<p>I'm going to be a sophomore this upcoming year at a very rigorous challenging boarding high school. As a freshman, I've taken both gifted honors geometry and gifted honors precalculus, and got around a 94 in both classes. </p>
<p>Now.. back to the point. Should I take AP Calculus AB or BC? I'm not a genius in math or anything, but I'm not bad at it either. Generally, I'd choose BC over AB without any doubt... but here's the problem: the teacher for AB Calc is extremely good. She makes sure everyone is successful, and goes over lessons in a very thorough manner to make sure everyone knows what they're doing. I've heard over 90% of the students have gotten 5s in calc AB exam. On the other hand, the teacher for BC Calc is not that great... Her class is extremely difficult, and even the smartest kids have trouble (a valedictorian i talked to told me that was the only class she got a C in). She doesn't teach. However, she does curve final grades, or so I hear. And most students in the BC class also gets 5's... but low class averages. So I'm not sure whether i'll struggle as well.</p>
<p>I'm going to be pretty stressed out with my schedule: I will be taking 8 classes, the hardest ones. And that includes 3 ap's in addition to the calculus. </p>
<p>My precalc teacher recommended me for AB because she told me that the fast pace in BC will be difficult to keep up with. But I'm still torn between AB or BC... Should I take AB for less stress and better grades, or BC because it will probably look better to colleges?</p>
<p>I'm not really aiming for Harvard or anything, but I am aiming for top 20 universities. If i take AP calc AB, Will these universities see that I slacked off, not choosing the hardest possible courses? Do you happen to know anyone who got into great universities (ivy league, etc.) taking just AP calc AB?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>EDIT: Oh, and please don't say anything like "Oh, you're only a sophomore. You have plenty of time, so take AB this year, then BC the next!" Because that's not an option for me.</p>
<p>So, you probably know this, but the first half of BC reviews everything in AB (much faster) and then moves on to new topics. Theoretically, yes, you could skip AB with the intention of just learning it all in BC. However, I personally would have found it difficult to grasp all the concepts without getting a good calc background in AB. That’s just me though, I think some people (maybe you?) would be fine in BC right off the bat. </p>
<p>Also, I wouldn’t say that taking AB is “slacking off” - it’s still an AP math class, so no worries there! And if it makes you feel better, a friend of mine took AB last year as a senior (no BC for him!) and is going to Dartmouth in the fall. :)</p>
<p>Thanks Emily for your input. Anymore advice anyone? I need to choose this by Friday, so its pretty urgent. And foegot to add this on the first post, but i am aiming to go into premed…</p>
<p>Take AB. It’s important to grasp the new concepts. perhaps you can take BC in the summer; you are definitely not a slacker! And trust me, I do believe it’s important to push yourself, and I also do not like the people who say “Oh…you’re only a sophomore…” or “Poor you…you got a B+…” Always aim for the stars. To have success in very high mathematics (ex: abstract mathematics), you need to have a very strong grasp of calculus. Plus, if you take AB, you will be very strong in BC.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, guys! It’s weird how everyone here on CC recommends AB, but then everyone else I ask says BC. Just an interesting observation :D</p>
<p>Now I’m kind of leaning towards AB, but I still don’t know… will it affect admission chances alot to schools such as Ivy League unis? Or will it not really matter because I’m going to continue taking advanced math in 11th and 12th grade?</p>
<p>Just FYI, my math schedule:</p>
<p>9th - Gifted Honors Geometry & Gifted Honors Precal
10th - AP Calculus AB or BC & AP Stats
11th - Advanced Calculus 2 & 3
12th - Differential Eq.</p>
<p>Forgot to add, in my school, AB is taken by the majority of the students, and some regret choosing AB over BC.</p>
<p>I find it weird that you’re going into Calc w/o Algebra II. Regardless of that, there’s no reason to unnecessarily stress yourself out in Calc BC. Some classes go over the ENTIRE curriculum in a month, some not at all (only during references or adding to new concepts), so I guess it depends on the teacher. Calc AB was really fun for me and the exam is an easy 5. If the students regret taking AB then BC, I assume the BC class is easy, which I can then assume there isn’t a high percentage of 5s on the exam. An AP class is an AP class regardless of what it is. Don’t stress yourself out and remember to enjoy high school. :D</p>
<p>^I’ve already taken Algebra 2 in 8th grade.</p>
<p>And actually, its the complete opposite to what you say, ironically. The AB students regret taking AB over BC not because BC is easy, but because AB is easy. So easy that its kind of boring for them. BC at my school is extremely hard. The teacher expects you to learn the material by yourself, and his tests are insane… I remember last year, all of the BC students spazzed on test days. But then again, everyone who chooses BC is super smart, so theres many many many 5’s each year, even though the teacher doesn’t prepare them well. And no BC student in the history of our school has ever failed the class (Below a C).</p>
<p>Slacking off? You’re a high school sophomore taking a class that most people don’t take until college (if they ever make it to calculus). There was someone at my high school that made it to Harvard with only AP Calculus AB during her senior year (it’s the highest math class my school offers).</p>
<p>If you really want to you can take the BC test later on in your junior year (you don’t need to take the class to take a test, unless your school forbids you to take a test without the corresponding class). Maybe you can study the material during the summer (though it looks like you’ll be going over the same material and then some in your junior year).</p>
<p>Thanks aldfig0! You mentioned someone who got into Harvard with only AP Calculus AB?
