Hello, I am currently writing this inform you if having a C in AP Pre-Calculus will hurt my chances at engineering. I am very concerned because I do know that C in any AP class and especially in math class will affect my college application and it will look really bad in my high school transcript. I am currently planning to apply for aerospace engineering or any types of engineering.
For context, I am currently an international student and I am a junior, and I took 3 AP classes this year; AP Physics, AP US History, and AP Pre-Calculus.
Here below is brief idea how I am doing so far
Freshman -
[1st Semester] 2 B’s (Biology H, Geometry H), 7 A’s
[2nd Semester] 1 B (Biology H), 8 A’s
Sophomore -
[1st Semester] 1 B (Chemistry), 7 A’s
[2nd Semester] All A’s
Junior -
[1st Semester] 3 B’s (AP Physics, AP US-H, AP Pre-Calc), 5 A’s
[2nd Semester] 1 C (AP Pre-calc), 1 B (AP Physics), 6 A’s
Also this GPA is before my 2nd semester GPA but my current unweighted GPA is 3.79 and my weighted GPA is 4.08. For SAT, my goal is at least 1450 [I am taking the June SAT]
I would say I do have some horrible grades for math and science especially for trying to major in Engineer but in a good way, I do have a lot of extra-curriculars. I want to know how screwed am I currently and what I need to do and what colleges that I could get in
Thanks for any advice/insight you all can provide! I appreciate it!
It’s not the grade per we that I’d worry about, it’s your mastery of the subject.
Sure, a C might keep you out of MIT, but you can get a great engineering education followed by a top notch job from a LOT of schools, most who wouldn’t care about your C.
Engineering is essentially applied mathematics and precalc is a crux course underpinning the whole sequence. Shaky there…shaky along the whole path.
It’s not the grade, it’s control of the material. You’ll need that if you want to be an engineer.
^ this 100%. (@eyemgh is an expert so take their advice seriously.)
There are lots of Engineering programs in the US, some may even start in precalculus and most start with calculus1. What you do need is rock solid mastery of precalculus and a C indicates the opposite of that.
Most students who start in Engineering have to switch majors, so to avoid this situation you need to figure out what didn’t click and review everything step by step - use Khan academy for instance.
When it comes to making your list, target universities that aren’t very selective and have an ABET accredited degree. Iowa State, Nebraska, Illinois Institute of technology, PASSHE schools, UMaine&Southern Maine, Western Michigan and Grand Valley State, Georgia State,UAH, UNM, perhaps UKansas, UCincinnati and RIT… (CUBoulder would be a big reach) would all be appropriately challenging universities --not sure they all offer your favorite type of Engineering program but they should all offer at least one type of ABET accredited Engineering. BtW MechE is considered more open than Aero and can lead to similar positions at OPT level.)
THIS! Math is a subject where the foundation is important. If you got a C in precalculus…was there material you didn’t understand? If so…calculus is going to be a challenge, and you will be required to take it if you major in engineering…plus a lot of additional upper level math.
What makes you think engineering is a good option if your math and science grades are your weakest area. Engineering is a LOT of math and science.
Do you mean that you’re an international student in the U.S.? (All the AP classes look that way.) Or are you an international student at a school outside of the U.S. that offers AP classes?
If the latter, then you might look to see how your country’s grades translate to U.S. grades, as it’s rarely so simple as translating to a percentage or similar. If the former, however, I agree with everyone else’s advice.
This was exactly my reaction also when reading @s3u’s original post.
I was a math major in university. Calculus was of course required. In my experience if you are very strong on ALL of the prerequisites for calculus then it can be quite straightforward. I have consistently heard that if you are shaky in any of the prerequisites for calculus then it can be very difficult.
Also, I have used calculus a lot both in subsequent classes and on the job. I see this as something that you will want to know very well.
I think that you need to put in a major effort to get better prepared before you take calculus. If you can afford to do so, then it might be a good idea to get a tutor. If you don’t like your first tutor, then try a different tutor. You might want some sort of refresher course in all of the prerequisites to calculus, including high school algebra, trigonometry, and precalculus.
Your B in physics is also not reassuring to me, given that you are a potential engineering major. You need to fully understand the concepts and also get a lot of details right to get a solid A in physics, but you need to fully understand the concepts and also get a lot of details right to be an engineer.
Thank you so much for all the advice, I think I might have to reconsider that if I actually want to do engineering or not in college. I saw the question why I wanted to do engineering and the reason was partially because my dad was an engineer and the opportunities they had. I somehow got enrolled in AP Calc AB and AP Physics 2, even though I struggle with classes such as math and science, I know that I’m going to try my best to get an A. One question, does college also look at senior transcripts?
If you are set on being an engineer and think the C in Pre-Calc is just an aberration, you can still be an enginner.
There are literally hundreds of schools that offer Engineering as major. You may not get into Caltech or MIT with a few Cs in math, but there are always a school that will be open to you. The questions becomes will you go there.
But what other people have said related to your love for a subject. You may have a romantic notion about engineering but will quickly realize later that’s not what you want.
On the other hand, many people actually do not work jobs that they went to school for. My brother studies engineering (where my own romantic notion came from), but after graduation, he did zero engineering work. He can’t even help his kid with calculus now if he wanted to.
If you are asking about “chance”, it is not zero. But is that what you really want?
Many US universities will admit an applicant with your academic record into engineering majors. However, if your precalculus knowledge is not the strongest, calculus and other math needed during study of engineering will be more difficult than it would otherwise be.