Hi,
My son is a junior in high school. Math has always been his plus point, so he took up AP Calculus BC this year, after taking precalculus in his Sophomore year (he skipped AB Calc). He has been having a really tough time coping up. He finished yhe fall semester with a C, and now he continues to do bad. He is so frustrated that he wants to switch to Calc AB, even though he knows that this would give him a W in his transcript. How badly is this going to hurt his college chances- he is otherwise a very bright student and is doing pretty good. Please advise.
Instead of asking how a W looks on his transcript, maybe ask a different question. It sounds like it was a mistake for your son to skip Calc AB. Now, what can he do about it? Has he talked to the calculus teacher for guidance on this?
Is he learning calculus or is he just memorizing formulas to get through the tests? I would choose what would give him the most appropriate learning environment / level to truly learn calculus.
Frankly it sounds like Calc AB was where he should have been. Acknowledging that with a schedule change is probably a plus. As @SlackerMomMD stated it’s more important to get that solid foundation for future math or engineering.
Getting another C will look worse. He should just make the switch.
This was the same situation with my daughter this year, also a junior. She has historically done very well in math. Took Advanced Honors Algebra as a freshman - As and Bs; AP Trigonometry, first semester sophomore year, got an A. Took AP (Pre) Calc AB 2nd semester sop. year and got a C. Struggled to get that C. She re-took it in the summer and got a B. Based on that, they placed her in AP Calc BC for her jr year. She struggled from the very beginning and was in danger of failing (taking AP Physics too, this year which also takes lots of her time and focus). She didn’t want to, but her teacher and I both urged her to drop it mid-semester and switch back to AB. She did, but still got a C for the semester. She has done better in AB though, and has a good chance of getting a B for spring semester.
She also got a C in AP Physics this past semester. Part of that is that she didn’t complete assignments and hw. This semester, she has vowed to turn things in on time and to get a B in Physics as well. She struggles with both the Calculus and Physics but is determined to learn them. I actually urged her to drop the Physics but she wouldn’t.
Other than these two classes, she gets all As and Bs. These two have brought down her GPA though.
She is interested in applying to small LACs and majoring in Liberal Arts (History, Literature, or Languages…) so I don’t quite get why she subjects herself to the AP science and math if she doesn’t have to. Part of it is pride, I think - she’s always done well in math and science, and I think she needs to prove to herself she can do it… And I think part of it is she wants to keep her options open for math or science in college… I don’t know…
My hope is that admissions counselors will see that she was willing to take the harder classes, rather than coast through easy ones. I also hope she can receive a B for both Physics and Calc this semester. She really could use the boost in GPA. And in her self-esteem.
We’ll see.
Thankfully, she has done well on the practice ACTs.
A friend of mine said he thinks high school students - even those who are good at math - are too young to take Calculus. As a former literature major and someone who struggled with basic statistics and algebra, I don’t quite get what he means by that… But he claims that Calculus is a whole other breed of math that requires advanced thinking that many high school students simply don’t have the practical math experience for, yet.
To conclude (sorry for the double post…) - we had our daughter switch back in this situation. She’s doing better so far. We are all happy she did so.
My thinking is - she will still get into college, and into a good college.
Talk to your guidance counselor and the calculus teacher before doing anything My gut tells me to switch although it does seem late in the game to transfer classes.