Isn’t one of the most important admission factors to top-tier colleges rigor of courses? Colleges like to see that students chose the most rigorous courses available to them. So it would make sense for someone to get into Harvard with AP Calc AB in your school because its the hardest class offered. But in my school, both AB and BC are offered… but congrats to her on getting into Harvard!
And I’m not sure if I want to take the BC test next year because I might forget all of the material…</p>
<p>My intended major in college is premed. From what I know, premed is math- and science- heavy. So wouldn’t it be alot more helpful to take the hardest math/science classes possible?</p>
<p>Still looking for more advice~ Thanks everyone :)</p>
<p>Take BC. If the BC teacher doesn’t seem enthusiastic, then force him/her to be enthusiastic. Stay after with him/her for extra prep and review. Teachers won’t deny that to kids, it’s their job to make sure their students pass and to help them with their problems otherwise they aren’t doing their job. If it’s possible, switch back into AB calculus if BC becomes too difficult. If you decide to take BC, start prepping now and learn the material. You’ll be a lot better of with the class if you are already very familiar with limits and derivatives. Btw, AB is still a challenging class. BC is definitely harder, but AB is still a pretty hard class. </p>
<p>BC won’t stand out to colleges, but it definitely makes your schedule more rigorous than by taking AB.</p>
<p>I don’t get why people are saying the BC will be so hard. When I went to high school (a public non-magnet high school), they only offered a single class of calculus, on the BC syllabus (less than 10% of the students reached calculus in that high school at that time). And plenty of students did well in the course and on the AP test (as in A in the course and 5 on the AP test).</p>
<p>And if you reach calculus as a *high school sophomore<a href=“three%20years%20ahead%20of%20normal”>/i</a>, you are probably one of the top math students. You will probably find AB boringly slow; it covers about a semester of university freshman calculus over a year. BC is approximately the same pace as a university freshman calculus course that students zero years ahead in math are expected to be able to handle.</p>
<p>I took Calculus BC my sophomore year. It was one of the toughest courses because I didn’t have the Calc AB knowledge. Sure, the teacher went over it again, but it’s at a much faster pace. Calculus is really different than precalc and algebra, so I recommend taking Calc AB first. The teacher truly does matter, and if the valedictorian got a C in that class, then it seems like it would be super hard. I’m pretty sure taking Calc AB or BC won’t be the deciding factor if you get accepted to an ivy league or not. You’re schedule is rigorous enough.</p>
<p>Since I’ve never taken the BC class, I wouldn’t be able to speak for it. However, even if you end up not taking the BC class, you could still take the BC exam with little problem if you have a solid AB knowledge (and relatively weak knowledge of BC-only topics).</p>
<p>Do you guys think that taking the AB class this year and taking the BC exam instead of the AB exam is a good idea? (If I self-study the BC topics, I mean).</p>
<p>Why don’t you take AB this year, take the AB exam, and self-study for next year’s BC? If you feel like you will be too busy this year that might make sense for you.</p>
<p>To ucbalumnus:
“You will probably find AB boringly slow; it covers about a semester of university freshman calculus over a year. BC is approximately the same pace as a university freshman calculus course that students zero years ahead in math are expected to be able to handle.”</p>
<p>The problem is, in college you take like 3 classes at a time. The OP is taking 8. And besides, the AB curriculum covers more topics than most Calculus I courses.</p>
<p>There’s nothing stopping the OP from taking the BC test later on; his/her sophomore year won’t be very fun with a bad math teacher and tons of work from other classes to do.</p>
<p>In university, the more typical course load is 4 or 5 courses at a time. And university courses are more work and more difficult than high school courses – probably about double or more, considering that many full year high school AP courses like chemistry, calculus AB, statistics, psychology, environmental science, US government, etc. are commonly considered equivalent to only a semester of university course.</p>
<p>When I took calculus BC in high school, it was one of 7 courses (though one was PE, so 6 academic courses). Others in the class had similar schedules.</p>
<p>I still don’t understand why a student *two or three years ahead in math<a href=“i.e.%20one%20of%20the%20top%20students%20in%20math”>/i</a> would have difficulty handling calculus BC straight from precalculus. This would be similar to what is expected from university freshmen who are not ahead in math at all (i.e. the average students in math).</p>
will it affect admission chances alot to schools such as Ivy League unis? Or will it not really matter because I’m going to continue taking advanced math in 11th and 12th grade?</p>