AP Calculus AB or BC?

Applying to College
1

<p>I will be a senior in high school next year and I am currently reviewing my course selections. I have signed up for Honors English 4 (one semester), AP Chemistry (which is year-long), AP European History (one semester), and AP Calculus AB (which is year-long). I have also been accepted into a year-long medical research program for high school seniors at my local university's medical school. It will take the place of my fourth (last) period class all year. </p>

<p>Now, what I am debating is whether or not to change AP Calculus AB to AP Calculus BC. At my school, both AB and BC are year long. I am currently in honors pre-calculus and I have an A, but I feel that I am sometimes slow in grasping some math concepts. I have also taken only two AP classes in high school so far (AP US History and AP Biology, both in my junior year). Also, AP European History and AP Chemistry are known to be two of the hardest AP classes at my school. I am planning to major in Biology or Pre-Med and continue onto medical school. With the classes I am signed up for, should I stick with Calculus AB or change to BC? Will highly selective colleges (like Duke, Brown, or Yale) strongly care if I take AB instead of BC?</p>

<p>Sorry for the long description, but any advice is much appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Is it possible to sign up for BC and drop down to AB if you’re struggling without messing up the rest of your schedule? That would be ideal.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think so… Two different teachers teach them so the classes are usually during different times. But that would be a good idea if they’re at the same time.</p>

4

<p>I’d stick with AB–you already have a heavy load. BC covers a lot of material and you might struggle if you feel you’re sometimes slow to grasp concepts in pre-calc.</p>

5

<p>you can take AB, and self-study the BC stuff and take the BC AP exam. That is what a lot of people did at my school.</p>

6

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<p>If you really want to take BC, why not take it as a class, instead of taking the AB class and trying to self-study the additional stuff in BC?</p>