How bad is a B+ in AP Calculus BC?

<p>I know getting a B isn't the end of the world, and this has probably been posted a hundred times, but my situation is a bit different. I'm Asian, and I skipped pre-calculus to take this class (I'm in 10th grade). How would my chances for getting into Stanford or MIT be affected if I got a B+ in the class if I got As in all my other classes, good SAT scores, and good ECs? What about if I get Bs in dual enrollment multivariable calc and linear algebra? I'm just afraid that colleges will think that I bite off more than I can chew.</p>

<p>I wonder why schools approve such decisions. </p>

<p>Anyway, your life isn’t over with a B+ in AP Cal BC, especially as a soph. That said, even if you got an A, there’s no guarantee that you’d be admitted to MIT or Stanford anyway, so be sure to have good back-ups.</p>

<p>Learn from this…don’t skip over necessary pre-reqs.</p>

<p>Thanks for the answer.</p>

<p>However, I didn’t just skip pre-calc. I took a placement test that said I was qualified to take AP Calculus. I got 100% in alg2/trig honors, so I thought I’d rather challenge myself than just have a comfortable year in pre-calc. I’d rather aim high and maybe not do the best if worst comes to worst than aim low and do the best.</p>

<p>Speaking as someone who skipped precalc and got A’s in both semesters of AP calc, the stuff in pre-calc really isn’t that different from Algebra II, and since the OP implied that he got an A first semester I doubt that his B second semester had much to do with him skipping precalc.</p>

<p>As for how your B will affect your application, much of that depends on how you do next year. Multi-variable and Linear Algebra are very strong, challenging classes, and normally I would say B’s are fine, but for Stanford and MIT you really want A’s. I actually just finished a multi variable course and one tip I would give you would be to definitely go to office hours. It’s a fast paced course and you can really benefit from the teacher explaining stuff 1 on 1 to you.</p>

<p>I think that if you scored well enough on the placement tests to be in calc you should definitely be there, and by most standards an A and a B+ in calc BC are quite good. If you can manage to pull off A’s next year you really put yourself in a good position with all the advanced math. That said though, as a previous commenter stated, Stanford and MIT are far from guarantees no matter what you do.</p>

<p>a sophomore who skipped precalc and took BC? I would say your B+ is pretty impressive.
it’s true that most of precalc isn’t needed in calc, but people who take precalc first definitely have an advantage and colleges will know that. you’re also ahead in the math sequence considering you’re in 10th grade</p>

<p>As Mom2 said, getting into the likes of MIT and Stanford is a complete crapshoot. Find other reasonable backups as well and try to get your parents to relax</p>

<p>Nothing wrong with a B+ in a course you shouldn’t be taking for another two years.</p>

<p>I’ll be fine. Unless u get a 89.45% in calc BC and get denied an A by your teacher who happened to only give out 5A’ s in a class of 40.</p>

<p>I don’t think there’s anything inherently special about taking Calc BC as a sophomore, but in your case it is because of what you skipped to get there. Good job, and they’ll surely take your circumstances into account. Being Asian, though, is what’s going to get you.</p>

<p>It’s all good, I just got my final graded. I’ve never been so happy to get an A! Thanks for the replies, everyone.</p>

<p>Actually, you should reread the replies. Getting an A guarantees you nothing, have a wide variety (well, at least three different level) of schools that you will apply to.</p>

<p>Good job on the A. Hope you have all your extracurriculars going for you too.</p>

<p>(and you are way ahead in the math sequence - my son is a year ahead in honors pre-calc, and he is in 10th grade, so you are two years ahead in math)</p>