<p>I am going to be a junior next year and I hear the Calc AB teacher is like a god when it comes to teaching math. Everyone talks about how he is the best math teacher they've ever had.</p>
<p>However, my school doesn't offer Calc BC unless you take it online. Nobody I know has taken it online except for one person who said it was very very VERY hard and they hated it.</p>
<p>If I take Calc AB, how much extra self-studying would it take to be able to get a 5 on the BC exam?</p>
<p>Has anyone taken AB and then done well on the BC exam?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I know some schools offer BC Calc as a first year course, but at my school it is standard to do AB followed by BC. Honestly, AB Calc tends to be kind of killer on its own, so I would recommend you take it with the excellent teacher. Then with a good foundation you can take BC senior year and not have it be such torture. But that’s just me. If you’re super good at math you might be able to do it online as a first year course and do well.</p>
<p>I would absolutely take AB, unless you’re particularly gifted at math. You are evaluated in the context of your opportunities, so you won’t be penalized in admissions for not taking BC.</p>
<p>the way my teacher explained it:
AB Calc is one semester of college level calc stretched into one year. which means you can really focus on the subject material and not have to worry about keeping up with too fast a pace.
BC Calc is two semesters of college calc, in one year, so it covers AB Calc as well. But then you need to make sure you can keep up with the classwork and such.</p>
<p>In my school, you need to have taken BC Calc to even consider Multivariable or Higher Level Math. Of course, it might vary in schools. If you don’t really want to pursue a career in math, I think you should take AB Calc, since a good teacher is invaluable. But if you want to go for more advanced levels in math, then you should definitely take BC Calc.</p>
<p>It does vary. At my school you absolutely have to take AB before BC, because all AB knowledge is assumed so they cover more material than is on the AP test. It is a tough and rigorous course.</p>
<p>Look at the course description on Collegeboard. BC is basically AB (differentiation and integration)+other basic calculus topics (sequence, series, polar graphs). Series is a *****, but I know someone who placed out of Calc 1 and 2 after watching MIT OpenCourseWare calculus classes.</p>
<p>^Yeah Collegejunkie is wrong, you do NOT have to take AB before BC, that would be redundant. </p>
<p>You definitely need to take AB here. Taking BC in an online course won’t be as beneficial to your profile or to your stress level.</p>
<p>At my school the ONLY way you can take BC calc is if you take the full-year AB Calc and get a 4-5. Then you can take BC Calc, which is one semester.</p>
<p>^Oh, that’s interesting. Never heard of that system. Well then, it would depend on if BC is a 1 semester or 2 semester (which covers AB and BC) course.</p>
<p>At my school, practically every students who takes BC Calculus (without taking AB) gets a 4-5 on the AB subscore. That’s with about one semester of working on AB material. I feel like a full year of AB would be… overkill…</p>
<p>I agree with amt2011. At mine its Calc II/BC AP. By the time we are finished with a year of Calc I/AB, we could probably pass the BC test too, I’m unsure of why they do it that way.</p>