How much will not having AP Calculus hurt me in admissions?

[ucbalumnus]

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@ProudSAHM

We have 5 lanes of math, and for the AB&BC lanes, have a couple of created classes that aren’t even offered at other schools. My son was in the AB lane, which ended with AP Calc AB and he got a “C” in the class but a 5 on the AP test. One only needs to score 60% to get a 5 on the Calc AP exam. My son tested so he could have skipped a semester of Calc at university but we didn’t know what to expect from college and didn’t want him creamed. Plus, can’t compare high school math to college math - it depends on the rigor of the math curriculum at the school.

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<p>Seems like the teachers in your school are harsh graders, or the course has been made more difficult than a typical calculus AB course. But why are there five math tracks? More typical is to have two – regular and honors – with a further split between AB and BC for AP calculus (which would be what honors track math students take after honors precalculus).</p>

<p>Regarding needing only a 60% to get a 5 score, that is not too different from many college courses, where instructors put difficult problems on tests, but “grade on a curve” when the score distribution is low. They are not constrained to load up tests with easy problems so that C students can get 70% of them correct.</p>

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@ProudSAHM

I would not advise a student to skip into Calc 2 unless he’s already taking college math in high school.

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<p>A student eligible to skip calculus 1 (e.g. through AP credit) at the college s/he attends should try the old calculus 1 final exams from that college. That way, s/he can find out how well s/he knows the material from the college’s expectation, and can make a more accurate placement decision than just guessing.</p>