<p>Due to the budget cuts etc. do you know if it is difficult getting 15 units each quarter? Engineering major but would need general education if my son’s AP classes are really counting for GE.</p>
<p>the task of getting 15 units of classes is easy-it’s more of getting the good/interesting classes that tend to fill up quickly…</p>
<p>None of the AP tests count as GE’s unfortunately, but there are a lot of easy/fun GE’s available every quarter.</p>
<p>The way it generally works is that you’re randomly assigned times to sign up based on your class ranking (seniors get priority over juniors, etc, athletes get higher priority, etc). First pass you can sign up for at most 10 units (generally two classes). Second pass is usually about a week later and you can sign up for the rest of your classes. Within your class ranking the time assignments are random, so it’s really the luck of the draw. Popular classes at good times go by faster (math at 8AM 4 days a week isn’t going to fill as quickly as the same class at 11AM) and easier professors fill up faster as well. AP’s don’t count for GE classes, but they do help class standing (I had 56 units worth of AP credit so I started out my freshman year with sophomore ranking). Between math, chem, and other major requirements the 15 units isn’t very difficult to get.</p>
<p>If your son is an Engineer, then GEs aren’t a huge concern. They only need to take 5 of them, and those can be taken any time during the 4 years. So while it’s true that the “popular” GEs may fill up fast, it’s not like it’s crucial that they take a certain number of GEs as a freshman. In their first quarter, they’ll likely take Math, Chemistry, and either English Comp 3 or a GE. It doesn’t really matter which GE they take, so they literally have hundreds they can choose from. Something will be open.</p>
<p>In the winter, they’ll likely take the next Math class, the next Chem class (assuming they’re not EE/CS/CSE), and as a third class they make take Chem 20L (lab) or the first Physics course (Phys 1A). So they may not even be looking to take a GE in the winter.</p>