AP Calc AB vs. AP Statistics

Hi all.

I’m currently a junior enrolled in pre-calc AB honors, and have always planned on taking AP Calc.

I plan on majoring in political science and eventually going into law, though I might incorporate economics into undergrad.

That said, I’m doing very well in pre-calc, and am performing better than I have in previous math classes. I don’t enjoy it though, and am merely pleasantly surprised with my success.

Anyway, I’m considering taking AP Stat instead of AP Calc next year. I feel it may be more relevant and actually useful.

What do you guys think of this? Also, will colleges prefer calc over stat?

If you go into economics, you will usually need both calculus and statistics (possibly calculus-based statistics).

For political science, you may need a quantitative methods course, not necessarily requiring calculus. However, stronger math and statistics skills are generally considered helpful in any social science.

More math may give you more practice with logical thinking, which may be helpful on the logic puzzle section of the LSAT.

@ucbalumnus So which exactly are you recommending?

What I am suggesting is that you may need more math than you think you need, so that you may want to consider that when making your course choice now.

Do not take AP Stats over AP Calc, one of the bigger mistakes applicants make is thinking Stats can replace Calc for selective colleges. The first thing a admissions office looks for wrt math is Calculus on the transcript.

@theloniusmonk How exactly do they view stats, and do you have any anecdotal experience?

Among AP math courses, commonly calculus BC > calculus AB > statistics if an admissions reader is looking for course rigor.

As ucb said, they view stats as inferior to calculus in terms of academic rigor. I don’t have anecdotal experience, since everyone I know has taken calculus and only taken stats if they’ve taken calculus already.

From a “will I get credit for it” perspective I think Calc AB is the way to go. In my experience with both of my Ds AP Stats would not have given them credit at either of their chosen colleges. It was because both schools required a Statistics course relevant to their perspective majors. Calc AB would give you a good basis for Calc 1 and if you didn’t need any further math would in most cases fulfill your requirement.