<p>Calc BC is the only type of calculus that fits into my timeslots and it is definetly related to what I want to pursue later on~engineering/architecture/econ. </p>
<p>But last year's pre-calc was a devastating experience Even though I ended up getting a B+, I never would want to go through the kind of stress it gave me. Plus, because of my dislike of math (temporary, especially before the finals) , I do not think I absorbed the materials very well.
I like math again now. But even though I studied a lot for calc, the material still eludes me and I cant even guarantee a C without going crazily stressed. </p>
<p>I can still drop AP Calc within these few days without penalty.
But I am concerned that if I do drop it, my courseload (AP Psych, AP Stats, AP Bio, Honors English, Honors Acting, +many ECs + test prepping + college apps=stressful!!) would become too light for the top colleges.
2 or 3 AP classes are common in my school, many are taking 4 or 5 APs. </p>
<p>Suggestions, advice from those of you who've been there, methods of studying Calc, helpful mental attitudes and alternatives are all more than welcome.
THanx!:);)</p>
<p>Don’t drop English. Virtually any decent school will want to see 4 years of English!</p>
<p>High school Psych is generally considered pretty worthless. If you are going to drop something other than Calc, drop that.</p>
<p>I suggest that you get a Calc tutor, pronto. If your family is not going to be able to afford a tutor, I’d consider dropping Calc since you are also taking AP Stats. If possible, add an academic honors or AP class to replace it. Why aren’t you taking a foreign language?</p>
<p>Some ideas that may prove helpful…AP Calc BC seems to be a pretty big leap from pre-calc, especially in light of the struggle you had last year. Have you talked to your teacher, asking for their assessment and recommendation? . Can you work your schedule to take Calc AB, instead? Calculus is really important in the ladder of course work you will need to have when pursuing engineering, IMO.</p>
<p>I’d recommend you buy/borrow the “3000 Solved Problems in Calculus (Schaum’s Outline)” book immediately. Consider dropping AP Stats so you can focus on Calc BC. Go get a tutor if you can. If you still need more time, drop AP Psych and/or some of your EC’s.</p>
<p>If you are seriously considering going into engineering you will want to keep calculus. As someone else mentioned perhaps you need to drop something else like acting or stats and try to get into calculus AB instead of BC. </p>
<p>Drop it – but recognize that you have a problem.</p>
<p>If you’re serious about the possible majors you mentioned, you’re going to have to take essentially the same calculus course as a college freshman. And you’re going to need to truly understand the material because you will be using it in later courses.</p>
<p>Is it possible that you are struggling now because of a shaky foundation in precalculus last year? If it is, and if you can afford it, you might want to consider getting a math tutor – to review precal with you, not to help you through calculus. Or, if you’re going to have a free period, would your school let you sit in on a precal class? Or could you take a precal class at a community college next summer? </p>
<p>The idea here is for you to be able to hit the ground running the next time you take calculus.</p>
<p>I should also add that if you’re in trouble this early in BC calculus, it’s definitely a signal that something is wrong. The first few months of BC calculus cover differential calculus, which many students consider to be easier than both precal and the integral calculus that comes up later in the year.</p>
<p>“Don’t drop English. Virtually any decent school will want to see 4 years of English!”</p>
<p>Does that really apply to engineering schools? I didn’t take 4 years of English, and I know others who didn’t, all going to college. Will they really reject someone because they didn’t take a 4th year of a subject that they don’t care about?</p>
<p>Also, don’t be worried about it. I took BC, really did terribly (I didn’t fail it… but definitely did very poorly, while putting a lot of effort into it), got a 5 on the AB, and am taking Calc 2 honors, and having no trouble so far. BC if ****ing hard.</p>
<p>Does that really apply to engineering schools? I didn’t take 4 years of English, and I know others who didn’t, all going to college. Will they really reject someone because they didn’t take a 4th year of a subject that they don’t care about?>></p>
<p>Well, here you couldn’t even graduate without 4 years of English.</p>
<p>S would not have been accepted at any of the engineering schools he applied to or the one he is attending without good grades and 4 years of English. Check the requirements for the schools you are applying to - the website should indicate the minimum high school requirement - if not call. Most likely you will need or even want to repeat the Calc sequence for engineering. If you can drop another class (not English) to do better in Calc then that would be the best, I would think.</p>
<p>I second DO NOT drop English, drop either BC, Stats, or Psych to make your life a little easier - if need be.</p>
