My son who is a current high school junior is doing AP Calc AB this year. For his senior year he is confused between choosing AP Calc BC and AP Statistics. (He wants to major in Biomedical science or any other science major that would help him get ready for med school.) When I suggested him to take both, he is scared that with 4 other AP subjects, having two AP Math courses might be too much of work as a senior. I would like to mention the fact that with lots of efforts, he is having an exact 90 in his Cal AB…so I don’t think Calc is his strong point. TIA!
I just now realized that I had just posted my situation and not asked the question. Can anyone please suggest me what would be better for him to take in his senior year? Cal BC, since it is a tougher course or Stats since he has already finished Cal AB? Thanks!
As someone who is taking AP Calc and AP Stats in his senior year, I’ll say this: Calc is more abstract, difficult math that requires lots of homework and practice for most people to understand; Stats is basically just common sense and a few simple formulas (in high school). It’s more than possible to take both and succeed.
If he just isn’t ready for Calc BC or doesn’t want the workload, that’s okay. There are only a few schools that I’d absolutely recommend you take BC for (MIT, Cal Tech, etc.). If he wants the challenge or wants to continue hard math so he doesn’t forget it all before college, tell him to go for it. I’d say take both, and if he doesn’t like it he can always drop before he sends out applications. At the end of the day, there is no wrong choice. Good luck!
Hi there! I am a current senior taking AP Calc BC. Though I don’t know much about AP Stat since my school doesn’t offer it, I can give you info on AP Calc BC. AP Calc BC is a course that adds to what your son will finish learning and what I learned in AB. Half of the curriculum might be a review of AB material and the rest could be the new material covered in BC. In my school, for the first term of my senior year, I reviewed the material we learned in AB. Just recently with the start of the second term, I am now learning the BC material covered on the test. Now, this really helped with my mid-year report, which is basically my report card for the first semester/term of my senior year. Since I already knew the material from last year, I didn’t struggle to keep an average in the high 90s to 100s for my math course. This, of course, depends on how your son would be taught BC in the fall. In my opinion, I would recommend your son to take BC.
Since he’s not going into math, physics, or engineering, then the second year of calculus isn’t necessary for college admissions. But if he wants to do pre-med, he will be expected to take a couple of semesters of calculus in college. It might be easier for him to do it in a high school AP class. Even if the college he goes to doesn’t give AP credit for the classes, he will be much better positioned to get easier A’s in college calculus if he’s had more of it in high school. GPA is everything for med school admissions so this should be something for him to consider.
My experience, back in the old days, was that the second course of calculus was easier than the first. My son seemed to feel like grod618 did about the early part of Calc BC. Some AP Calc BC teachers do a lot of review of the AB portion early on while others use the opportunity to provide more personalized and in-depth work depending on the students’ needs and interest. Not everyone will experience it this way of course.
Ask your son to talk to the BC teacher and see what he/she thinks. If he has friends who are seniors taking the class, then he can ask them about how difficult it is and homework load, etc.
AP Stats is more like an English class and is not particularly difficult. If he has successfully completed AP Calc AB, AP Stats AND AP Calc BC should be a piece of cake. Calc BC mostly reviews AB content and adds a little more. I think it is definitely doable to do both. BC would look greater for college applications and Stats would be more helpful for life application.
(I took AP Calc AB and BC my junior year and I’m taking AP Stats this year, so I haven’t been in your son’s position… but I have taken both the classes. I’m also applying as a science major!) Hope this sorta helps! Good Luck!
