I’m a junior in HS right now and about to enter my senior year soon. I’m torn between taking Calculus or Statistics because I know that although Calculus might be more beneficial to my transcripts/courseload, I’m leaning towards statistics because I could take Calculus (?) in college and my major is more geared towards statistics (International Business). Please clarify on what I need to do in order to prove my ability as a capable student for my intended major!
AP Calc AB would be my suggestion. I would just wait to take stats in college.
AP calc would look better but it depends on what colleges you’re aiming for
Can’t you do both? Ditch a fluffy course?
@alfonsia I can’t do both because my school restricts it.
@XCjunior2016 I’m mainly applying to private east-coasts like NYU, BU, BC.
It’s not a huge deal so if the rest of your schedule is strong I think you’re ok esp for business
Business majors typically have to take both calculus and statistics in college.
I recommend AP Calc. You’ll do both no matter what but Calc shows you can take that upper level math.
Another vote for Calc AB. Since you’ll need both eventually, choose the tougher one for college admissions purposes.
Does your High School have Dual Enrollment (DE)? If it does and you qualify, why not do AP Calc AB at your High School and take the Statistics Course at your local Community College (CC) or 4-year University? I’m a big proponent of DE over AP, since a lot of Graduate Programs will not accept AP courses for their Graduate Program, but will accept Statistics from a CC or Dual Enrollment 4-year Institution. With this approach, you kill two birds with one stone! Most DE program offer free Tuition/Fees and Books. Some Universities only accept 4 or 5 in AP, while if you get a C or better in DE, it is transferable to most Universities.
Calc AB
I’ve taken both and Calculus is more challenging- every math teacher I have talked to has told me that if a student is given the opportunity to take Calculus in high school, they should take it. Statistics is good, too, but it’s a lot easier to encounter statistics for the first time in college than it is calc.
AP Calc AB looks far better on the transcript than AP Stats, which is a pretty easy class. You will not suffer in college for having missed AP Stats and the college course may be better taught.
What class are you in right now and what grade are you getting?
What does your teacher suggest, does s/he think that you can get a B or more in calculus?
Also, you’re likely to have to take Calculus 1 in college, and at the colleges you’re thinking of, it’ll be with a large number of students who took Calc AB. It may be easier for you to take the college class after a thorough grounding in high school, than “raw”, with no background in it.
@MYOS1634 I’m currently taking Pre-Cal (H) under the hardest teacher of our school (everyone agrees). Last semester I ended with a flat B (84%) but I’m usually an O-K math student that averages 93~94% in my math classes. I need to make a decision and I know it might look better on college transcripts as everyone said, but i honestly believe that taking Calculus won’t benefit me in the long run while Stats might.
I’d take calculus for sure. My S didn’t take calculus in HS and had a ton of trouble with calculus in college because almost everyone in the class knew the material from HS.
My son signed up for AP Stats and then regretted not taking the calculus instead. So then he applied through the Johns Hopkins University/Center for Talented Youth and took the AP Calculus course online in 3-4 months. It will go on his high school transcript because it is a high school AP course, not a college course, so it has the added benefit of helping boost his GPA!
http://cty.jhu.edu/
You’ll have to take Calculus 1&2 in college AND statistics 1&2 (with at least one of these classes being calculus-based, unlike the AP class).
So, it’s not a matter of “looking better” for admissions but rather on not making things too hard on yourself. Taking Calc AB at college pace (ie., you cover an entire year of Calc AB in 4 months), with half the class that’s already taken Calc AB when you haven’t, is really really tough. Do you want to do that to yourself?
@tellm3more how does the class count as a high school AP course for you? Do most highschools accept online AP courses as credit?
We had to fill out a concurrent enrollment form, so the school signed off on it before my son began the class. I don’t know what criteria they use to decide a class can be counted on his high school transcript, but it was!