As a high school senior looking to major in the STEM field, would taking AP Stats have looked better on my application compared to Honors Pre-Calculus? I am currently taking Honors Pre-Calculus as I am not one year advanced in math so I could not take AP Calc AB or BC. I was under the impression that taking pre-calculus would benefit me more so I chose Honors Pre-calc over AP Stats, but now I wondering if AP Stats would have been a better choice. I am also worried that not having an AP math class would look bad compared to other applicants who take AP Calc.
You’ll be better off with Pre-Calc if you are choosing a calculus based major like engineering or physics.
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I’m planning to major in Neuroscience or Biology, would statistics have been better in that case?
Probably about the same. I’d keep riding the horse that you’re on.
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No.
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In general, do you think it will impact me too much that I am in pre-calculus and not AP Calc BC?
I think precalc was the better choice, one of my kids took precalc and AP stat as a sophomore, but math is her favorite subject (and my least favorite).
You’re ineligible to take Calc BC, and you can’t go back in time to accelerate your math progression. So no sense in worrying about it.
Assuming the rest of your schedule over 4 years was rigorous and balanced, and you’re not applying to places like MIT, the lack of calc is unlikely to be a deal breaker.
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There’s really two questions in there, will it impact your admission chances and will it impact your education? I think having pre-calc instead of AP stats won’t hurt your admission chances, and pre-calc is the better math for furthering your education.
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I kept my schedule extremely rigorous, and made sure to take the honors math course options over the regular ones to compensate for the fact that I am not a full year advanced in math. My top college choice as of right now is CWRU, so I’m a little concerned about how my lack of calc may affect my admissions there.
Thank you! I was mainly worried about how it will impact my admission chances. I wanted to take at least 4 APs this year, but since I chose pre-calc, I now only have 3 APs which has been stressing me out.
It won’t
Take precalculus. Not even close.
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You wouldn’t have been eligible for stem majors at most selective 4-year universities without precalculus. So, youre better off.
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Biology majors commonly have to take calculus, and may have to take calculus-based statistics. In high school, precalculus will get you there more effectively than AP statistics.
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I agree - Pre-calc is at least as good as, if not better than, AP Stats.
The CalcBC question is non-actionable, so don’t spend time thinking about it.
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You really need pre-calc to do well in AP Stats, too. It is usually a prerequisite, but every once in a while someone ends up in it without pre-calc and they are trying to teach themselves trig while attempting AP Stats. It is not pretty.
Get a solid foundation this year in Pre-calc and you will be well on your way to a great Fall semester with college level calc. If there are placement tests you may actually do better that the kids who are a few years out from Algebra 2 and trig which are heavy on those tests. You will be fine.
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Precalc is the best option. Most colleges have placement exams and precalc will be the best prep so that you can get placed in a calculus class in college.
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Echoing everyone else - pre-calc. It’s a core math class so you really need it.
Stick with pre Calc. If you have to take Calc in college, which is likely given your STEM interests, you’ll be lost without this critical prep.