<p>Hi guys, so I took Honors Precalculus as a sophomore and I am taking AB Calc this year as a junior. It's now time to decide on classes for next year and I want to take BC Calculus. Because precalc is normally a class only for juniors at my school, juniors had to decide on just one AP Calc class, AB or BC, but since I was a sophomore I chose to take AB first and then BC. When colleges see my transcript will it look like I didn't challenge myself enough by not doing BC directly as a junior? </p>
<p>I agree. I think that taking pre-calc, AB, then BC is normal for most schools. If you wanted to take multivariable calculus senior year now you really can’t. </p>
<p>In our school the kids were told that there is a great deal of overlap, it’s just that BC covers more and goes faster, kids are not expected or encouraged to take both. DD is doing pre, BC, calc3. So it is not “normal” here. Not sure about other places. If you don’t take Calc 3 your other choice is Stats, which has a terrible reputation.</p>
<p>Calculus AB exam = Calculus I
Calculus BC exam = Calculus I and II</p>
<p>So there’s no real reason to take AB before BC (instead of just BC) unless your school requires it. </p>
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<p>There’s nothing bad about taking statistics in itself; it’s just that colleges want you to have calculus and it’s not ideal if you take something else instead. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses guys! At my school seniors take either AP Stat, BC Calc, or AB Calc, since I am in the unique position of being able to take both, I asked this question. My school does not require AB, then BC, I am just in a unique situation. Does anyone think taking AB will help me to do well in BC?</p>
<p>You could always try to drop down maybe? If you’re really worried, you should watch some videos on like Khan Academy or something to see if you can handle it. Idk</p>
<p>If your school doesn’t require AB as a prereq for BC, then presumably they are teaching AB in the BC class. That probably takes the whole first semester. In schools which require AB as a prereq, they would just do a little review before starting the BC material. So, I would have suggested you just do BC if that’s normal in your school, but it’s too late for that. (Or is it? Your post is very confusing, first you say you are already in AB, then you say you don’t want to bite off too much by taking BC). If you are good enough in math to have gotten ahead in the first place, and if you are doing well in precalc and if those same kids in your class now are going on to BC, why would you think you won’t be successful if you go into BC?</p>
<p>I would guess that most schools do not require AB as a prereq, If they did, it would be difficult for 100,000 kids to make it through the BC curriculum each year. </p>
<p>There are a couple of kids in my BC class who were in AB last year, but the vast majority came from honors precalc. We have multivariable calculus, but you have to complete BC before taking it. So, the kids who were advanced a year in math but decided to take AB after honors precalc when they were juniors had to take BC this year.</p>
<p>But presumably if most kids were going straight to BC, the kids who chose to take AB were the weaker students, who maybe were getting B’s or C’s in precalc. Usually a kid who is a year or more ahead of the normal honors program for their grade level would be near the top of the class, not the bottom.</p>
<p>I always thought that the standard way to run AB/BC is the way it’s done around here. AB first, then BC. A week or 2 of review at beginning of school year in BC. BC is the 2nd half of calc book. Recently I found out after being puzzled when reading people’s posts about deciding between AB and BC, and then checking CB course description, that the standard is actually to have AB contained completely within BC. So BC is supposed to start at the beginning but run faster and cover more material. Colleges must know about the 2 methods of running these courses. The question is, will they know how your HS does it? If AB is prereq for BC, you can’t skip it unless you self study. Are the regional college admissions counselors aware of these things, or do school profiles list prereqs so that this is apparent? If a college gets enough applicants from a particular HS, they are likely to notice that every BC student had AB as well, or that many skip AB, if that is the case. But if they only see occasional applicants, they have no way to know, unless the regional admissions counselor is knowledgeable or the high school profile very detailed. One could find out by examining the profile and asking the admissions counselors at prospective colleges. </p>
<p>Yes, the kids who were in AB last year struggled in precalc honors, but they’re actually at the top of the BC class this year because they have a better foundation.</p>
<p>Not just a foundation–they spent a whole semester repeating the exact same material they learned last year. They’ve probably even already done some of the old AP problems being used on their tests this year. What do you suppose will happen in the second semester?</p>