<p>I have the choice of taking BC or AB calculus. I want to understand if colleges give any weight to which calculus course I take in the admission process.</p>
<p>The counselor report states what is the highest level of math offered. Colleges will consider your schedule but I don’t think the distinction between AB calc and BC calc will be big. If your counselor doesn’t check “most rigorous”, however, then that will be an issue.</p>
<p>Of course they do. Rigor is key at selective colleges.</p>
<p>It will matter more if you are planning on pursuing math, science or engineering. However, if you are looking at majoring in something that doesn’t require much math, I don’t think it will matter much if you take AB or BC.</p>
<p>Take BC. Better safe than sorry.</p>
<p>If I had the choice I’d take BC. At my school you HAVE to have AB before you take BC so I’ve never heard of having the choice. But I think BC would be harder, so perhaps you should go for the harder one(I think you could ask your counselor about which is harder).</p>
<p>Selective colleges care about how much you’ve exploited the opportunities around you, both academically and extracurricular-wise. In this case, definitely take BC unless you are completely mortified by numbers or something. However, if you’re applying to less selective institutions (lower UCs, Tier 2/3 schools, etc), you can slack by with AB.</p>
<p>You should also consider how much time BC will require in the context of your other commitments. If you honestly feel you cannot do well (e.g. you’ll get a D, you won’t have time to sleep, you hate math and can’t use numbers), take AB. Otherwise, go for BC.</p>
<p>I took AB so that I would have the time to take AP Chem as well. AB + AP Chem was more difficult than BC + no AP science, so, in context, it didn’t ding my course rigor. (I mean, I could have taken BC + AP Chem, but I do not have that much quantitative skill. My science coursework was therefore marginally less rigorous than many of the Most Science Skilled people at my science magnet high school, but more so than average.) So it depends on the other courses you’re taking. In a vacuum, of course pick BC over AB if you’re shooting for more selective institutions (using the same definition of less selective as drunk of dreams). But if taking BC would prevent you from taking other more difficult coursework about which you care more? Go ahead and take AB.</p>
<p>We really can’t advise you to take one over the other - it all depends on how comfortable you are with math and how ready you are to take AB over BC, or vice versa. </p>
<p>However, yes, colleges do take into account the rigor of your course load and I think shennie makes a good point as well. If you’re going to apply to a very prestigious engineering program at a particular school, they will want you to take one over the other. I do find it odd how your school is giving you the choice of taking either one because I find that most schools ask you to take AB first, then BC.</p>