Deciding whether to take AP Calc AB or BC

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hey everyone,

I know this is probably one of the most asked questions on CC but I’m having a lot of trouble deciding which class to take next year (junior year). As a freshman I took Alg II honors, then last year I took Pre-calc honors but my teacher sucked and I got B’s both semesters. I’m not totally bad at math, I’m actually pretty decent (B average) but I’m worried about falling behind in Calc BC and I really want to understand math concepts well. I’m taking 4 other AP classes (chem, physics 1, lang, us) so I would also be worried about the workload and not being able to devote enough time to everything.

So I was thinking about taking AB and then BC senior year (along with stats), but I’ve heard it’s a waste of time to do both. I’m also kind of worried that it wouldn’t look good on my transcript for college apps. So I’m kind of lost at what I should do. I love science so I think I’m leaning towards a science major, but I also love politics/history so I’m not 100% on the former…

Thanks in advanced :slight_smile:

ps, if you can help me out on this it would be great: I absolutely love Cambridge uni and I was thinking about doing physical or bio natsci, and I know that math is really important for interview and acceptance in general…so keeping this in mind, would AB and then BC be acceptable? (I would like to apply to either Clare or Jesus college)

2

That would be my suggestion given that you got B’s in pre-calc. FYI, don’t blame the teacher; it’s poor form, and there is no way you can spin that without sounding whiny. Own your grades.

It’s better to take your time, understand the material, and perform well vs. rushing and performing poorly.

Many students, either by choice or by school mandate, take AB/BC as a 2-year sequesnce, and they do quite well in the admissions process.

3

It did sound like I was completely blaming my teacher - my bad. I probably could have done more to get help, but at that horrendous point in the semester I was happy with my B.

Thank you for the input…I think I’ll go ahead and sign up for AB then!