<p>I want to pursue a career in either electrical engineering or chemical engineering. Currently, I’ve been leaning towards the former, but now I am not so sure…</p>
<p>My father is double-e. He always tells me how important math and physics are to the career. </p>
<p>I just took physics olympiad f=ma, and failed pretty bad. And for math competitions I have qualified for AIME but did poorly on it. I have taken both ap physics courses and high-level math courses and done well, but according to my dad, they are mostly not indicative of ability…</p>
<p>I will be most likely attending Caltech or MIT, but the thing is, if your math or physics isn’t quite USAMO/USAPHO standards, would it be better to give up on double-e and pursue chem-e or something different altogether? Would the course rigor there be too much? </p>
<p>and i have extremely high standards, i dont want sympathy or trying to show off.</p>
<p>I dont fancy those two schools Caltech and MIT, no disrespect though. But, those majors are good…just choose the one that you like and intend to finish. IF you really like EE, then just stay focus and regarding Math and Physics, there are lots of help…trust me, dont worry and you will be fine.</p>
<p>If you have done well in AP physics and math classes and qualified for AIME and physics olympiad, relax, you are fine. Yes, EE requires that you be good in math and physics, but if you have done the above, you will be fine. </p>
<p>I sometimes caution people against going into EE if they self-proclaim to not be good at math, and for example, haven’t taken pre-Calc or Calculus or physics in high school. Clearly you don’t fit into that category, and your qualifications are well above the average person considering majoring in engineering.</p>
<p>Study whatever major that you personally find to be the most interesting, and don’t worry that your math skills aren’t up to the task, just because there are a relatively small number of people in the country with better math skills.</p>
<p>Guess what? There is not a single branch of engineering that isn’t physics-heavy. ChemE is just as physics-heavy as EE.
Your dad is right, AP classes do not measure ability. They’re not supposed to, at all. They measure completion of the curriculum. But if you can do those and you can deal with a large workload, then you’ll be fine, as far as classes go at any rate.</p>
<p>If you are doing olypiad and AP classes then you will be fine at those schools. The courses will be hard but there are people to help you and you are clearly a bright student so I wouldnt be super worried about surviving those classes. You’ll be fine. Choose whichever major you enjoy the most.</p>