I’m going to be a sophomore in high school next year, and I’ve been wondering if it is possible to skip Calculus AB and take BC instead. I say “skip” because it is the norm at my school to take BC after AB. I was very VERY bored in my precal class this year and regret not taking Calc AB this year. I’ve self studied a bit over this summer, and have had some success, but I’m now struggling a bit.
The challenge exam to skip AB and take BC next year is August 16th. My question is, is it too much for me to try and take BC as well as many other APs (Chem, Chinese, World History, Physch)? Should I even attempt this instead of using my time to study for other APs? And if I should persist with this, what resources besides Khan Academy and Barron’s should I use?
Thanks
If you can pass the challenge exam, then by all means do so. However, I would not rush into BC if you are not comfortable with the AB topics and if skipping leaves you with limited or no math options junior and senior years.
Are there any negative consequences to the challenge exam? If not, I’d advise taking the challenge exam with minimal prep to see how comfortable you really are with calc. If you can study casually for the exam and still do well enough to be placed in BC, then you should not be overwhelmed by BC even with your other classes. If you have to study hours every day over the summer just to get placed into BC, you might be overwhelmed in the BC class combined with your other courses.
AP courses are done differently in different schools. Some schools have many students go from pre-calc straight to BC, and the BC course is structured to spend plenty of time on the AB concepts. If the recommended progression in your school is AB followed by BC though, your school’s BC course might spend very little time on AB and then move on to multivariable calc or other advanced topics at the end of the school year. My S’s school follows the latter, so it’s rare for anyone to skip AB because BC is much faster paced and assumes/expects students enter with a rock-solid understanding of AB concepts. You should speak with a counselor or math teacher to find out how your school does things, and ask for that person’s advice on which course would be best for you personally.
I see three problems with skipping AB.
Math is an area where what you learn today depends a LOT on what you learned last week and last year, and what you are going to learn next week and next year depends upon what you are learning today. Therefore it is important to get each of the steps down solidly before moving ahead.
Like others I wonder if you take calc BC in sophomore year, what math are you going to take for the next two years?
If you are so good at Math that you are considering doing this, then you might at some point consider a major in some STEM field. Most of the “TEM” part of STEM, plus physics, plus a few other fields are going to require you to be very good at calculus. This is something that you likely will need to know going forward.
Have you already taken trigonometry and done well in it?
Skipping AB is also common at my school and most students end with high b’s and low a’s at my school, failing mst of the tests (they get curved though). If you are comfortable with having a b or low a then go ahead and go for BC
Multivariate and AP Stats are my options for my junior and senior year.
There are no downsides to not passing the challenge exam, I just don’t get to take BC next year.
My math teacher recommended against me doing this, but she did allow me to at least attempt the challenge exam. The thing is, I know of other instances where other students managed to skip AB in my school, but in general most students take AB then BC.
Stop comparing yourself with other students. Just because there’s a norm going on, you don’t have to follow that. Why are you afraid of taking AB? BC is combined with two semester of calculus in college.
BC: review of calculus 1 and 2
AB: only calculus 1
Or perhaps do you think I should take the Calc AB class and the BC exam? I’d really like to take both Multivariate and Stat
That’s too much work. Unless you already mastered the material for AB
Do you mean take the AP exam for BC after taking only the AB course sophomore year? No, don’t do that. Take the AP exam that corresponds to the course you take.
Do you mean take the challenge exam just to see how you do but still go with AB? Sure, since there’s no penalty you could do that if you want to spend your time that way.
If your math teacher, who knows your skills and also knows your school curriculum, recommended against taking BC then you really have to think hard about why you want to skip AB. There will be plenty of time in college to take all the math classes you want. You’re very advanced just to be headed to AB as a sophomore, and it sounds as if your school’s AP math courses are geared toward the AB to BC progression rather than the either/or AB/BC choice that some schools arrange. You certainly don’t need to jump to BC in your school as a sophomore, especially with your very rigorous courseload. AP World is generally a LOT of work, usually interesting but very time intensive. Your other AP classes can be challenging depending on your aptitude and interest, and may or may not involve a lot of work depending on the teachers.
Alright thanks for the suggestions everyone- I guess I’ll stick with AB next year. One worry I have is that my math teacher is rumored to retire after my junior year, and she’s the only teacher in my district that teaches Multivariate in high school. Is it possible to take BC and MV in my junior year, or does that not make sense
@friedshrimp165, you should check with your teachers but I’d guess that it would not be advisable to take MV and BC concurrently. I understand the concern about teacher retirement but you never know what might happen. Maybe a great teacher will take on MV, or you might have other options such as taking MV through a local community college or university. Or you could just take Stats senior year.
My D18 will be taking MV this year, her senior year. The MV teacher was also rumored to be leaving since she was a freshman, but hasn’t left. Rumor is just a rumor. I’d take AB as a sophomore and then BC as a junior. Your course load could be too much.
My D’s HS offered an intensive fast moving (19-day/month of June) “full year” AB summer course between her sophomore and junior years and really enjoyed it. Don’t miss out.
As folks have said, worse case scenario you take Stat senior year.
Why you so worried about Multivariate? Sometimes colleges won’t accept DE calculus
Calc BC is very tough, you may want to stick with AB.
I always suggest taking a course as dual enrollment over AP.
AP exams are difficult and sometimes teachers aren’t able to cover all the material.
If you were to take the class at a college the exam would cover exactly what your instructor covers and the final exam would not be the sole determining factor in your acquiring the college credit for the course.
@NASA2014 Not really about whether colleges will accept MV as credit, more to show colleges that I’m willing to take on a more vigorous class.
@sushiritto Really wish my school would offer a summer course on it 
Self studying in this case is kind of my weakness. If there were a class offered at my HS I’d take it and I think it’d give me necessary motivation I needed to skip AB. Sadly, there’s only courses at my community college, but it’s really expensive and too late.
I think I’ll stick to AB, and choose to put my time in other aspects. The good thing is I’ve spent quite a bit of time on studying AB already, and when I take it this year it’ll be rather easy.
Thanks for the advice everyone!