<p>If I'm interested in being a physics major in college, would a B in an accelerated AP Calculus BC course from first semester of sophomore year impact my chances for a good college or scholarship? Additionally, is it more beneficial to take more difficult classes and average a B or to take easier classes and get As?</p>
<p>I would not accelerate my pace unless I was capable of getting an A. While one B isn’t going to hurt anyone, especially if you are accelerated and especially if you get higher grades in harder classes later, it just doesn’t make sense to me to be a B student when you can take the same classes and a slightly less accelerated pace and show that you are an A student, not a B student. </p>
<p>If you are three grade levels ahead in math, shouldn’t you be one of the top math students who will find any high school math course including calculus BC to be an easy A?</p>
<p>Disagree with the above posts, I think the fact that you are on such an advanced pace shows you are capable of handling the coursework, especially since you can still get at least a B in the course. Getting a B doesn’t kill your chances of getting into a great school, but since you are looking at a math/science major it would behoove you to not make a habit of it.</p>
<p>What tier of colleges?<br>
General answer: it’s a toss-up: taking it soph year versus not getting an A. For tippy tops, have to remember your competition may also have taken it early and gotten the A. Think it though wisely.</p>
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<p><a href=“The Harvard Crimson | Class of 2017”>http://features.thecrimson.com/2013/frosh-survey/academics.html</a> indicates that, even at Harvard, the highest level of math taken by incoming frosh was higher than calculus BC for 19.9% of them. While this is a lot in the general context, it indicates that even at the most selective schools, most (80.1%) go in no more advanced in math than calculus BC.</p>
<p>But OP wants a STEM major. Look at the 74% who had AP calc or BC and think about how many of those who wanted STEM got Bs. I can’t answer that for Harvard but can tell you it’s why tier matters. Many, many schools will be ok with a soph B, especially if he continues with challenging math. It can be harder when there are thousands of aggressive applicants with rigor and A grades. </p>
<p>This is probably the first B OP has ever gotten in math, so let’s cut them a little slack. What it says is, you might need to study a little harder than you have in the past. Get that A second semester, learn your lesson and move forward. If you can’t get it up to an A, it might be time to step back a reevaluate - either you need to recommit to studying or you might be hitting the math wall. And there’s also chance your teenage brain hasn’t caught up with the ability to go further in math yet - there’s an interesting body of work on that.</p>
Thank you all for your advice. I will probably be spending a lot more time on math than I have in the past. Hoping for the best!