<p>Does it really matter? Junior D is finalizing her schedule next year and would really like to take both, but because of needing some classes for graduation that she has avoided like health and speech, she has to choose. Her path in college has not been determined, but she wants to go med school. She is hoping to get into UT Plan II and DS, but major is undecided at this point (ie Biology, Chemistry...etc) She can take the Health and Speech in Summer School and then piggy back Economic and Government leaving a space for both Math classes, but not so sure that is such a great idea for a senior in respect to burnout.</p>
<p>Schedule this year is:</p>
<p>AP/GT English III
AP Calculus AB
APUSH
AP Biology
AP Psychology
AP Music Theory
Band</p>
<p>Senior Year Projected:
AP/GT English IV
AP Calculus BC or AP Stat
AP Government/Speech
AP Chemistry
AP Economics/Health
AP Physics Calculus Based
Band </p>
<p>In this neck of the woods (and where I went to HS), you took either AB Calc AP or BC Calc AP, but not both. I have seen from other posters that in other geographic areas students do take both. It is my understanding that AB is one semester of college calc and BC is two semesters. In either case, depending on the chosen college, it may be insufficient preparation to continue in math on the college level and will need to be retaken anyway. Statistics is useful for a science background. For many med school admissions requirements the core science requirements should not be AP courses taken in HS, but college level at the actual college attended. I would think statistics is easier than calculus as a general matter. What does guidance counselor say about transcript. From out here it looks like she is going for as many AP classes as possible for that most rigorous designation. Would skipping BC calc hurt that? Is it necessary for the college admission? It looks like it will be a very challenging schedule.</p>
<p>BC Calc may help more with calc based physics. We take either/or AB or BC and D took BC last year and is taking Multivariable this year with AP Phyiscs but says the BC base helps. Now whether she’d have the same base with AB I don’t know.</p>
<p>Since she is already taking Calculus AB this year, I’d suggest Statistics. Her schedule looks heavy enough as it is.</p>
<p>Does she really need both calc classes? Isn’t half of the BC class the same material as AB?
Do students take AB/BC in a series? (at S’s school, it is either AB or BC–with the really strong math students choosing BC).</p>
<p>Honestly, a lot depends on your prospective major. If you are planning on majoring in a science, take the calculus, although statistics would also be a good choice. If you are planning on majoring in business, take statistics. If you are planning on majoring in a humanities or social science, take AP statistics.Frankly, I think that overall statistics is more applicable to many more majors.</p>
<p>Some colleges view AP Stats as “AP light”. One very selective school advised my son to take another AP instead of AP Stats (he didn’t, he ended up taking both AP Stats and AP Calc, and really liked AP Stats). You might check with UT, or see what your guidance counselor advises on this.</p>
<p>My D was faced with this choice last year. She is interested in humanities/social sciences. She chose BC Calculus. The reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Statistics is probably more important than Calculus for humanities and social sciences, which means that she will no doubt take statistics in college, possibly fulfilling some prerequisites in the process. </p></li>
<li><p>Stats is usually taught better in College than AP Stats is taught in high school.</p></li>
<li><p>She is highly unlikely to voluntarily take (or need) Calculus in college. So, in the interest of getting an all-round education, why not take it in high school?</p></li>
<li><p>In her school at least, BC Calc is the harder class, and generally when applying to colleges, it helps to be seen as taking the ‘most rigorous’ curriculum in senior year. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>As an aside, I am very surprised to see that such a strong student is taking no foreign language in either Junior or Senior year. Perhaps UT doesn’t care, but if your D applies to the more selective private universities, that is more likely to catch the attention of the admissions people than whether she took BC Calc or AP Stat.</p>
<p>BC Calculus was probably the most interesting class that I took in high school, and the BC calc curriculum emphasizes appreciating calculus as a human achievement, which I thought was really cool. All of my friends who took AP Stats found it incredibly boring. I would take BC Calc regardless, because calculus is just really, really fascinating, and I think that your daughter will gain a greater appreciation for just how incredible math is if she takes calculus instead of statistics.</p>
<p>She should take the Calculus BC class, as it si considered more rigorous than AP statistics,and will be needed for preparation for all her Pre-med science classes in college.
