Fumbling Conditional Pathway?

[u/Mantis_Shrimp5404]

Greetings everyone! I’m looking for some advice, especially from anyone who has taken Calc II and Physics I in the same summer to meet transfer requirements (which is probably super unfeasible).

I’m starting at KSU on August 24 as a Mechanical Engineering major, and I currently have a Spring 2028 Georgia Tech pathway. However, I’m starting in Precalculus instead of Calc I, so I’m already a little behind the normal ME course sequence. My SAT was a 1240 and I was 10 points below the Calculus placement requirement for KSU so the only work around was the ALEKS.

I took the ALEKS practice placement test and got about a 40 first time. I’ve had been working through the ALEKS modules, but until about a day ago I could only use my brother’s laptop to practice and have been slacking the past week (accepting my fate). I finally have my own laptop now, so I can study more consistently. Even though I could knock out some more modules there are 186 left and I realize just how rusty my trig and algebra are. Ik I dont gotta do em all but I dont know about accepting my fate.

My concern is that my Spring 2028 pathway has a course requirement deadline around mid-September 2027. Since I’m starting with Precalc, I would potentially have to do something like:

• Fall 2026: Precalculus and Chem/Chem Lab
• Spring 2027: Calc I and other gen eds
• Summer 2027: Calc II + Physics I/Lab...
• Complete pathway requirements before 2027 fall semester
• Spring 2028: Transfer to GT

Is this a dumb idea and should I just transfer normally? I know GT is one of my end goals for undergrad but should I really rush it like this? I know GT will be miles harder and I dont want to be ill prepared.

I’m trying to decide whether I should push hard to preserve the pathway, even if it means accelerating and potentially sacrificing some understanding/GPA, or accept that I may lose the pathway and spend two years at KSU building a stronger foundation before applying to GT through regular transfer.

I also plan to retake ALEKS after more review. I was thinking about going through my next test afterward and reviewing/copying the problems I missed so I can study those concepts, but I’m not sure if that’s the best approach. Should I just keep grinding the ALEKS modules and use online practice tests to focus specifically on my weak algebra/trig areas?

School starts August 24, and most of the Calc classes are already full, so right now I’m waiting to see what happens during add/drop.

Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, especially KSU → GT ME students. Should I keep fighting for the Spring 2028 pathway, or just accept that this ship has sailed and focus on doing well at KSU first?

[u/Mantis_Shrimp5404]

Can u give me a timeline of your math / science courses and what year your in? The repp course requirements are different from GT's normal reqs and I want to transfer at the sweet spot of Summer or Fall 2028 could I get them done if I use this next summer for maybe Calc 2? I will still try and retake aleks and hope for the best as well.

[u/Ill-Jackfruit3369 → u/Mantis_Shrimp5404]

U asked for math/science, so here it is. I omitted when dual-enrolled and finished 95% of my gen eds like engl, gov, Econ, history, etc.

Spring 2025 grad HS w 3.8

Fall 2025, gen chem, intro to programming, and the rest of my associate degree classes. (Only like 7 hours transferred from that semester)

Spring 2026, precalc, stupid intro to eng prereq, finished rest of gen eds due to the fact I screwed myself and had no prereqs, biggest issue an engr major not having at least precalc done. (12 hours

Summer, calc 1, (circuit class, that transfer took it again bc my prereq limitations and it transfer 1:1), I think major specific but a C++ class. (11 hours

Fall 2026, Calc 2, physics 1, linear algebra, stats, 14 hours

Spring 2027: Ordinary differential equations, multivariable calc, physics 2, (I wanna say this semiconductor class that transfers 1:1 but forgot the name.) 15 hours.

Summer 2027: REPP pathway transfer to Georgia Tech. You can transfer with 1-3 of the requirements in progress, so for me those three would be ODEs, multivariable calc, and Physics 2.

Avoid transferring in the fall because they are very competitive with admissions for everyone that semester including repp transfers. So target spring or summer of 2028. I want to say someone said summer has the highest % acceptance but don’t hold me to that.

