<p>Hello my S is a rising junior. We have schedule conflicts for the coming summer. He has already decided to join some summer enrichment programs which he is very interested in. However in this way, he cannot take pre-cal, then he cannot take Ap calculus in junior year. My question is, how important is Ap Cal in junior year for the most selective colleges? He will be majoring in social sciences like enonomics; can online pre-cal well prepare Ap cal? thank you</p>
<p>Typically, if a student takes calculus at all in HS, s/he has it as a senior. There is neither an advantage nor disadvantage to taking it as a junior.</p>
<p>I personally know a half dozen kids going to the top schools in the country HPYMSC, (well not the S) who did not take calc junior year, but as seniors. I know any number more who are aspirants for those schools next year who are in the same boat and kids from years past. I personally would not worry a whit about it, but if you are that worried there are online and home school courses, plus you can get a tutor. Better he ace the precalc and then go on to BC calc his senior year and ace it first term. </p>
<p>Calc senior year is just fine.</p>
<p>Calculus senior year is fine. Especially for a kid not going into science or engineering.</p>
<p>You’re talking about one year advanced versus two years advanced in math. Either is fine.</p>
<p>AP calc in one’s senior year is fine. What’s more important is to make sure your son has a solid math base. D says precalc is boring but her math understanding has definitely improved from taking it. I would not try to rush through precalc just to have two years of advanced math in high school.</p>
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I agree that most take calculus as a senior and doing so is fine. However, there is often an advantage to not be like most applicants. If the vast majority of applicants’ highest math level is AP calculus, then the few who took multivariable calculus and linear algebra in their senior year and received A’s in those classes stand out in a positive way.</p>
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<p>Not at the expense of actually learning and knowing the subject. That’s my point. Don’t rush if that means the students has to compromise his/her knowledge and understanding of the subject. Students who take linear algebra in high school are NOT taking Algebra II in 10th grade.</p>
<p>Agree with @Data10. In recent years it seems more “common” to see the highly focused STEM type students doing this in high ranking affluent school districts and magnet schools throughout the country…</p>
<p>Not sure which “top” colleges you are thinking of, but in my son’s case, taking AP Calc as a junior (and getting a 5 on the exam) didn’t seem to help. He did not get accepted to MIT or Caltech. Then again, he is planning to major in engineering, not economics. So I’d say just have your son do what works best for his schedule and not worry about it. </p>
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<p>That is not how OP described his/her son.</p>
<p>The other thing is that if he has a summer enrichment program he’s very interested in, he should be allowed to do that. It sounds like that program would also be something he would add to his college app, and he WANTS to do it. It’s not like he’s goofing around or flunking geometry. AP Calculus is an impressive course, no matter when it’s taken.</p>
<p>Thank you guys, now I think it is better for him to take AP cal in his senior year. I was wondering myself why I had been so freaking out… </p>
<p>In fact we were told at engineering tours that they preferred AP Calc as a senior. That way everything was fresh coming into college. They wanted everyone to learn calculus their way. Also taking AP Calc as a junior there are too many unknowns. Is that the highest math class they offer? Does the student have to go to the local CC or college? Does the student take ap statistics or does the school offer a ap calc ab or BC? </p>
<p>Thank you deb922: both AP calc AB and BC are offered, and they are also the highest math in the hs. AP statistics is also offered, but I heard that AP statistics is not challenging enough though. He will be taking APUSH, AP Lan, AP sta or AP calc in junior year. He is top 1-2 in the class, I am not sure if the course load is right for him </p>
<p>AP Stats and precalc is a good double in Jr year. From those two, he should be able to do well on the Math 2 subject test with little prep.</p>
<p>Your son will decide the “right course load” for himself. You may notice that as each year goes by you have less input and he knows more about which courses he wants. Remember that AP calculus represents an average college course, much more is covered in the better schools, including one I know most- the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Taking too much AP calculus instead of the university he attends version may not give him the same math preparation for the school’s more advanced courses.</p>
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<p>It is not necessarily “much more” (although there may be a few extra topics, depending on the school), but that college calculus courses may have more difficult exam problems, as well as typical college expectations even if the exact same material is covered. Such typical college expectations include much higher student self-motivation with much less hand-holding than in high school, as well as college calculus (and more advanced math) courses covering material at a much faster pace than high school calculus AB (or a high school calculus BC course that assumes previous completion of AB).</p>
<p>Students with AP calculus credit should try the old final exams from calculus courses of the college they matriculate to in order to determine the best placement if they want to take more advanced math courses.</p>
<p>Our STEM D took AP Calc as a senior and got into both Stanford and UC Berkeley but not MIT. </p>