<p>so at my school we have 5 tracks of math-- the top track automatically goes into AP calc in senior year, while the one directly below it just does regular calc. that's the one i'll be doing next year. now, all my required math credits are all set, there's no specific class i HAVE TO take, but i'm gonna keep taking math. (i'm definitely not planning on majoring/having a career in a math-related field, but i do want to stay as competitive as possible for college stuff.)
however, there is the option of taking AP stat. it looks pretty interesting, i've heard good things about the teacher, etc. would it be a bad idea for me to take AP stat <em>instead</em> of my regular-level calc?</p>
<p>It is an incredibly interesting subject with a lot of practical application in comparison to calculus(which is of course practical for engineers, but not the majority of careers.) </p>
<p>If you do incredibly well on the Stat exam, it will look even better.</p>
<p>I think statistics is pretty boring. AP stats has more applications in non-science majors, but I never learned why the information works. The formulas are just given instead of derived like they would be in Calculus. There's also no proofs in the curriculum.</p>
<p>In the end, choose the class you would enjoy rather than which would look better on college applications. I don't think Stats is interesting and would recommend Calculus (I took both), but each person is different.</p>
<p>If you're not planning on majoring in math/science related fields, Stat would most likely be the better choice. If you're not an engineer or mathematician, I can't imagine that you would EVER use calc after high school. Stat, on the other hand, can be used. Analyzing and understanding statistics that are in the newspaper, interpreting them and what they mean. Stuff like that. Useful.</p>
<p>Ya. Take Stat.</p>
<p>I've heard stats is pretty boring, but that might just be at my school.</p>
<p>Is there any way you could take Stats and Calc simultaneously? I'm not sure it's a good idea to drop calc, especially since more and more high school students have that under their belts when they graduate. Admissions for some colleges actually expect students to have finished at least a year of calc, whereas I don't know of any that specifically ask for stats.</p>
<p>I think Calculus is more useful even for the non-science students. The purpose of calculus is not whether you will be able to find a derivative in your everyday life. It's about building up thinking skills while trying to figure out a proof or a concept. Due to less proof and logic, Statistics doesn't build such skills as much as Calculus does.</p>
<p>I agree with above that Calc and Stats simultaneously could be a good idea.</p>
<p>A lot of kids at my school who dont plan to take AP Calc often take AP Stat instead of regular calc. I took it this junior year and it is only boring if you go in thinking it is boring. On the other side, the actual class is easy but the exam in May is hard.</p>
<p>I was deciding this last year. My choices were both Stats and Calc or just Calc- these choices were made up by me. Calculus looks much better than just Statistics and while, you might not be going into engineering or anything, calculus is what most college admissions look for. Taking calculus is a challenge and admissions officers look for people who are challenging themselves to do well. By the way, I ended up taking both AP Stats and Calc AP BC. Not bad at all. Calculus is more for the real world. Statistics is needed in most majors, but it isn't hard at all- even AP.</p>
<p>My advice to you: Calculus AP or regular OR both Stats and Calc</p>
<p>I took calc BC as a sophomore and AP stats as a junior
i would say they are very interesting in their own ways.
they both have fair amount of formulas and both are fair conceptual
I liked calc because of the ways i can use it to find so many things i couldn't before
I like stats this year because it showed me how to see data and learn in some ways how much to believe numbers. Not what i would call normal math , but if you care enough to understand it, its actually really interesting.
Most stats teacher are boring and bad, but i had a good one.
my stats teacher wrote the very first AP stats test back in 1997. he is like 80 years old now and still teaching. He is still an AP grader and have written a textbook.
His class was very hard, but rewarding. out of all these people who took and got A's and 5's in AP calc bc last year, only 3 got A's in his class.
but being in his class almost guarantees a 5 on the AP test, unless you failed the class, in which you would receive a 4. All the extra credit we did in class was like to prove some of the formulas we use in the course, which was pretty hard but cool! Even enginneer majors need to take stats.</p>
<p>depends on how solid your math skills are for picking classes. but since you are not interested in math related major just take calc BC and get done with it so you don't have to take math classes the rest of your life!</p>
<p>the way math at my school works is that right now i'm locked into a track where i would be taking regular calc-- i couldn't get into an AP calc class without tutoring over the summer (which is not really possible for me) & testing in. math isn't my strong suit, but i'm not terrible.</p>
<p>would it really truly hurt me for applying if i just did stat?</p>
<p>(the way my schedule looks right now: APpsych, APbio, APstat, honors philosophy/literature, 2 choruses, directing a show- EC but for credit, TAing freshman sex ed)</p>