<p>I got to a very prestigious school in NY and i was wondering if colleges would view BC Calc and AP English as the same level of difficulty as they are both APs.</p>
<p>around 400 people are in my grade and of those 400, only 30 take BC Calc compared to the 120 kids who take AP English.</p>
<p>Why do you think only 30 take BC Calc?</p>
<p>There is no official list of difficulty, one is just rarer than the other. </p>
<p>On the unofficial list of “core” APs one should try to take if applying to elite schools, AP Calc (AB or BC) and AP English are both on it - one cannot substitute for the other.</p>
<p>@missbwith2boys only 30 take it because you have to follow the highest track through all of high school and it starts with 60 kids in freshman year and it’s a really difficult teacher so at least 25 drop out. Then through the years people realize they aren’t interested in putting in so much work for mediocre grades so they drop out. </p>
<p>The major problem is that the second of the around 6 possible tracks you can take is significantly easier. I was in high honors in 10th grade and my class went much further in topics my sister hadn’t even learned in her low honors 11th grade course.</p>
<p>Also, the APs at my school are actually ATs, which makes them much harder because they go beyond simply BC calc</p>
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<p>Six tracks? When I went to high school, core academic subjects had only two tracks, regular and honors. Honors included AP courses when you got to the appropriate level (e.g. the honors course after honors precalculus was AP calculus BC, and the honors course after honors English 11 was AP English literature).</p>
<p>Six tracks is possible- not necessarily better, but possible. </p>
<p>Example- local high school has 3 separate math tracks freshman year based on a placement test. Depending on performance, those classes can lead to different options sophomore, junior, and senior years.</p>
<p>Depending on the college you are applying to, you should be taking four years of the core academic subjects - math, history, english and science and 3-4 years of foreign language depending on the college. So I wouldn’t choose between AP English and AP Calculus, I would take both.</p>
<p>Wow this is good information. I’m so glad my son decided to take AP Calc BC and AP English this year along with AP Stats. Sounds like that should help him in admissions.</p>
<p>I’m biased towards rebellion, but I’d suggest talking with your guidance counselor to find away around the track system. Take both AP Calc BC and AP English (Lang or Lit?). Some classes are harder to get A’s in than others, but people still do it. If there’s a class of 30 working for mediocre grades, and one or two still get A’s, then make sure you’re one of those A students.</p>
<p>Edit: Was reading posts and forgot that the OP’s original question was on how colleges would view each. AP Calc BC is typically favored over AP English, but both are in the “core” set of AP’s you should take if offered.</p>