I am a current college freshman and will be in the USMA class of 2026. I graduated high school with lots of college credits and have taken most of my pre-reqs this year, like physics, chem, and several calc classes. I know those credits don't transfer but I can test out of certain classes. I've heard mixed things about whether or not I should actually do it because I've heard that they just put you in a more advanced class. Is it worth it to test into the more advanced classes or just let it be? If so, are there any classes specifically that I should try to get out of. I plan on being an ME major if that changes anything.
Testing out of classes
- Thread starter lid1503
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Here is the deal, if you place out of classes you can work on a minor or a double major. It really puts you in a good spot. Don't be afraid of the academic coursework. You will be carrying a heavy load regardless--help yourself get to the classes that you will enjoy sooner.
My opinion: If you are a strong student, validate and take as many advanced classes as you are comfortable with, but balance that with your interests. If you are an ME major and have no interest outside of science and engineering, consider whether or not you gain anything by taking advanced classes outside of those areas.
If you are not a strong student, be judicious in your selections. Consider whether you would be better served by gaining greater mastery of the fundamentals. As I have said many times, often students struggling in advanced engineering classes are getting tripped up by complex algebra and trigonometry rather than the engineering concepts.
USMA is pretty good at evaluating placement tests/academic records and placing students at the appropriate level, but the decision is yours. I know a recent graduate who graduated in the top 50 in the class. He did well in Jedi math, but only after many hours of extra late night and weekend study. Since he was a Political Science major, one might ask if that time could have been better spent elsewhere.
If you are not a strong student, be judicious in your selections. Consider whether you would be better served by gaining greater mastery of the fundamentals. As I have said many times, often students struggling in advanced engineering classes are getting tripped up by complex algebra and trigonometry rather than the engineering concepts.
USMA is pretty good at evaluating placement tests/academic records and placing students at the appropriate level, but the decision is yours. I know a recent graduate who graduated in the top 50 in the class. He did well in Jedi math, but only after many hours of extra late night and weekend study. Since he was a Political Science major, one might ask if that time could have been better spent elsewhere.
Sevastopol79
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This is good to know! However, do I have to have AP scores in order to validate? I took dual-credit courses through a community college at high school. Would I be able to validate/test out that way?
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You still have to take the test to validate the courses...so that the scores or college grades don't matter as much as how you perform on the validation test. One of my kids validated statistics...he had never taken a stats class in his life but they had a couple of weeks of it in IB HL Math. He had to wait until yuk year to take the physics validation test--and he took it and he validated physics. In the end, you do not take fewer classes, you just get to take different classes that are in your major or minor or are just interesting to you.