For a bachelor's in mechanical engineering what math and physics courses should be recommended to take before college

Welcome to Career Village Samyek!

The short answer is take any and all physics and math classes at the most advanced level you have available to you! You'll need all of it in any engineering degree and being ahead and being prepared is always recommended. In my case, I was also able to take AP courses and test out of some freshman courses, and you might be able to take some community college courses near you in your senior year in order to get ahead and be prepared for the transition to university.

Engineering programs are hard and challenging, there is no way around that, so do EVERYTHING you can while in high school to expand your knowledge and experience in physics and math. You will thank yourself later.

I hope this helps!
Skyler

Hi Samyek,

I’m really glad to hear that you’re sneaking up on a career path and you want to be prepared. That attitude will help you do well in any career.

To be best prepared to enter a four-year school for mechanical or most other engineering disciplines, you should take all the physics and math classes (AP level if you can) that are offered at your high school. This is not just more math and physics for their own sake but it’s to prepare you to study engineering. When you start engineering school you will be asked to take 1½ years of calculus and a year of physics as soon as you can. This is your opportunity to establish a solid, college-level foundation in math and physics because you’ll need proficiency in them both to be able to work through and understand many of your other classes.

I sure wish I understood this when I was in school. I got C’s and D’s in math and physics and yes I graduated – I even enjoyed thermodynamics and heat transfer – but I got through school by thinking of a one-dimensional timeline of me working toward a diploma with little regard for what I was taking (about five years after graduation I asked my professor about starting a Masters in ME, and the first thing he said was to take more math). Years later, I taught our kids to think four-dimensionally and I encourage you to do the same so you’ll see structure in the body of knowledge called engineering and spend the extra effort on your foundation now so you don’t have to repeat senior-level classes because you forgot how to do the math.

I think the simple answer is mechanical engineering applies principals to create mechanical systems ( I need a 3 hp motor to drive this fly wheel). Applied physics is heavy on on the theoretical math and physics setting you for for physics research work going forward or working on heavy R+D types of projects like pushing new chip technologies or detecting new atomic particles. The contrast are application of the basics of theory (mechanical) versus heavy theoretical to push development to a new area . I myself became an electrical engineer but thought deeply about this pursuit in school. If you choose Applied you likely be employing heavy math and theory on your job.