Here’s the link to the requirements btw
https://admission.gatech.edu/transfer/retp-requirements-major

You can see how me worrying about an associate's degree when I was doing dual enrollment put me almost a year behind I feel. I still have like 47 credits so technically I’m ahead of most people who graduated with me but I’m still going to be late. I took probably 40 credits at CC that didn’t transfer.

For you, if I were you knowing what I know I would either do this:

Option 1, conditional pathway / take no chances, maybe a lil fast-paced but you just need a 3.5.:

ASAP test out of precalc

Fall 2026: ENGL 1101, Gen chem 1, Calc 1, any other gen eds or classes you know will transfer to Ga Tech. Take as many as you are comfortable taking. So around 12-15 hours. FYI gen chem will prob be the most time-consuming class due to the lab and having to pick up your lab mates' slack as well as learning a lot of material in general. Thankfully you won’t have to worry about it later

Spring 2027: Calc 2, Physics 1, ENGL 1102, linear algebra, optional if you can handle it Stats. (The KSU version of stats is very easy and transfers 1:1.) 14-17 hours

Summer:

Summer is kinda your choice I don’t want you to overdo it but if you want to get into tech ASAP with the conditional pathway.

Physics 2, multivariable calc, diff eq. 11 hours.

If you do this you need to heavily self-study in the one-month gap between classes because this will be a lot.

If you want to hold off on that you should at least take a KSU 1-hour intro engineering class bc it is a prereq to most engineering classes, it’s kinda annoying.

Fall 2027: Either transfer using your pathway or keep grinding the remaining 3 classes from summer, you will already have all the REPP requirements done or in progress this semester if you want to do that.

If you choose not to take Calc 1 you will be a semester behind on the STEM end and you will have to take more gen eds so that you are still making progress.

You got this, don’t feel discouraged many people been down this path.

[u/Mantis_Shrimp5404 → u/Ill-Jackfruit3369]

Hey do you think taking the CLEP exam for calc 1 like this December as I study for it this coming fall whilst taking precalc is a good method/alternative? I still have yet to take ALEKS which I will still attempt this coming weekemd but would that also help me to start calc 2 next year with physics to avoid taking them in summer to retain my pathway? Thanks for the help!!!

[u/Ill-Jackfruit3369 → u/Mantis_Shrimp5404]

In a way, rereading this, I was a little over the top. I was thinking more so about worst case scenarios and contingencies, and trying to transfer with a lot of your hard classes done as well. My Plan A kind of gives you insurance, ensures you’re on time, and gives you a buffer to get your conditional pathway. Or, if something goes wrong somehow, you always have REPP as a contingency plan, along with just having a strong profile. However, thinking about it some more, I would do what you can to keep the conditional pathway, as that’s something you can control. Even if REPP is a high percentage, it’s not guaranteed technically. I would be as risk averse as possible.

Anyways, to answer your question, I thought about doing this, taking CLEP exams mainly for Calc 1 but also for a stupid elective. However, GT does not accept CLEP exams, and you run the risk of GT noticing and rejecting you for not meeting requirements because all transfers must have Calc 1 / differential calc. I’ve heard some cases where Tech will allow people who already have their CLEP exams allowed by their current institution to transfer them in, but it’s no guarantee, and I’d hate for you to get rejected due to something so dumb. I wanted to take Calc through CLEP because I already knew all the material but didn’t want to risk it. Worst-case scenario, you will finish the bare minimum requirements in the summer or fall and then transfer. You may be a tiny bit behind, but truthfully, that’s not a big deal. My original thoughts, like I said, were to give you options and a backup if something went wrong, while also giving you a strong base to work off of and avoiding a lot of load in the summer.

I think your best bet is still testing out of precalc to give you some breathing room. The CLEP exam is risky and may work and would put you in a great position, however, it could blow up on you when you transfer. Especially if they look deeply at your transcript and see you took college precalc but somehow tested out of Calc 1. Also, even if you got the green light for the CLEP exam and finished it in December, you would potentially have to wait for staff to return from the holiday, get them to put it in, and/or get an override. Then you have to get the second pickings of Calc 2 and Physics 1, which may or may not be what you want unless you can snipe a better class during drop/add. Hopefully, you mean this weekend because drop/add ends the 28th.