<p>BC calculus is too big a leap from your pre calc. My son has done AB and now is doing BC…very easy transition but even with AB he says the class moves a lot faster and you don’t have time to absorb the new stuff well without a lot of extra work. You do need calculus and just because you are struggling now does NOT mean that you are not going to be successful at engineering. However, a bad grade will hurt getting into colleges and damage your love of math–the worst outcome. I absolutely love math and use advanced math in my work, but it is the love of math that makes for success in it, not brute force effort in misery. SO…do the following. Ideally, you should drop the psych or any elective (including stats) and get into AB. Your advisor should tell you this. Dropping English is not really an option since most schools require 4 years of english. Or, drop the course and commit to taking AB calc or equivalent at a junior college. You can’t help it if your schedule won’t let you change to AB and schools can understand scheduling difficulties so you can make sure your advisor puts that you are taking Calc on line or at a junior college because of scheduling difficulties. Whatever you do, don’t assume getting Schuam’s guide will save you. TERRIBLE book series that does zero for understanding…truly a brute force method to memorize solutions without knowledge. It won’t work for BC calculus–trust me. Calculus is not the times tables – it is a very different animal and, as an engineer, you will use it daily and you need to develop an intuitive understanding of what you are doing with it.</p>
<p>I barely got calculus the first time I took it at 16. (Got an A in the course but a 2 on the BC exam.) I took it again in college (I even took it self-paced) at 19 and I couldn’t figure out why it had seemed so mysterious 3 years earlier. I think it’s partly developmental, and partly that things are often easier the second time around. I agree with others though, if you are having difficulties this early in the year you probably need to bail. Is it too late to pick something else up? And second the others, dropping English is not an option.</p>
<p>As for dropping English, my school regards Acting as an English class which is how I got 4 years of English to graduate from HS. And then Michigan Engineering didn’t seem to care despite the fact they say they require 4 years of English. He is also in an acting class.</p>
<p>At the very least would people agree that maybe he should look at regular English instead of Honors?</p>
<p>English is too important to drop. At the very least, any respectable college will want to see four years of it. Even if you have absolutely no appreciation for literature, the reading and writing skills that you’ll pick up over time will come in handy. I might drop psychology or statistics first. </p>
<p>What went wrong with pre-calc? Did you find the material difficult, did you not study it enough, or did you simply do poorly on tests? Or are you sometimes easily stressed? Most college engineering programs are very intense and stressful. If you want to apply as an engineering major, you need to make sure you are comfortable enough with math and physics to get through it. I think you should get private tutoring if you can afford it. </p>
<p>Sometimes in calculus it is very helpful to look for a physical or graphical interpretation of concepts. Try to get someone to explain things to you using pictures instead of just equations. If you’re having trouble solving problems, try to go back to first principles and see if you can work out a solution.</p>
<p>Op- you will love stats in college. In most places, you will be grouped with students majoring in psych or other social sciences, and the pace will feel deep and slow for you.</p>
<p>So drop the Stats now, take it in college during a very stressful semester when you need a class which won’t involve long papers but that will be interesting and fun.</p>
<p>And approach your calc teacher ASAP to find out what you can do to help fill in the gaps of your knowledge. I took a remedial math course (algebra through calc) before graduate school which was a non-negotiable requirement. I discovered that after years of hating math I loved it; the course was taught by a professor whose speciality was teaching math and calc to the math phobic and he was a dynamo. See if your calc teacher can get you help from someone who can quickly diagnose the problems you are experiencing.</p>
<p>WoW, thanks everyone for your kindly advice. </p>
<p>So the below is my current schedule (i’am a senior):
AP Psych (not hard, but a lot of HW)
AP Stats (Pretty Easy to do well)
AP Calc (yeah…)
AP Bio
Honors english (requires 4 years but it is an EASY class)
Honors Acting (EASY)</p>
<p>I would want to drop Psych and keep Calc but that would mean that I only had 3 years of social science but 5 years of math (this year I have both calc and stats). The top colleges would probs not look to kindly on that. </p>
<p>I already have a tutor in mind but the price is HIgh!
BTW how much do you guys think a tutor should reasonably ask for per hour?</p>
<p>For some majors (or if your major doesn’t even require statistics), a statistics-without-calculus course is adequate, and it’s much as described above.</p>
<p>But if you major in economics – which you said was one of the fields of interest to you – you will have to take a much more rigorous statistics-with-calculus course, often one specificially geared to econ majors. This course is about as far from easy as you can get.</p>