I took calc AB as a sophomore last year and got a B and C in the class with a 4 on the exam, so not the best.
I planned to take BC this year as a junior, but my school only provides one BC period and it conflicts with my jazz band period, which I need to be enrolled in to be apart of.
At first, my solution was to take the class at my local community college so I could take the AP test junior year, but the classes are full as I was aware of this problem later on. BUT I could still take a single semester during the winter so I can still take the AP test but that seems like too much content. I don’t know. Is a single semester of Calc BC a good idea?
Anyway, as of now, I am taking stats. I plan on taking BC next year as a senior now, but it will still have to be at the college because I will still be in jazz. It will still be a single semester, but I will have more time to focus on it I suppose.
Is taking Calc BC my senior year a good idea? Would colleges even care that I took BC if it is senior year?
Seems puzzling that you were three grades ahead in math but did not earn an easy A grades and 5 score (particularly for AB) when you took calculus. If you are not as strong a student in math as your math placement, then skipping a year may not be good for retaining skills and knowledge when you take the more advanced course.
The college equivalencies of the content in AP calculus is as follows:
calculus AB = calculus 1 plus probably some of calculus 2
calculus BC = calculus 1 and calculus 2
calculus BC starting from where AB left off = the rest of calculus 2
Note that calculus 1 and 2 in college are semester courses.
Presumably your school teacher BC as a full year course covering the equivalent of Calc 2. Thus if you wanted to take it at the local college, you would take Calc 2 (assuming you pass any assessment they require, and recognize your AP score). If you do that, there is no reason to take the BC exam, as you would already have credit on a college transcript. The point of the exam is to show you learned enough in the high school class to be equivalent to the college class.
The advantage to taking BC at your high school is the ability to cover a semester worth of college work over the course of the full year. There should be no difference between taking Calc 2 in the fall or in the spring, it will be the same class over roughly the same amount of time, but taking it in the spring would give you the opportunity to review what was covered in AB before you jump in. Unless you are enrolled in another math class (maybe AP Statistics) this year, I would not wait until fall of your senior year.