<p>I'm currently deciding on taking AP Calculus AB my junior year. I understand that this class IS NOT easy. With my fears and anxiety with tests, I'm starting to change my mind a little. If I do choose not to take Calculus at all in high school, I'll take it in college. Is taking Calculus in high school or College more beneficial?</p>
<p>If you are allowed to take the class, that must mean your school thinks you are prepared and being prepared for Calculus in your junior year is no easy feat. Is it just your test anxiety that’s worrying you or do you feel like you struggle with math?</p>
<p>People scared me saying that Calculus was going to be super hard but this year I managed to get a high A on AP Calculus AB. Don’t base your decision on what others tell you!</p>
<p>If you are going to major in something not requiring a lot of math I would do calc now. One of my friends is taking it and he really wishes he did BC instead of AB to get out of it.</p>
<p>Take it in high school, it ain’t that bad. I thought honors pre-calc/trig last year was much harder than AP Calc AB this year. I also hear that the AP exam is pretty easy.</p>
<p>@SimpsonLisa I have really bad test anxiety. I’m just scared of failing test in that class and the AP exam. Also I feel like I would have to study all day throughout the week to get the concepts.</p>
<p>@tcwest2012 I plan on becoming a Veterinary Pharmacologist. Which is chemistry, so I think it’ll be a lot of math.</p>
<p>The concepts are not hard. There are three topics covered in all of calc ab: limits, derivatives and integrals. The somewhat hard part is the variety of problems in each topic, but you can definitely overcome that by doing practice problems.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid of taking AP Calc. I’m not the best at math, but I’ve found most of the concepts to be pretty easy. The only thing I can say is practice practice practice. practice doing problems until they are superglued to your brain. i also believe taking it in high school will benefit you due to the low class size (i have like 6 kids in my class). you’ll be able to get more one-on-one w the teacher if you don’t get something.</p>
<p>My S had math test anxiety but took IB Calculus as a senior last year anyway. His teacher wasn’t very good at explaining concepts, but what he found to be immensely helpful was the Kahn Academy (free) online videos that explain calculus and other math. He worked hard to get Bs but was glad he took it. Not only does it look good to colleges that you challenged yourself, but if you choose to, you can take it again in college and it will be so much easier the second time around (that’s what my S did).</p>
<p>I never took AP Calc, but I took the non-AP equivalent of it; “Calculus with Applications.” (and it counted as an honors-level class, not regular, so it stilled weighted my GPA up) It wasn’t hard at all, and covers just about the same things(the majority of my worksheets said “AP Calculus” on them anyway). Pre-Calculus is MUCH MUCH harder, if you pass it, Calc shouldn’t be a problem. There’s derivatives, integrals, and some limits. There are rules for derivatives and integrals, and when you learn them all, and know when to use them, which isn’t hard to do, you’re golden. If I were you, I’d take Calculus as soon as you can.</p>
<p>Practice problems are the best way to improve, hands down. Do lots of it.</p>
<p>Fantasyvesperia: You’re lucky to have the opportunity to get through Calculus in high school, so take it! Like the other posters have said, if your major isn’t going to require a lot of upper level math, it’s good to get through a lot of it in high school so you can really focus on what you want to do in college.</p>
<p>This might be a dumb question, but what is the difference in the material covered between AB and BC? I know at some schools you can go straight into BC without taking AB, but at my school most people seem to take AB first then BC the next year, no matter how advanced they are. I’m only in Algebra 2 this year as a sophomore, because I came from a different school than all my peers, so I’m not on the advanced math track. I will probably only get to take AB, but just wondering if it is normal to take BC instead.</p>
<p>@MarioKartExpert I wish my school offered just a Calculus class, it’ll be less stressful for me lol.</p>
<p>@helloel BC is an extended version of AB. The first weeks in BC is review from AB. From my course book: AP Calculus II (BC) continues the study of limits derivatives, and integration, parametric equations and vectors in the plane, infinite series, and differential equation. Also it says the BC AP test is more challenging.</p>
<p>Oh I see, so you would continue onto BC senior year if you took AB junior year?</p>
<p>@helloel I learned that I don’t have to take BC after AB in my senior year. I’m planning not to. But that can always change. Let’s just wait and see when that time comes :)</p>
<p>Taking BC after AP is a bad idea. The people who say it is merely a continuation of AB are wrong. About three fourths of BC calculus is covered in AB calculus.</p>
<p>Take a calculus course with the title ‘calculus’ that is more than AB and less than BC. Take the AB AP test, but then take calculus in college anyway; that’s the best option.</p>
<p>What level calculus is more than AB but less than BC? Those are the only two I’ve heard of, besides the normal level Calculus course my school offers for those who don’t want to take AP.</p>
<p>Please take it in high school. In college Calculus I and II and notorious for being “weeder” courses designed to fail as many people as possible.</p>