What are my chances of getting accepted?

[EnjoiTAD]

I'm a senior in high school who recently applied to North Carolina State University for electrical engineering. I heard from one of their admissions representatives that they have recently changed their acceptance rate. He said it is going to be even more competitive. By the end of this year I will have completed Calculus II & III and General Physics I & II. So do I have a pretty good chance?

 

[Number Nine]

You have us no information about yourself or your academic record, so we can't help you.

On a more practical note: Do you mean that you've completed AP calculus/physics? Despite what the schools like to tell you, there is no comparison between AP math and a properly taught math course in University. AP tends to be superficial and poorly taught. I'd recommend retaking calculus and intro. physics if you're accepted.

 

[EnjoiTAD]

I'm ranked 1 in my school and I'm dual enrolled at Forsyth Tech and the courses transfer.

 

[PCSL]

I'm ranked 1 in my school and I'm dual enrolled at Forsyth Tech and the courses transfer.

That doesn't help. I never understand why people make threads like this.

 

[EnjoiTAD]

Well I was just curious as to what others thought on my chances. If someone will elaborate on what information to give I will easily list information about my academic record

 

[USN2ENG]

Well I was just curious as to what others thought on my chances. If someone will elaborate on what information to give I will easily list information about my academic record

37.6%...but seriously...

Things to list would be:
GPA
Activities
Clubs
Community service
What makes you stand out from all the other smart kids?

Also, what did they say in particular about changing it? I don't see how they could make it harder per say...It's already a top 30 school...which means they already get a ton of applicants, and acceptance rates can only lower if more than the ton already applying start to apply too...

 

[EnjoiTAD]

I have a 4.59 GPA. I'm in a math honor society, National Honor Society, and I'm a tutor. The societies perform community service projects. All the guy really said is that they are reducing the number of acceptance.

 

[USN2ENG]

I have a 4.59 GPA. I'm in a math honor society, National Honor Society, and I'm a tutor. The societies perform community service projects. All the guy really said is that they are reducing the number of acceptance.

Well man, all I can say is the grades are there, and you seem to have some good experiences too. So, just make sure to highlight those when writing the personal statement. This is the part where you can make yourself stand out.

 

[EnjoiTAD]

Thanks I really appreciate it. I did highlight things like that for my personal statement hoping they would see how dedicated I am.

 

[cjl]

On a more practical note: Do you mean that you've completed AP calculus/physics? Despite what the schools like to tell you, there is no comparison between AP math and a properly taught math course in University. AP tends to be superficial and poorly taught. I'd recommend retaking calculus and intro. physics if you're accepted.

I disagree strongly. A properly taught AP calculus course is exactly as good as a properly taught university math course. If anything, I learned the material better in my AP calc BC class than I did when I retook calc II in college (based on similar advice to yours). Its true that not all AP courses are well taught (and, on a similar note, not all college calculus courses are well taught either), but sweeping generalizations like the one here seem completely unjustified.

 

[EnjoiTAD]

I agree because I took AP Calc AB last year and had a great teacher, but this year in Calc II my teacher isn't that great. I just sit there in class and do nothing, but mainly because I already know the material because I taught it myself at the end of AP Calc.

 

[physics girl phd]

I disagree strongly. A properly taught AP calculus course is exactly as good as a properly taught university math course. If anything, I learned the material better in my AP calc BC class than I did when I retook calc II in college (based on similar advice to yours). Its true that not all AP courses are well taught (and, on a similar note, not all college calculus courses are well taught either), but sweeping generalizations like the one here seem completely unjustified.

Some practical advice on deciding whether or not to retake a course after AP credit is awarded...

1) take a placement test if the university offers such.

2) take a look over the required text for the course (which can be found at the university bookstore... or better yet, on a syllabus for the course (many departments have their faculty submit syllabi to the department, and these can get posted on the department's web page)... so you'll specifically know which chapters are covered in the course.A last additional note: if you are taking AP science credit, look into laboratory requirement policies. Some departments want documentation of your high school lab experiences to award credit (because, at least in the past, some high school AP courses have omitted some or all of the lab experiences in order to allow more time to prepare students for the test).

3) See you you can find some tests for the course (maybe even go to a current professor and ask if you can see an old final... I post my old finals, so I wouldn't mind giving a potential student a copy, or at least letting him/her look over it).

As a current college professor, I caution students against using AP to "jump-ahead" in their degree program (in part because there are a lot of other adjustments to make in college, and it's important to have the basics of your degree program down pat)... but I also wouldn't want a student to be bored out of their skull (I was a bit in my own college calculus classes... in large part because my high-school math course was labeled mysteriously "Math V" and never used the term calculus, even though we covered all the material through Calc II, integration... so I didn't look into testing out of Calc I and II.)

 

[EnjoiTAD]

The only AP credit is Calculus AB which is credit for Calc I. I completely understand differentiation, integration, and their applications from Calculus AB. After we were finished learning the material I bought James Stewarts Calculus and Thomas' Calculus and taught myself most the material from Calc I-III. Now I'm at a community college getting credit while still in high school. So when I go to University I plan to place out of those classes. I feel I will be ready enough having covered the material twice.