I’m currently a sophomore enrolled in Honors Precalculus, considering what options I have for taking Calculus next year. Over the summer of 9th, I self-studied Algebra 3/4 and managed to score well enough on standardized testing to carry out the skip.
I’ve been doing quite well in my current math class (with a quarter 1-3 cumulative grade of 102.7%). So far, it seems as though I’m not being challenged highly enough.
At my school, the typical track is as follows:
Algebra/ H (9th)
Geometry / H (10th)
Algebra 3/4 / H (11th)
MA Trig / Precalculus H (12th)
Calculus AB (+1 year ahead)
Calculus II/III (+2 years ahead)
It might be a bit unclear as to what is meant by ‘Calculus II/III’, and in all honesty, I’m not exactly sure how the course is structured. As I understand, it is separate from multivariable calculus and could more accurately be thought of as BC.
Is it worth trying to explore the possibility of taking BC next year, or should I continue along the path of entering AB? Students usually don’t take BC their junior year, and in the case that they do, AB is required as a prerequisite in my school. It should, however, be mentioned that I go to an uncompetitive high school, and out of a sophomore class of 600+, there’s no one past 2 years ahead in math.
Will colleges take much issue to moving at a slower pace by covering AB my junior year, or should I try to explore the option of spending a few weeks over the summer to skip the course, as I had with Algebra? It is, alternatively, a better use of my time to work on extracurriculars instead of stressing about math placement? Thanks for the feedback!
I had this exact question just a few months ago! I ended up choosing AB for my junior year as well and I’m so glad I did. Here were my reasons for the decision: Math has always come easy to me so I’ve always been ahead (and it’s obvious that you are too!) but with calculus it’s important to build a solid foundation before moving on to the higher levels. In addition, you’ll probably be taking other AP’s your junior year (maybe even for the first time, as it is at my school) and taking the AP exams, studying for the PSAT/SAT/ACT, deepening your involvement in extracurriculars, and enjoying your life! It is important to balance this time well. AB and BC should both be weighted courses, so there is no advantage to your GPA if you take one over the other. Whatever decision you make, be confident in it and you’ll do great! Good luck!
To answer a few more of your questions, one important thing I’ve learned this year is that colleges care a lot about who you are outside of the classroom. They see thousands of students with lots of AP’s, so they turn to their extracurriculars to see who they will admit. So yes, it is worth it to spend time on extracurriculars as it will help you with college and bring you happiness! Remember that AB is still a high level course and you are 1 year ahead, so colleges will still regard your math placement as taking the most challenging courses!
No college is going to say, well, nick could have accelerated 3 years in math so let’s not admit him.
They see that you have the option for Calc AB and then 2& 3 and you took that inHS. That gets you through first semester sophomore of college math.
Calc 3 is multi-variable calculus usually.
I would take Calc AB and then Calc 2/3…you can’t be doing Calc 3 without taking Calc 1.
Every school structures it somewhat differently, but it looks to me like calculus II will cover the BC topics not covered in AB, and calculus 3 will be multivariable.
No. Follow the math progression. Take AB next year, and calc II/III the following year. Most math courses are building blocks; you need to know the concepts in the prerequisite class in order to succeed in the following class. @bopper is absolutely correct.
Thanks for the thorough and well-articulated response. I appreciate your willingness to share your own experiences in this situation.
If Calculus is truly a step up from previous math courses, then I hear why you’re stressing the necessity of not rushing through it. You should know that I was given this same advice when skipping Algebra II, however. People doubted my ability to understand the content to the same level of detail as I would in school, but I found that the opposite was true.
When I mention taking it over the summer, I’m not suggesting a brief skim-through. I usually work through every example and most problem sets in the book. However, I can see why prioritizing EC’s would be a better use of my time.
I’m currently taking 3 AP’s as a sophomore, though I’ve decided to only test for 2 of them. Next year, my tentative plan is to take 6 with a free period. Since that’s a heavy load in of itself, I think AB is ultimately the best decision, as you have suggested.
I hear your logic there, thanks for the feedback. I’ll have to see how the college credit works out, but I do agree that AB is probably the best route as of now.
I’ve skipped previous math and language courses before. I find that I actually seem to understand the content better working at my own pace, going for comprehension over completion. That circles back to the previous point with @sammycp though, who suggested extracurriculars are a better use of time. I would agree that I should probably prioritize my time with EC’s, as opposed to taking more courses.
