<p>As a senior taking BC Calc, probably the most challenging course in my school, I am not performing up to par. I had a ~4.0 GPA last year but BC Calc will probably be a C+, hopefully a B- first semester this year; all my other grades will probably be in the A range. Will this affect me negatively? And it's not just me--lots of people are having trouble with the class. I've heard that admissions officers look leniently upon BC Calc grades because they recognize how difficult it is--is this true? Or am I screwed?</p>
<p>In that case, how necessary is it to send mid-year reports? I've heard that some schools don't look at them if your academic record is strong so far, which I think mine is. Any advice?</p>
<p>BC Calc is much harder than a lot of APs.. you must be joking. It's harder than AB Calc, Physics B, Stat, Enviro Sci. Maybe it's easier at other schools but at my school it's pretty ridiculous.</p>
<p>In the book A is for Admissions, Michelle Hernandez says that Dartmouth didn't look at a C in an AP math a reason to send a probation letter, though I think a C in any other AP course would warrant one.</p>
<p>Having been through calc BC - I'm still pretty clueless as to how it's graded :]</p>
<p>In the letter they sent me there was two grades - I got 4 in ab and 4 in bc. I have no idea what this means, but it could be an indication that they separate the differentiation and integration parts of the course.</p>
<p>I still don't get taylor-mclauren series btw ;]</p>
<p>i'm the only student at my school taking calc bc, and I therefore got stuck in the AB class...which I had last year; shows up as BC, but doing an AP curriculum; sort of boring, but no real complaints...until AP test time comes...i'm supposed to do independent BC stuff, but that sounds extremely difficult, and plus, I'm not motivated enough right now</p>
<p>also, send your AB score to let the school know how rigorous your calculus curriculum is</p>
<p>Silly question... As I am not american I am curious to know what all those AP calculus courses are and what they cover (and in what time period). What's the difference between AB and BC (and whatever else)?</p>
<p>ab covers basic differentiation and maybe a bit on antiderivatives</p>
<p>bc includes integration calculus and has other advanced subjects like taylor-mclauren series. AB is the college equivalent of first semester calculus, while a 3 or higher on the BC exam entitles you to credit for the second semester.</p>
<p>at my school they let you go through half the year before committing to ab or bc, so I chose bc because my mark at that point was pretty good. On the test you can clearly distinguish the ab level and bc level questions. And in my experience bc is much more difficult than ab. I suggest that if you have a choice, take bc if you have an A.</p>
<p>oh, and AP is international. We have it here in Canada as well</p>
<p>Taylor and McLaurin series are had at first glance, it just takes some time. It's just like when you first do derivatives and integrals, it doesn't make sense at first, but look back at that, it doesn't seem hard at all. Series will be like this in time.</p>
<p>I agree. Depending on your exposure to the material, it becomes almost second-nature to you after a while. Series/sequences aren't so bad once you get the rules and conditions memorized. Minor details such as remainder theorem still bug me though.</p>
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oh, and AP is international. We have it here in Canada as well
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<p>You'll be the second person I remind today that education is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada. There's no AP in Quebec where the pre-university system is quite different (and used to be great until they implemented silly reforms 8 years ago or something, the secondary curriculum is going down the drain... fortunately cegep remains pretty unaffected). I was just wondering how calculus AB and BC compare to what I know as calculus 1 and 2 (single variable differential and integeral calculus, with sequences and series included in the latter).</p>
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In the book A is for Admissions, Michelle Hernandez says that Dartmouth didn't look at a C in an AP math a reason to send a probation letter, though I think a C in any other AP course would warrant one.