<p>I was thinking of taking AP Calculus BC my junior year and I was wondering whether it would negatively impact my chances of admission if I chose to take AP Statistics my senior year instead of a higher-level college math? Would colleges think I was slacking off regardless of an otherwise "rigorous" course load?</p>
<p>Would it be better to just take AP Calc BC my senior year?</p>
<p>I took AP Calc AB junior year and am in AP Stat this year. I did not get into any Ivies, but I did get into Rice, Vanderbilt, Emory, etc. I know it’s only an anecdote, but it does show that schools don’t look at that as “slacking off.” It may be AP Stat and not AP Calc, but it is an AP course, keep in mind. ;D</p>
<p>That said, I would not recommend taking AP Stat after AP Calc, especially if your AP Calc class is known for being difficult. I am having a really hard time with AP Stat - not in my grade, as I have a 96%, but in staying awake and paying attention. It is so much simpler than Calc and is rather uninteresting. If you can, take Calc II/III through your local community college instead.</p>
<p>Yea, cause you need calculus in college anyway. Take it senior year, so it’ll still be fresh in your mind.</p>
<p>Sorry, I was assuming you were taking AP Calc BC next year no matter what. If you feel comfortable with a year’s gap between Pre-Calc (or whatever prep course for Calc your school has) and AP Calc, you could take AP Stat junior year and wait until senior year for AP Calc.</p>
<p>I’d take both if I could do it over again. I took AP Stats senior year and that left me slightly rusty when I took multivariable freshman year.</p>
<p>But stats is really useful if you’re going into biology or social sciences.</p>
<p>So I would be better off taking AP Stats my junior year then AP Calc my senior year? It would make sense since I hear more people take AP Calc than Stats their senior year.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’d say it wouldn’t matter what order you took the courses. If you took BC in junior year, that alone might wow some colleges. Taking AP Stats senior year isn’t a bad thing. Yes, it is easier than AP Calc BC, but its still a math course. Not everyone has to take college-level classes in high school.</p>
<p>Go ahead and do Calculus your junior year, then double up on Stats and higher-level calculus (even if for only one semester). I’m taking AP Statistics online after taking AP Calculus BC junior year and I’m in multivariable calculus at a community college. Multivariable calc is quite simple and is mostly set-up, so as a student ahead in math, you will do quite well in either class, provided you do well in AP Calc BC. AP Statistics is an exercise in focus (especially with my experience in an online format), but the content is more applicable to your daily life so you might find some motivation there.</p>
<p>Most schools evaluate their applicants in the context of their school and opportunities. They definitely don’t expect you to dual-enroll to continue your math credits if Multivariable calculus isn’t available in high school. It would be a problem if you were looking at majoring in a STEM field and chose AP Stats over Calculus, but doing both is just an added bonus, regardless of the order. </p>
<p>Additionally, if you choose AP Physics C as a class your senior year (if offered), you should have a good review of basic integration and differentiation and trig / algebra, so it wouldn’t be as much of a deficiency as you think.</p>
<p>I was recommending Stat before Calc on a more personal level. Stat is mind-numbingly easy/boring now.</p>
<p>I am keeping up on Calc through AP Physics C, and while it’s not perfect, it’ll suffice.</p>
<p>Thank you to all of the people who have posted so far, I appreciate your advice. :)</p>
<p>I am leaning towards taking AP Calc my junior year and then AP Stats senior year and I actually was planning on taking AP Physics B (My school only offers B) my senior year so I don’t know how it’ll help me much since AP Physics B is less calculus-focused than C. The reason I asked was because I didn’t want the decision to affect my chances at extremely selective colleges. I don’t think I would mind the gap between AP Calc and college math too much.</p>