I was wondering if it is worth it to take pre calc along with AP stats. My original thinking was that since math is not my strongest subject (I can do it with ease, but as long as I am well versed in the type of math we are doing) I might as well take pre calc as well since I will have to take calc in college. But then I got to thinking, and I want to take AP bio because last year I took the AP bio exam and got a 3, which won’t give credit at any of the schools I am looking in to. I was okay at ALG II, which I hear calc is just beefed up ALG II, so would stats be rigorous enough to prepare me for college math so I can drop pre calc and add AP bio? I want to be a bio/chemistry teacher so this could really help me free up a few credit hours.
If you are going to have to take calculus in college, you should definitely take pre-calculus in high school, especially if you are not extremely confident in math. When I was in college, pre-calculus was a prerequisite course for calculus, and students who had not taken it in high school had to take it in college (unless they scored high enough on the math placement test). You can check schools you are considering to see what their policies are, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to test out of pre-calculus, unless you are very confident in math. Also keep in mind that college courses often move faster than their equivalent high school courses, so if you do best when you are “well versed” in the type of math you are doing, then starting calculus in college with weak math preparation might be challenging.
If you don’t take pre-calculus in high school, you may be behind in math in college (perhaps being required to take pre-calculus in college). That’s not the end of the world, of course, but since you seem to have the opportunity to take the course in high school, I would highly recommend it (unless you hate math and don’t think you will ever need calculus in the future).
Stats is not a “traditional” math class and doesn’t really fall in line with other math classes (algebra, geometry, calculus, multivariable, differential equations, etc). This means you can take it at almost any time since most of the work is done by tables or computers.
I would recommend that if you’re interested in a math or science field, that you take pre-calculus. It is very important to have a good knowledge of fundamental math as you delve into calculus and beyond.
If you are more interested in a humanities major, however, you’re probably better off taking stats. Stats provides a great base of knowledge that can stand alone and is useful regardless of which field you are in.
So would it be more beneficial for me to drop stats and replace it with AP Bio? My main problem is that I want to free up as many credit hours as possible so I can graduate in 4 years since I am strapped for cash, and if I ace the stats exam (which i hear is relatively easy to do) I can free up more math credits. Or, should I self study for the Bio exam since I am very confident in bio and keep stats AND pre calc? I got a 3 on bio, which is a decent score, and that was with a regular bio class and I ran out of time for two essays.