I also agree with the question above re: the lack of language in either her Jr or Sr . Has she already taken an AP foreign language class? If not, and if she is considering applying to selective private colleges, she will be at a serious disadvantage, as many do require 3 years of foreign language.</p>
<p>Is it possible for her to study to take the AP Calc BC test this year, since she’s already taking the AP Calc AB class this year?</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters that some schools see AP Stats as a “lighter” AP, with better versions available at the college level. This is what our S’s sophomore AP Calc BC teacher advised. </p>
<p>Thus, our S took a rigorous math route, entailing an online class in Linear Algebra last year and Multivariable Calculus this year. (He’s thinking of majoring in physics.) Caveat: On line math classes at this level are not for the faint at heart. Our S had the luxury of a live in math professor in my H. Even so, H thinks concepts would have been more solidified in a regular class (thus he is spending more time with S on the MV Calc class this year.)</p>
<p>She loves, loves, loves Calculus so that is probably what she will do. To the following statement:</p>
<p>“As an aside, I am very surprised to see that such a strong student is taking no foreign language in either Junior or Senior year. Perhaps UT doesn’t care, but if your D applies to the more selective private universities, that is more likely to catch the attention of the admissions people than whether she took BC Calc or AP Stat.”</p>
<p>Because she was on a GT track, she took Spanish I & II in 7 & 8 grade from the High School and she took Spanish III & IV in 9th & 10th grade. When I first came to CC, I thought this was only going to give her 3 years on Language, but on the Transcript, the grades are listed for all four classes and she meets the 4 year of FL requirement of her degree program. So when you look at the transcript, Spanish I-IV is on there.</p>
<p>^^ Okay, that makes sense. Though I’d have still encouraged my D to do AP Spanish instead of AP Psych for Jr year.</p>
<p>ETA: I too agree with the idea to take BC Calc exam if your D is doing very well in AB and if she loves loves loves Calc. If she has a 5 in BC in Junior year, then she would probably be okay taking AP Stats only in Sr. Yr.</p>
<p>I think she should consider AP Stats since she’s already taken AP Calc A/B. It’ll give her a better idea of stats in general and probably come in handy later. In reality, I doubt it’ll make much of a difference to the college - she’s already taking a plenty rigorous schedule. The point of possibly skipping out of some levels of calc in college could be true depending on the college and the major but OTOH the AP stats might allow her to skip out of a class as well.</p>
<p>Note that it’s possible to take the AP Calc B/C exam without taking the actual course. If your D feels very comfortable with her Calc A/B and is willing to take a look at the additional material in the B/C (without necessarily doing all the work or the class) she might be able to pass the B/C test.</p>
<p>As someone who took both AP Stats and AP Calc as a senior, I’ll offer my two cents</p>
<p>AP Calc-A student has to LOVE math to do well in AP Calc. It’s very rigorous, but it follows the basic patterns of math. If you’re good in Algebra, Calc is a good choice</p>
<p>AP Stats-This is def. less of a “math” class but I think it’s much harder than Calc. It’s a brand new way of thinking and requires you to step outside the typical “math” box. </p>
<p>If your school requires Calc AB before BC, Calc BC will not be that difficult, since they will be covering in a year what is usually done in one semester.
Stats is less valuable admissions-wise, and many schools do not give credit for it. It can also be very boring if you have a bad teacher.</p>
<p>S1 took AP Calc AB as a junior and AP Stats as a senior. His college major required Stats which he heard was a really tough class at his university. He was glad he already had it out of the way.</p>
<p>^^ Actually my D’s school requires AB before BC. But because of this, the BC teacher openly admits that she teaches the class at a level far higher than the AP BC curriculum. The kids suffer and groan at the impossible tests, but then the vast majority end up with a 5 in the AP exam. So it would be best to find out exactly how rigorous the class is in your D’s school.</p>
<p>AP Calc won’t get you out of Med School math requirements, but you can take the college equivalent of AP Stat, which will tend to be a very easy class.</p>
<p>If she loves Calc, go with it! Stats is not hard for someone talented in math, and it would only be a semester-long class at college. One element to keep in consideration is that calc-loving women are in great demand at schools, for scholarships, summer programs and internships. She may want to consider a math major.</p>