The only caveat I’ll mention when it comes to AP credit to place out of courses that are engineering core preparatory is that those courses at UIUC are intense, and they’re that way for a reason. A 5 likely means you’ve mastered the material, but some people have struggled afterward in some core courses. Some people are adamant that if you can place out of the course, take the credit, and move on. Others take the courses as a kind of refresher, bolster their GPA, and then hit the “core courses” ground running. My son ran into another problem with a lot of AP credit. He was basically a term ahead in wanting to take some core courses. The problem was that what he wanted to take in the Fall was only offered in the Spring and vice-versa. He ended up graduating in 4 years and is continuing with his masters now, but just be aware that it’s difficult to save that last term’s cost due to the way they structure the core course scheduling for your program. The professors teach one set of courses one term, and another set, the other term. Plot out your 4 year suggested curriculum, and you’ll see what I mean. The benefit AP gives you is that you can take a few more upper level courses, and really get into the material of a specialization within your program that interests you.
Getting into Engineering at a top engineering powerhouse like U of I is no small accomplishment. You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy extracurriculars if you learn to mange your time well. They do, however, expect a lot out of their engineering students. If they thought you wouldn’t be able to take the heat, you wouldn’t have been offered one of the very selective seats available. Good luck to all. My son’s finishing up his Masters in May, so I’ll be leaving the thread to someone experiencing U of I currently. See you all in the brave new world out there!