<p>I'm not sure if this is the right section, but I've just experienced pressure by my guidance councilor to take calculus AB instead of BC, and repeats that it is a requirement for BC, even though i know it isn't. Throughout the year we had a multitude of discussions on this subject, but I'm having a hard time convincing him to allow me to take the class. Most of the students at my school aren't motivated at all and simply do what's recommended, which might be why my teacher was shocked at me requesting to take calculus BC. I've gotten good grades in pre-calculus, and I've heard from friends and teachers alike from a high school nearby that taking calculus ab when bc was offered was considered a sign of being lazy and unmotivated. My school starts monday and i'm trying to prepare for the inevitable call to guidance about this class, and I need to be able to my councilor that I'm making the right choice in taking this class, or present with an option, which is why I've come here. Any help would be appreciated on the matter.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure AB is not required for BC. Essentially, AB is differential calculus. BC is differential and integral calculus. In college, differential and integral calculus is a one-year sequence. Differential calculus by itself takes a semester. Essentially, AB turns a semester-long class into a year-long one. Also, if you’ve looked at the curriculum for BC and believe that you are prepared for it, I think the guidance counselor really has no reason to force you to withdraw from the class, if you are prepared to face all the consequences of your decision. </p>
<p>However, when you talk with him/her, I would be very polite, as the guidance counselor writes one of the letters of recommendation for college on the Common App. Try to make him/her see your point and that you’re just trying to challenge yourself.</p>
<p>@93tiger16:
For some schools, AB and BC are offered in parallel paths (the stronger students take BC, while the not-so-strong students take AB). For other schools, however, AB is a prerequisite for BC, although BC MAY be supplemented with additional topics in single-variable calculus, or even topics in multivariable calculus.</p>
<p>It’s also not true that “essentially AB is differential calculus.” There is a fair bit of integral calculus in AB. The letters, in fact, basically stand for the following:
A - Precalculus (yes, precalculus)
B - differential AND integral calculus
C - additional topics in single-variable calculus (techniques of integrations, series, etc.)
…though I imagine that an AB class contains just a little bit of precalculus material.</p>
<p>@Paradox439:
“I’ve gotten good grades in pre-calculus, and I’ve heard from friends and teachers alike from a high school nearby that taking calculus ab when bc was offered was considered a sign of being lazy and unmotivated.”
This is nonsense. Some students may not be strong enough to take BC. Some schools don’t offer BC.</p>
<p>Does your HS have a course catalog? Does it say in there that AB is a prerequisite for BC? If so, see if there is a process to follow for those who want to take a course without the listed prerequisites. Maybe you need a letter from the BC teacher giving permission. Maybe you also need a letter from your parents requesting that you take BC.</p>
<p>I personally think it’s a bad idea to do this. What if your school’s BC class assumes that you know/have learned all the AB topics? Like I stated earlier to 93tiger16, maybe your school’s BC course only covers the “C” material plus topics that are not in the AB or BC syllabus. Ask the BC teacher.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree that OP should consult the curriculum before making any decisions, as schools may teach AB and BC differently. Also, let me rephrase. Calculus is normally a three-course sequence in college: Calc I, Calc II, and Calc III (Multi). Calculus AB is essentially Calc I. A 5 on the AP exam will place you out of Calc I in most schools. Additionally, a 5 on the BC exam will place you into multivariate. In AB, you generally only touch on the concept of integration and antidifferentiation. Only in BC do you get into techniques of integration. </p>
<p>However, if your school teaches to the recommended AP curriculum, BC “includes all topics covered in Calculus AB plus additional topics”. Again, depends on the school.</p>
<p>At our school AB and BC are both full year classes. AB covers all of their material in two trimesters and spends the last trimester preparing for the test. BC covers all of the AB material in one trimester and spends the rest of the time (up until about two weeks before the test) covering additional material. A lot of kids skip right to BC because you learn everything from AB, just at an accelerated pace. Kids that take AB then BC usually skip the first trimester of BC because they already know that material.</p>
<p>I went right from honors pre-calc to BC calc, and I really didn’t have any difficulty with calc until the last few weeks (but so did everyone else). BC is at a REALLY fast pace though, so I would only recommend taking it if you coasted through pre-calc (and all other math classes before that, particularly algebra II).</p>
<p>There’s no harm in starting in BC calc, since you can always drop back into AB, right? Since the class gets progressively harder, you should have no trouble with the first half of the class. If you already are struggling at the beginning, I would definitely drop back into AB. If you find it (relatively) easy, you should be able to survive the class. The AP BC test is very generous and has the largest percentage of 5s received by a landslide. Good luck!</p>
<p>I took AB calc last year, and I could’ve taken BC calc instead, but I figured that BC calc blows through a lot of topics really fast, which would be difficult, so I took AB. This year I am taking Calc 2 and 3, which I believe, you would not have to take Calc 2 if you took BC, but, I think it is important to thoroughly learn everything.</p>
<p>Check the curriculum for the classes and see if the BC class covers the majority of the topics in the AB curriculum. I’m taking AB and BC (I guess it’s just called BC, since there’s an intro to calc/AB class) but we have a weird block scheduling. Don’t let your counselor pressure you into taking AB if you really want to take BC.</p>