I have just been reading a discussion about jumping math tracks to finish Calc BC. Rather than posting in the discussion I thought I would start a new thread. I am curious as to opinions about AP Calc BC v. AP Stats for a students who is likely interesting in pursuing engineering. Having just completed AP Calc AB, my D19 was planning to take AP Calc BC (AB and BC taught in succession at our school) until she found out that there is a new teacher teaching it next year who has received less than stellar reviews. Considering taking AP Stats instead, which is taught be a great teacher. Reading the previous discussion has me a little concerned that not taking BC could be a fairly significant disadvantage if applying to engineering programs.
Take BC and be sure not to get any D’s. A few kids at my son’s school were frustrated with B’s they received in AB so elected to take Stats senior year instead of more Calc. They were rejected or accepted undeclared instead of getting their engineering majors at mid tier UC’s. Same goes for those who skipped extra physics for easier AP environmental science. Your child will be compared to peers who took the most rigorous STEM classes. She should present the strongest application possible unless she really struggled in AB.
Got a solid A in AB…that is not an issue.
My daughter’s school didn’t even offer BC. She also thought AP Stats was super helpful.
The usual AP subject credit for engineering majors ( assuming high enough score):
Calculus AB = calculus 1
Calculus BC = calculus 1 and 2
Statistics = nothing (if required, a calculus based statistics course is typical)
When taking advanced placement, the student may want to check his/her knowledge with the college’s old final exams for calculus 1 and 2.
My D took AB with Stats in sophomore year and BC in junior year. As a freshman in her college, she took cal 3. She will have to take stats as part of her CS math sequence as college stats is very different than AP stats. At the same time cal 2 can be a very hard engineering weed out class.
In addition to the admissions angle, I would also consider whether taking a year off calc could make it harder to remember come freshman year.
BC over Stat.
BC, no question.
Thanks, folks. I had a feeling BC would be the better choice.
BC.
at my son’s college they require a math placement test. he placed into calc 3 after taking ab & bc. Had he taken a year off after just taking AB, chances are he would have taken calc 1 as a freshman.
Lot of will depend on the college, and you can call a couple to get their opinion, and many will offer advice on this kind of question. I would offer a counter opinion in that colleges may not think you’re challenging yourself if you take AB again, as long as you have calculus, you can take stats as a senior. In terms of admissions it won’t make a difference, it could matter if you wanted to have calc bc material before heading to college.
Is it possible she can both? Many seniors take both if it can fit into their schedule.
some college admission not considering Stat as one of 4 yr Math required
I am shocked that one takes AB and then BC. Most high schools I know have AB for kids that are not as good in math and one would take BC (after pre-cal) if good at math. I truly think it is hard to decide for you b/c you have taken AB so part of BC will be repeat and I am not sure that looks so good either. Can you take both BC and Stat? I know many engineering candidates that do that.
At my kids’ high school, BC fills up and seniors have priority, so if you are ready for Calc before senior year you might get forced into AB even if you are a mathy kid… so then you’d take AB one year and then BC the next.
Why not offer more BC sections in place of excess AB sections?
@ucbalumnus Not as many teachers qualified to teach BC calculus. So they don’t have as many sections. In my kid’s high school, getting into Calc BC is very difficult. Only one teacher qualified to teach it, and he also teaches CS courses. They start the weed out process in ninth grade. And this is in a very well regarded school district.
Aside from the issue of college admissions, there is the issue of doing well in college. Engineering majors will almost certainly have to take a calculus-based physics class their freshman year. The first semester, mechanics, has a significant overlap with the differential and integral calculus taught in BC. The second semester, electricity and magnetism, is concerned with vector fields and path integrals, which is the subject matter of Calculus III or multivariable calculus. Therefore, there is some advantage to taking Calculus III in their first semester, before taking E&M. Taking Calculus III in the second semester could also work, and many students do that, but I think it’s better preparation to learn the math first before using it in Physics.
@mdphd92 - I’ve taken all the courses you listed, and you do not use a whole lot of calculus in those courses, what you learn in AB is sufficient. And professors of courses like mechanics and E&M want to test concepts and applications of that subject, so being able to apply basic Calculus is important.