Hello,
I’m a current high school sophomore and will be registering for junior year courses within the next few weeks. I’m hoping for some guidance on what math course I should take next year.
I’m currently enrolled in pre-calculus, and so far have a 98 average (3rd MP just ended). I’d like to take calculus next year, although I’m not sure what level to take it at.Typically, students at my school take calc AB and BC as a sequence, and I don’t know of anyone who has jumped to BC. However, I really enjoy math and would like to take BC my junior year so that I can pursue math at a higher level during my senior year.
My concern is that my school’s version of BC will focus only on topics not covered in AB; I’m worried that the class will build on knowledge that I lack. I’ve considered self-studying AB over the summer to avoid this, but I’m not sure if self-study is a viable option.
Thanks in advance to anyone who offers advice - it’s much appreciated!
I’d suggest speaking with your current math teacher and with someone who teaches Calc BC in your school. If they think you’re ready to go to BC junior year, they can let you know if there are topics you should study over the summer. You shouldn’t need to self study the entire AB curriculum to prepare for BC. It is definitely possible to go from pre-calc directly to calc BC, but you really should check in with the appropriate teachers at your school to make sure it’s a good path for you.
You will do just fine in Calculus BC. My daughter took it without any other Calculus class beforehand, and it was no problem. Your 98 in pre-calc shows you are more than ready for it. I think it is odd your school tries to put students through both AB and BC. My daughter has said repeatedly that Calculus uses a lot of algebra, and I am sure you have a solid grounding in that.
@mommyrocks, that’s how it’s done in my S’s entire school district (very large Texas public, many thousands of students across four high schools) and from what I know of neighboring large public school districts it’s the same there too. In Texas public the “level” students (still considered college prep) just need to finish high school with Algebra 2. It’s considered advanced to get to pre-calculus. Finishing with Calc AB senior year is the most common “honors” track, and there are many students who do the AB to BC progression. Only the very tippy top go from pre-calc in sophomore to BC in junior and then on to post-AP math senior year. So the AB to BC progression is definitely a normal thing.
A 98 sounds like tippy top to me. 
Agree with talking with your math teacher. Although many schools would not require AB to do BC, if that is the typical plan in your school they may be teaching BC not just to the test but at a higher level than could be easily handled without the prior year. Since this is a college admissions site, I’ll assume that is a concern of yours as well. Typically if you are looking at the tippy top most selective colleges, they will expect that you took the most challenging coursework available to you and have done well on that. You will be judged within the context of your school and not against other kids whose math track might include Calc 3 and linear algebra.
I would talk to your math teacher as well as your guidance counselor before making a decision.
While true, one needs to balance it against the fact that at the OP’s school, jumping from pre-calc to BC means skipping over 60% of the material on the AP BC exam. While I guess it is possible to self study the missing topics over the summer, personally, I’d rather be doing something else over the summer. 
As mentioned above, talk to a math teacher. They would know better if they think that you personally is someone who can make the leap.
AB/BC is very inefficient. Very little of BC is new material. If you can skip it AND IF you have another advanced math that you can take, it’s a reasonable idea. If there’s nothing to take Senior year, then it’s sort of moot.
Maybe, maybe not. My own S had a 97 or 98 in pre-calc as a sophomore, was consistently the highest scorer on almost every test, yada yada yada, but decided not to go straight to BC junior year. He’s still appropriately challenged in AB and isn’t bored there. In his case there were teacher and GPA and schedule considerations. The AB teacher is far superior to the BC teacher, and if he took BC junior year he’d be stuck with that same lesser teacher for Calc 3. Also his school weights AP classes at 6.0 for an A but post-AP only gets 5.0 for an A, so not only would he be stuck with a poor teacher but he’d have a GPA hit as well. That was a double whammy he was unwilling to face. Now if the BC teacher were awesome he would have skipped AB in a heartbeat. He doesn’t regret the choice at all though, AB is fine and junior year is busy enough with six AP classes. Yeah, it’s one of “those” schools where the top fifty or so kids take six AP classes junior year to stay in the top 7% for UT Austin auto-admit.
