I am a junior in high school and aiming to apply colleges with business major. We have AP Calculus AB and BC offered in my school. I plan to take AP Calc AB and not BC since I don’t enjoy it much. Confirming if for general business concentrations, AP Calc AB is enough? Or do I need to take BC too?
No college requires BC. But depending on the college, e.g. Wharton, many applicants will have it.
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Would taking AB junior year and then BC senior year be advised? Also, how important are AP sciences for a potential business major? In particular- Physics senior year.
Depends upon how the HS math department structures the curriculum. Also depends on that colleges you are targeting.
If the progression is precalc>AB>BC, that is certainly fine.
Physics is important for a well-rounded HS education, although does not needed to be AP. And I assuming you are not taking about calc-based physics, since that is not needed for a business major.
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Thank you! She is targeting selective schools/programs. Her HS does not offer honors classes jr or sr year so it’s AP or the standard class. APs: AB Calc, Spanish, English, Environmental science, standard History, Theology (reqd) Comp science one semester.Not taking APUSH as she has a slow processing speed and is concerned about the amount of reading.
I’d be more concerned with with taking Environmental Science (as opposed to Physics, Chem, or Bio) than taking AB Calc, especially if by “competitive schools” you are talking about ones with sub 30% acceptance rates.
Assuming the student already has a year each of bio, chem, and pbysics, APES is fine.
Does your school offer AP Stats?
I would recommend looking at the course requirements for a business major at some colleges that you are potentially interested in attending for details. Generally, the expectation is Calc 1 (AB) equivalent + at least 1 Stats class as pre-reqs or core courses for the major. So, while AP Stats isn’t necessarily expected for applying, it may benefit you more in the long run than AP BC.
You can usually find the course requirements on the business department web pages or at least a link to them. Many schools have “major maps” where they list out sample course schedules.
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Sophomore year she is taking the university of wa in the high school chemistry class. Trying to not overload her junior year schedule. She originally had 5 APs but decided to drop the history AP. Freshman year she took honors bio and will take AP physics next year if it’s recommended. Thank you for your advice on this!
For selective schools, a student should take the most rigorous course at which they can succeed. A D in Calc BC does no one any good, but an A in BC will be viewed better than an A in AB (though this is only one of ~25+ high school classes).
This assumes your HS allows the choice. My HS did, but my D’s HS requires them to be sequential
Need more info. What schools are you targeting? What’s your GPA/PSAT? Just trying to see what you’re thinking. Are we talking talking top like Penn, NYU or just below?
Top schools want to see that the student challenged themselves and took the most rigorous classes the HS offers whatever that might be.
Calc AB at a minimum but BC would look good. Many applicants at top business schools will have it.
AP Stats won’t move the needle for admissions but is useful knowledge. Calculus based Physics isn’t necessary for business. APES is fine if Chem/Bio is already taken.
I think S20 took 6 AP’s junior year and backed-off senior year to 3 or 4. He wanted time to write essays and visit schools. It also let him work part-time which looks good on an application. We’re a donut-hole so schools like Penn or NYU weren’t on his list. He ended-up at Georgia Tech Scheller. Liked it but found their ISyE program and transferred after last semester.
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What’s a donut hole?!
Too rich for FA. Not rich enough to pay full price.
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Re: science
Her schools sequence is honors bio 9th, dual enrollment chem 10th so her options for next year are AP ES or AP physics only. They do offer 2 lab classes but they aren’t AP. Honestly, I think they would be much more engaging than ES but she thinks she should do the AP. Chemistry is getting really tough for her right now, no labs and just went back to school hybrid. She failed the first test that was given in the classroom, as did others- easier to take a test from your bedroom when you can check notes!
At my university, business calculus was a required entry level course but if you had a 4 or 5 on either AP Calculus AB or BC your credits would count toward the business calc requirement. Didn’t work for business statistics though which I had to retake even though I had taken AP Statistics
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We’re you direct admit into a business school?
Yes
Would appreciate some advice for my junior who is picking her classes for next year. She thinks she is interested in business-- both entrepreneurship and finance. Not high stats, average, awesome kid. 3.7, activities list means hanging out with friends and staring at her phone. Just keeping it real here.
She started this year in AP Cal AB but dropped down to Calc. She was on the fence about staying-- meh teacher, fast past and was struggling. The Calc class is slow and a bit boring, but she is learning the material. She is thinking of taking both AP Stats and AP Cal AB next year. She thinks 2 math classes will “look good” but her class offers Econ and CS, which are both kind of interesting to her. Any thoughts much appreciated!
Please start a new thread with your question as opposed to hijacking an existing thread.
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