In the usual terminology, calculus courses in college are semester long courses:
calculus 1 = first semester single variable calculus
calculus 2 = second semester single variable calculus
calculus 3 = multivariable calculus
High school calculus courses are usually year long courses:
AP calculus AB = college calculus 1
AP calculus BC with AP calculus AB as prerequisite = college calculus 2
AP calculus BC with precalculus as prerequisite = college calculus 1 and 2
Since your high school only offers AP calculus BC with AP calculus AB as prerequisite, your math sequence after precalculus will be AP calculus AB followed by AP calculus BC. This will cover material at normal high school pace rather than the faster college pace.
Now, if “calculus II/III” is actually college calculus 2 and 3 rather than AP calculus BC, it will cover more material because it will go at the faster college pace.
Thanks for providing your insight with clarifying the difference between high school and college paced calculus.
I have heard and taken into consideration everyone’s suggestions to take AB next year, but I just wanted to pose some counterpoints worth considering. First of all, though no one in the sophomore class is exploring this option, there are juniors and seniors who are 3 years ahead. One that I know of is currently taking Calc III at a local college.
If AB is a far better option for me, then why do some students still choose to progress from Precalc to Calc BC?
Some high schools offer a college-pace AP calculus BC course whose prerequisite is precalculus, not AP calculus AB. Students in those high schools can go directly to AP calculus BC after completing precalculus.
In the overall scheme of things, do not worry about getting as far ahead in math as possible. As a practical matter, there can be advantages to being 1/2 year ahead (AP calculus AB in 12th grade) or 1 year ahead (AP calculus BC in 12th grade) over being at regular level (precalculus in 12th grade), but the returns from being even further ahead diminish, particularly if you are not a math, physics, or engineering major in college.
My concern is that I’ve already had the experience of self-study before, so switching to BC wouldn’t be all that much of a nuisance.
I plan on majoring in engineering. I’m sure there are advantages to taking BC as a junior, and so far I’ve only heard the negatives. So just from an objective perspective, I’m looking to hear feedback going both ways.
It is when you’re planning to take 5 other AP courses, as you are also planning to do.
Not really.
The challenge with taking BC as a junior is what do you take as a senior, and will that class be accepted by the college you eventually attend. Many top tier schools will not give credit for anything beyond BC and/or don’t place beyond Calc 2, So is it worth it to rush the HS math curriculum only to have to retake a class or 2 in college? Of course, if you end up attending a school outside of the top tier, it might not be an issue.
For an engineering major, the potential gains from calculus or higher in high school, versus precalculus in high school, assuming that you learned the material well enough to take advanced placement:
AB in high school: one additional free elective, shortens prerequisite sequence by one semester because you can start calculus-based physics in fall instead of spring.
BC in high school (instead of AB in high school): one additional free elective.
transferable college course(s) in multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and/or differential equations while in high school (instead of BC in high school): one additional free elective per course (or one for linear algebra and differential equations combined, depending on the college).
Remember, if you take BC in 11th grade, you would have to split your time between high school and a local college to take the transferable more advanced math course(s) in 12th grade. This may be difficult for scheduling or commuting reasons; if it proves impossible, then rushing to complete BC in 11th grade yields no benefit (except perhaps another free elective in high school 12th grade).
AP Physics 1 (strong in math, easy-medium)
AP US Government (APUSH last year, medium-hard)
AP Environmental Science Originally supposed to be AP Spanish, but decided against it
AP Calculus AB (easy)
AP English Lang. & Comp. (medium-hard)
AP Compsci. Applications (already proficient in java, easy)
At the moment, I’m not too concerned with the rigor of my schedule. I go to a relatively uncompetitive public high school, and with some of my current courses, the classroom has been transformed into more of a self-study session.
So granted, I don’t have to put too much energy into maintaining good grades. While on the other hand though, I do hear your concern that stocking up 6 AP Exams in May could prove to be an issue.
I’m currently taking 3 APs (though will only be testing for 2) and have been able to handle the rigor quite handily. As mentioned before though, in my case, success in the class doesn’t correlate as directly to success in the course.
I have no conception as to what school I will end up at later on. I know that my local (non community) college accepts the credit, but ultimately I don’t want to end up having to go there. I hadn’t considered that top tier schools won’t give credit.
Thanks for bringing up the logistic details there. I will certainly have to consider how this will work out, when trying to come up with a decision. My understanding is that courses at our local university are taken 7th period three days per week. For privacy reasons, I won’t state the specific college; however, there is no telling at this point in time.
I have read many posts here on CC, and have come across quite a few where the poster was taking stuff 2 years advanced and did poorly and didn’t understand why. Don’t get too ahead of yourself.