ETA: all this is to say that there are plenty of valid reasons a student might do the AB to BC progression, and it’s an individual situation. I still advocate for the OP to consult with his/her math teachers to chart the best course. Depending on the overall junior schedule and other considerations such as ECs, the student might be great in BC or might prefer to go with AB.
traveler98 - your S may have had very good reasons to do AB to have an excellent teacher but no highly selective school with non-formulaic admissions (which might exclude UT-Austin auto admit) is going to give one whit about a reduced course weighting arising from taking AB/BC vs. BC/multi-variable.
@YaleGradandDad, as I stated, if the BC teacher were awesome he’d have skipped AB. In fact he’s planning to take post-AP organic chemistry for a lower GPA rating because the chemistry teacher is amazing. If S doesn’t get into MIT it won’t be because he “only” topped out at BC. His school’s previous admissions to Caltech, MIT, Stanford and similar have been a mix of BC and Calc 3 finishers, and even some who “only” finished with AB. Please don’t lead this OP to believe post-AP math is necessary for elite admission just because the high school offers it.
Thank you for all of the help!
Calculus BC is the most advanced level of math offered at my school; however, there are opportunities to independent study or take online courses (filling 1 block of the day, as any other math course would) which I would utilize my senior year.
You have to talk to the BC teachers to know for sure.
For what it’s worth, at my son’s high school, AB/BC was also taught as a sequence. The BC year assumed that students had taken AB and built on that, not repeating previous material. The class covered multi-variable calculus and elements of linear algebra.
There is no standard in how calculus is taught in high schools (AP or otherwise). The strengths of individual instructors varies considerably from school to school. Some may stick exactly to the AP course material while others cover the same material while bringing in more advanced topics. In my son’s school, AB was pretty much AP test material only while the BC class was wide ranging. You really have to talk to the teachers and ask if self or summer study of AB material is reasonable for your situation.
@YaleGradandDad, upon rereading I realize I misunderstood your point the first time around. I see now that you were only stating that the GPA impact of post-AP would not be held against a student who goes to that level. I misunderstood and thought you were saying a student should go all the way to post-AP in order to have a chance at elite schools. I apologize.
I’m currently a junior who’s held a consistent 88 in Precalculus – my teacher encouraged me to pick AP Calc AB. Students who had a 95 or above were signed up for BC, so I’m sure someone with your impressive average would do great in BC.
From what I’ve read about the college board curriculum, AB is roughly equivalent to one semester of college Calculus I, meaning it will cover about half of what you learn in Calc I at a more steady pace.
The information page on BC said it includes AB topics and throws in additional topics/concepts during the second semester.
Unless you’ve heard specifically from a counselor or teacher that AP Calc BC doesn’t cover AB topics, don’t worry. I believe AP classes are mandated by the college board to cover a specific curriculum, and for BC that includes AB topics at a faster pace.
See: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/220300.html
“AP Calculus BC is an extension of AP Calculus AB: the difference between them is scope, not level of difficulty. AP Calculus BC includes all topics in AP Calculus AB, plus others such as parametric, polar, and vector functions, and series.”
Nope.
While the College Board mandates the topics to be taught, it does not tell a school how it needs to be taught. So a school can, and many do, offer a BC course that only covers the BC topics separate from an AB class covering the AB topics, which is the case at the OP’s school.
At my D’s school, AB can be taken in the summer between sophomore and junior years for kids with A’s in precalc. Then BC can be taken junior year and multi-variable senior year.
The AB summer class is 19 school days 8AM-12PM and each day’s coursework represents a week’s worth of a normal school calendar year. And then there was a quiz or test every day.
Just a question, but why wouldn’t the OP take AB and get the 5 points for his/her WGPA? Wouldn’t that be self-defeating?
Unless I missed it, I don’t think the OP specified what the weighting system is. However, I would assume that whatever weight is granted to AB is granted to courses more advanced. Regardless, since there is no common rubric for weighting courses, it really only matters internally; colleges will look at either the UW or will assign their own weighting.