AB or BC? Help me choose!

<p>I recently ended sophomore year Honors Pre-Calculus with an A first semester and a B second semester. Now I'm trying to decide whether to take AP Calculus AB or BC. From what I've heard, there isn't too much difference between the two, and prior to this year I never received a B in math before. Any suggestions or advice is welcome.</p>

<p>What did your math teacher suggest?</p>

<p>AP Calculus AB. I’m actually transferring to a new school, but at my old school Calculus BC was combined with multivariable calculus, so it was completely separate from AB. However, my new school is asking me to choose between AB and BC - people don’t progress from AB to BC here as they did in my old school.</p>

<p>Bump… anybody? Please? Pretty please with a cherry and chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream on top?</p>

<p>If you can handle the courseload of BC, why not go for that? You get 2 extra hours of college credit (a 4/5 on AB = 6 hours, 4/5 on BC = 8 hours), and you’re that much more prepared for college.</p>

<p>On the other hand, what math would you do senior year if you chose BC? Because I know where I’m from, we’re required to take math all four years, and I believe colleges look well upon people who do so.</p>

<p>^ You have a point. I’ll try talking my counselor into letting me take BC. In the meantime, I’ll probably go for AP Stats senior year. Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Colleges judge on the the rigor of your class load in relation to the classes offered. If the school offers BC, take BC. If the classes is insane or way over your head, you can probably change your schedule in the first week or two of classes. You can probably drop back to AB; it would be harder to move up to BC once classes in in session Its really impossible for you or the school to gauge the rigor of your old school vs. new. Perhaps a little experimentation is in order. </p>

<p>Also perceptions/first impressions matter. If your teachers perceive you as the student who reaches for the top, they will treat you as such. (Even if you drop back later) Sell them, before school starts, are your star quality. </p>

<p>Years ago a study on third graders and teacher perception was done. Teachers where handed doctored transcripts - some students were justifiably described as stars, others were described (but not really) as stars; a third group was justifiably described as second tier, and a fourth group of stars was described as also-rans. Guess what? Academic outcomes at the end of the year more closely correlated with teachers’ initial perceptions drawn from prior year transcripts. Prior proven ability had low correlation with outcome. So always sell a new school on what a superstar you are, via transcript, class choice, and behavior in the first weeks.</p>

<p>I took precalc BC this year and it is so difficult at my school (very high ranked on the top 1500 and sends 15-20% of the senior class to ivies/top tier schools) that on our gpas it is weighted as an AP even though we do not take the AP test. I managed a B (above average) however I plan on taking AB Calc. When I asked my teacher what he though about this decision, he said I made the right call because only those who are very serious about a career in mathematics or engineering who plan to attend a top top school take BC Calc. The average score on APs at my school (across the board though) is a 5, however, so BC may not be as rigorous for you. That’s just my experience.</p>