AP Chemistry [versus more advanced physics after AP physics C] and Engineering

MirandaKnight
Mon, 09 Jun 2025 17:01:42 +0000

Cornell and Columbia admit into engineering I believe. Also for engineering, the top public schools are often far better ranked than what many consider to be tippy top on this forum ie. someone referenced Brown and that it would not be considered tippy top with regard to engineering. Apart from the three you mention, most other tippy tops for engineering seem to be public schools ie. Georgia Tech, Berkeley etc.

Also note that Caltech lists students have to have Calculus, Physics and Chemistry and requires that students take all of them in their first year. A student who has taken all of them at the AP level in high school is likely to have better preparation than a student who has not. Same with MIT since all are required though at MIT a student can test out of them. Students do get credit for Intro Calc if they have a 5 on AP Calc BC as well as Physics 1 if they have 5’s on both Physics C courses. Do I think a lack of AP Chemistry would be a deciding factor? No. However, for engineering all else being equal, I would expect it would be preferable to have more breadth than depth to demonstrate they would be well prepared for university level work in all three core subjects.