<p>I am a junior right now. I am planning to self study AP Calculus AB because I have heard of people that have gotten rejected from many ivies, Michigan, and UC's(california) because they did not AP Calculus. </p>
<p>My school does not let many people take AP Calculus AB at our school unless you are really smart. This is why. </p>
<p>Any tips for preparing.</p>
<p>Nope you don't need any type of calculus to get into a good school. I got into Rice with regular old Statistics. One of my sisters got into Cornell and UCSD and her highest math credit was Pre-Cal. Of course having AP Calculus might help but a lack of it will certainly not guarantee rejection.</p>
<p>It may make a difference what your proposed major is. If you are seeking to go into math, science, or engineering, not taking calculus when your school has it might be a minus for very selective schools. (Notice I said "minus" -- not a complete bar.)</p>
<p>If you plan on another field and take the most challenging courses your school has relevant to that, I don't think the lack of calculus will hurt.</p>
<p>I don't know that self-study would really help you anyway. You wouldn't be able to have taken the test by the time of college applications. All you would be able to do is note somewhere you are studying calculus on your own. I'm not sure how much this would impress adcomms.</p>
<p>How would anyone know that the reason they were rejected from "an Ivy" was because they didn't have AP Calculus? My son is taking regular (not AP) calculus and got into Penn ED.</p>
<p>Friend got into Harvard with AP Stats.</p>
<p>Calculus is a handy tool to have under your belt. and in my opinion, it isn't too difficult to learn, only... different. </p>
<p>If you think you're up for the challenge, go for it. It can only help. However, if you think you'll fail out if you take it, go for regular old non-AP calculus, or whatever other math class you want. It's really a matter of preference.</p>
<p>yeah, right now im finding ap calc to be a little easier than honors pre-calc and A LOT A LOT A LOT easier than honors geometry and like right on par with honors algebra 2. i thought it would be much harder.</p>
<p>Two of my friends applied to Michigan w/o AP Calc (or any AP, in fact) and got in.</p>
<p>Calc is a lot easier than precalc for some people, though. It's not so bad. If you want to take it and think you can handle it, go ahead. If you're just taking it because you think you'll get rejected otherwise and your stats are good without it, you probably don't need to.</p>
<p>Yes, and you must enroll in AP/BC Calculus before Senior year; having enrolled into AP/BC Calculus in tenth grade, I feel as though my numerous Ivy League acceptances are justified. In fact, I largely accredit my acceptance to enrolling in AP/BC Calculus and receiving a 96.793 %.</p>
<p>At selective schools you will be evaluated based on whether you took the most rigerous course load that*** your school*** offers and if you have done well. If your school does not offer any AP courses, you will not be hurt by the fact that you did not take any APs. If your school only offers 2 and you took 1 you will be ok. If your school offers 23 and you took 1 then that is a different story.</p>
<p>My friend didn't take Pre-calc or AP calc, but he got into U of M...with scholarship money.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that U of M process is more straight numbers based where a high GPA/ scores on an easier course load will get you in vs. a slightly lower gpa on a more rigerous curriculum (especially at schools that with unweighted gpas)</p>