (He was going to take Honors B this year but opted to take a 3rd year of Spanish instead)
If he does this there will be no room in his schedule to take a 4th year of math.
He's thinking and hoping that colleges will look at his AP C (math based Physics) as a 4th year of Math because he's already at the highest level of math that his school offers. His only other option is Statistics and not AP or honors just regular, again all they offer.</p>
<p>My question is:
Will college admission officers look at this as only 3 years and not enough Math? Even though he reached the highest level available in 3 years.</p>
<p>His schedule would be:</p>
<p>AP Physics C (3rd year of science)
Honors Physics B (if taken, 4th yr of science)/OR/ Statistics (if taken, 4th yr of math)
AP Gov/Honors Econ
LA (AP not an option bc I have history with and hate the only teacher the school offers! lol)
AVID (4th year)
Varsity Water Polo (Captain)/Varsity Swim Team (Captain)
EC's
*Peer Math Tutor
*Community Service Club
*AP Club
*PSAT: 193
This will be his easiest year yet, but he has ADD and stopped taking meds and I want him to succeed without them and still have time for fun his senior year.</p>
<p>Do you think Honors B is a good idea? or stick with Stats?</p>
<p>AP Physics is a science class. It is not math. It is math-based, yes. </p>
<p>AP Physics C is calculus-based physics, while AP Physics B is algebra-based physics. It doesn’t make sense to take both in a year. It is pretty much the same material with the differences in math. </p>
<p>I think he should go with Stats. He’ll have four years of math and won’t be waisting time in two physics classes.</p>
<p>oh wow thank you Niquii!
I was under the impression that C was math based or Calculus based but that B was science based. And that they were 2 TOTALLY different classes.
Thank you!
We’re going to an AP meeting tonight at his school so I was hoping for advice before we go.
Thanks again!</p>
<p>Having completed AP calculus BC (as a HS junior, that is two grade levels ahead in math) should be “enough math” for any reasonable college. If he wants to take more math, he can see if enrolling in more advanced math (multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations) at a local college is feasable.</p>
<p>If he completes AP physics C, then there is no point in taking AP physics B or 1/2 or other high school physics afterward, at least for the corresponding part(s) (since he may take only one of mechanics and E&M, depending on how the school structures it).</p>
<p>The difference between AP physics B and C is that B is a non-calculus-based course that emulates a course commonly offered to biology majors and pre-meds, while C is a calculus-based course. C also covers just mechanics and E&M, while B covers a few other topics. The 1 and 2 are basically B split into two courses. Some high schools use B as their honors high school physics course.</p>
<p>AP scores for B, 1, or 2 will not be accepted for physics subject credit for an engineering major. AP scores for C might (more likely for mechanics than E&M), but students should review the college’s old physics final exams to see if they know the material to the college’s expectation before skipping introductory courses based on AP scores (this also applies for math).</p>
<p>Thank you ucbalumnus!
That’s important information we didn’t know!
Well, that sure makes the decision easier. He’ll only take AP Physics C, and although it would be a great idea to take one of those math classes at our local CC, his schedule wouldn’t permit it with Swim and Polo. Plus he applied for an engineering internship with the USNavy that would be for 8 full weeks this summer, so no time for CC then either.
But maybe we should look into it in case he doesn’t get chosen. </p>
<p>UCBalumnus…can I ask you another question? Do you personally know anything about the supplemental questionnaire’s that Berkeley puts out? My other son is a senior and he applied there and just received one…or 2 actually.
Just curious… Thanks!</p>
<p>All I know is that Berkeley sends supplemental questionnaires to some, but not all, applicants. Presumably, the admissions readers prefer to have more detail on the subject being asked about when scoring the application.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the Berkeley link and all the great information.
It answers a lot of questions we had.</p>
<p>The AP meeting went great last night as well and we found out that the principal is looking into having an AP Stats class next year! So with that information on top of what you guys told me about the Physics B & C being the same class and a waste of time it really was a clear choice for my son. Also, the AP stats will give him the Rigor as well.</p>
<p>Thank you again to both you ucb and Niquii!</p>
<p>Schools will look down on AP Stats if taken in lieu of an advanced option, but that’s not his case.</p>
<p>The bigger issue is how well he’ll retain his calculus skills with a year hiatus. If he plans on retaking calc, it’s not an issue. If he wants to test into Calc 3, it might be. It depends on the individual and how willing he/she is to self review in order to stay up to speed. If he jumps into Calc 3, which I’d recommend, he’ll be in a class of students that just finished Calc 2 and jumped forward without missing a beat.</p>
<p>There are online options for moving forward and for review.</p>
<p>Berkeley’s math department has course outlines and old exams to review if he wants to compare his calculus knowledge to what is expected in Berkeley courses:</p>
<p>Another option worth considering (if it’s available) is to take AP chem. It could be more helpful to him in terms of college credit than AP stats.</p>
<p>Yes, chemistry tends to be a peripheral requirement for engineering majors (other than chemical engineering or biomedical engineering), so using an AP chemistry score when allowed to fulfill such a requirement carries little or no risk in an engineering major where more advanced chemistry courses are not required.</p>
<p>AP statistics tends to be useless for subject credit for engineering majors; when engineering majors require statistics, a calculus-based course is typically required. It can, however, provide a gentle introduction to the subject at the high school level.</p>
<p>In this case, the 4th year of high school level math was actually completed earlier (I also started with pre-calc in 9th grade, so I’m familiar with the situation). Having completed Calc BC is sufficient math, and exposure to physics is critical for engineers. AP Physics C will (maybe) give the option of college credit…the B exam is educational but will not give any useful credit for an engineering major.</p>
<p>Mmmm this is definitely something to think about.
I know he won’t want to take AP Chem because he didn’t like Honors Chem because the teacher was really boring and it’s the same teacher. He’s really looking forward to AP Physics.
He hasn’t decided which engineering field he wants to go into but he’s leaning towards Civil, Mechanical I think is his 2nd choice.
He’s only a junior so he doesn’t know where he wants to apply yet, he really likes Cal Poly SLO, but I’m sure will apply to Berkeley as well just to take a chance of getting in.</p>
<p>But his brother, the senior is also in the Calc BC class with him and is the one hoping to go to UCB so I will pass on these UCB Math links to him as well.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much, I appreciate your help. I don’t know anything about this stuff. I didn’t even go to college so Mom’s like me lurk in this site and try and grasp as much information that we can to help our kids. </p>
<p>I read so many of all of your posts and usually never post myself, so I really want you all to know how grateful I am to you and this site!</p>
<p>At Berkeley, both civil and mechanical engineering require Chemistry 1A and 1AL (a huge class shared with pre-meds and biology majors) or Chemistry 4A (primarily for chemistry and chemical engineering majors); a 3 or higher on AP chemistry fulfills it for engineering (non-chemical) majors (although students who take more advanced chemistry courses should check the Chemistry 1A final exams before skipping).</p>
<p>A score of 5 on AP physics C mechanics allows skipping Physics 7A, but students should check the old final exams before skipping, as it is an important prerequisite for many other courses.</p>
<p>The Berkeley College of Engineering also has an advisory page on choosing a math course, with sample final exams for students to check their calculus knowledge before skipping Math 1A or 1B with AP credit:</p>