<p>Sorry if I was unclear earlier. Here is what I meant:</p>
<p>If I DO NOT take an AP Calculus junior year but instead take AP Statistics senior year and Honors Calculus junior year, will I be okay for colleges? Or is AP Calculus a very important class?</p>
<p>I still would have taken about 6/10 APs offered at my school by graduation, but I'm just wondering how important an AP Calc is to colleges. In particular, my dream school is Cornell A&S, where I hope to be a pre-med, or something science-y but also have access to English/History as I excel at those sorts of classes too.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>The more selective the school, the more important that you take every class at the highest level available to you. It seems that many, if not most, high schools don’t have a non-AP calculus option. Some schools do AP AB junior year, and AP BC senior year. Some do both in one year (obviously more challenging, one would think). </p>
<p>If you were planning to apply to competitive STEM programs, I would say it would indeed make a difference. If you are applying to competitive liberal arts programs, what you are planning to do <em>may</em> be “enough.” The major point is that you will have taken Calc. Will you also have taken Physics?</p>
<p>A lot has to do with whether your GC will check off the “most rigorous” box on the Common App. You might want to inquire.</p>
<p>Edit: I just reread your post and noticed your desire to major in the sciences., Dodging AP Calc doesn’t look very good for someone with that goal, unless it is a schedule conflict.</p>
<p>My D had friends in HS who wanted to major in Biology, PreVet or PreMed in college. None of them took AP Calculus in HS, and all had to take Calculus in college.</p>
<p>If you are targeting Ivie’s you would definitely want AP Calculus. My son had Calculus AB and was in the minority. Most of his current classmates had AB and BC Calculus in high school.</p>
<p>gsmomma, I never heard of a college offering AP Calculus. That class is usually a college level high school class. Perhaps they took an Intro Calculus that was equivalent to what an AP class might cover.</p>
<p>Sorry- I edited. It was a typos.</p>
<p>If you look at the pre-med requirements, you need calculus. My DS took AP calc BC in hs and took multivar calc his freshman year in college. </p>
<p>Like others said, you need most rigorous classes to even have a shot at top schools. Good luck.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC App</p>
<p>Advanced math is very important, especially if you want to pursue a pre-med track. As for whether AP or Honors is sufficient/preferable, I suggest that you research the colleges you are really interested in and see: 1. how they treat APs as compared with other course formats; and 2. which of the courses would likely serve you better when you start taking Chem, etc.</p>
<p>You do have another option, as well, and one that might serve you better given the level of school you are considering.</p>
<p>My daughter’s high school offers AP Calc, but she elected to take college Calculus (Calc 1) at the local campus of our state university the summer after her junior year. Every school she was accepted to agreeed to accept the course for credit (4 credits) and placement purposes. (She received an “A”.) Most of these schools require her to take one or two additional math courses at the college as she is pre-med. This would not have been the case if she was not.</p>
<p>The college she chose allows courses taken at a 4 year college to count toward general curriculum requirements and certain major requirments, but it will not accept AP courses in satisfaction of those requirements. She is taking AP Bio this year and even if she gets a 5 on the exam, she will have to take Bio again as part of the pre-med concentration. APs are accepted only toward elective credits or as pre-requisit courses in an area you are not majoring in. </p>
<p>For perspective purposes, from 2004-2010, 81% of applicants from her chosen college were accepted on average each year into at least one medical school.</p>
<p>Just make sure that if you go this way, the content of the course is comparable to the content of the course at the colleges you are considering.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much. This has been very insightful. Now I’m leaning towards taking AP Calculus, but the idea of taking it at a local college seems like an additional possibility.
Any more advice from anybody?</p>
<p>It just depends on the college and your major. Some engineering schools still want you to take their calc class regardless of you grade or outcome on the AP exam. My DD13 is taking AP Calc AB/BC right now and is getting 5s on practice tests so it can’t be that bad :)</p>
<p>I had a similar question. My son wants to go to Drexel for a web development program. Their site just says “3 years of math required”… he is very much against taking classes for the sake of taking them but what do you think? Calculus a good idea or statistics class enough?</p>
<p>The other posters have all brought up relevant issues. The other comment I want to add is that you need to see how kids are faring in YOUR high school with the type of schedule you are proposing. If you are going to a school that is not on the radar of many top schools, it is important that you take the courses and tests that put you neck to neck with the mainstream that does. Also, if the top kids at your school tend to take AP Calc and you are not, it can be an issue.</p>
<p>My son did not take AP Calc and got into the colleges of his choice but they were not the most selective schools. He also was not a math/science type major. If he had his sights set for HPY or top tech schools, it probably would have been an obstacle that he did not take the most advanced math he could when faced with the choices.</p>
<p>for a premed, take Calc in HS if you can. Most med schools require one full year of college math, either a full year of Calc or one semester of Calc and one of Stats. But know that the vast majority of premeds in that Calc 1 class will have taken AP Calc and done well (4/5). They are repeating the college course for the “easy” A. (Of course, since many of them have already aced Calc in HS, they just shift the grade curve out.) The broader point is that if you take Calc in college and have not been exposed to it in HS…what will be an easy A for some, will be a real struggle B for you.</p>
<p>Since You are considering Cornell, I suggest you check their policy regarding the awarding of credit from AP exams vs. that from courses taken at a college. Although I have not looked at this for several years, I believe that many (if not most or even all) of the Ivies do not award credit for college courses taken before graduation from high school. It should be easy to find out. Of course, you may not care about credit; if so, it doesn’t matter. You absolutely need some calculus before going to a place like Cornell–even if not for admissions, you will be at a serious disadvantage in the classroom without some prior exposure. I agree with previous posters that the most serious ramification, from an admission perspective, is how your guidance counselor will the strength of the courses you have taken over your high school career (a check mark in that “most rigorous program” box is essential.</p>
<p>Cornell Arts and Sciences policy on transfer credit: [Transfer</a> Credits](<a href=“http://as.cornell.edu/academics/advising/transfer-credits.cfm]Transfer”>http://as.cornell.edu/academics/advising/transfer-credits.cfm)</p>
<p>It says that college courses taken during high school must have been taken on a college campus (not at high school) and not used to fulfill high school requirements or Cornell admission requirements for high school courses to be transferable to Cornell.</p>
<p>Cornell Arts and Sciences policy on AP credit: [Credit</a> and Placement](<a href=“http://as.cornell.edu/information/orientation/credit.cfm]Credit”>http://as.cornell.edu/information/orientation/credit.cfm)</p>
<p>AP calculus (as opposed to a “less than AP” calculus) in high school may not be absolutely needed – but not taking it in high school will disadvantage you in both admission (will not be seen as “most rigorous available” course selection) and once you get to college (Cornell or otherwise).</p>
<p>Okay thank you all for the advice. Any other suggestions? I think I’m going to take AP calc now.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Concise and true.</p>
<p>Also, particularly if math is not your best subject, you might find that you will get more individual attention taking it in high school than taking it for the first time in college.</p>
<p>HS AP Stats is not calculus based and will therefore not be accepted for an incoming STEM major. Each curriculum track DD has looked at (at several U’s) requires a calc based stats class - as well as an econ for scientists course and writing classes. AP Stats and AP Econ would not be a foundation classes for STEM students.</p>
<p>I’d recommend you take the AP calc class, even if credit is not given by the U as it is closer to college level calculus and will give you a better base than a HS honors calc class would.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Any more suggestions? Bump!</p>