I’m a junior. I used to be good at math, but high school has been a rough year of math for me. The only marks on my transcript which are less than perfect are my math grades. However, I never want to go into math for my major, and I want to drop AP Calc AB, mainly because I’m struggling, and I want to possibly take another writing class, because it’s my passion. I’m taking AP Lang right now, with a 97 in the class, and I feel like it’s not challenging me. I want to take another writing class but I don’t know which I should take? Should I even drop Calc in the first place?
Math is a very useful subject up thru algebra 2 and trig, in my opinion. After that, calculus is primarily useful to those pursuing STEM fields. If you are sure you don’t want to pursue a STEM field, I’d drop the calculus.
(and that is hard for me to say as I enjoy mathematics)
Just curious…does your school teach Common Core math? If so, do you think that has anything to do with why you hate it? Have you found the Common Core math more difficult than traditional you may have learned when you were younger before CC?
@Empireapple actually yeah that’s primarily the problem! ahha. I was one of the top students in math when I was younger, basically before Common Core. When I got to high school many teachers were starting to learn how to teach common core, and it was confusing thing to deal with. Most of my teachers didn’t get the hang of teaching it until their 2nd year of teaching it, by then it was too late for me because I was part of their guinea pig class. I’ve found Common Core math much more difficult than traditional math, and my grades would be great if it weren’t for math 
So you are taking a first semester college class as a junior and are having a hard time.
You must have been on a super advanced track to be taking Calc now. Did you double up on Math?
Have you tried Khan Academy for online help with your homework? It may help you understand concepts in a way that your teacher is not. DS had a high school teacher who was terrible at explaining calculus. Khan Academy saved him.
What are your grades in calculus? What does your teacher think of your performance so far? (You don’t know how other people are doing, so it might be better than you think.)
@halcyonheather I have a 79.99 right now haha. I do all my homework, and I take really good notes, I feel like I just don’t click with the teacher and how he explains things. The semester is about half way over, and I don’t want to risk it, considering it’s junior year. The tests throw problems at me I’ve never really seen before, even if I do the homework. I’m considering dropping the class, and taking it online, because I won’t be completely mad if I didn’t take the AP exam by May and my teacher’s strategy is to rush through everything, and have a month to prep. I also have 4 other AP’s haha. Plus, the online class by my school’s policy is to have a year so if I start it in November, I’ll have next November to finish. I don’t know, do you think this is a good idea? My counselor said it’s ok, but I’m not sure if I should.
In my mind you have an 80% and I’m assuming higher once your teacher adds in a few points for homework, participation etc. you’ll be to that B. I know this is not the world you (and most on this board) live in but a B in a class is really good! You have a lot to be proud of. You work hard and have been sticking with it. It saddens me that the “get to top college” culture has made students who get a B feel as if it wasn’t good enough. It is really good! I think you should breathe and remind yourself that you’re doing a great job. There is also so much more to life than this grade and so much more that will define you and lead to your success. Please don’t be so hard on yourself.
With all of that being said my son was in a traditional math program and was transferring to one that taught Common Core. He had to take a Common Core placement exam. We got a tutor from a top high school and she was wonderful. She was younger and well trained in CC. He worked with her a couple of times a week and it made all the difference for the exam. Can you get a tutor?
You’ll be fine. I did fine in all math up till precalc but worked my butt off to good in calc bc. Calc is tough but you have to be tougher
Would you consider taking Calculus at a CC next term so that you no longer have the same teacher? Or replacing it with statistics? You should really try to complete the online class, if that’s what you choose, by June, because you’ll likely be taking another class next year. An issue is that you need 4 years of math for most slective 4-year colleges, and many will want to see 4 units of it unless you complete calculus.
Math is a core class (like English, Science, Social Science, and Foreign Language), and unless you reached the AP level before senior year you ought to have one unit of it each year.
Writing is a great elective but it shouldn’t replace a core class.
@Empireapple I’m not sure if you care or not haha but we just took a test and I got a 68 on it, dropping my grade to a 78. I went to a tutor, who I honestly thought helped me a lot for 2 hours, along with 5 more hours of studying. I’m not really sure what else I can do, and I’m really depressed about this.
I hear your frustration and of course I care. Can you talk to your guidance counselor? Is there another section of the class with a different teacher? Have you talked to the teacher? Any chance of extra credit? Your work ethic is outstanding. I sincerely hope things improve for you.
@Empireapple thank you so much! I’m talking to him today, to see what I can do to possibly improve my grade, and tips on studying. He typically doesn’t like the kids who score low on tests, and like ignores them lmao so we’ll see how this goes :// I think after I talk to him I’m going to talk to my counselor and see if there’s anything else I could do. I talked to my friend who was in the same exact situation as me, almost scarily haha. She had a C most of the semester and at the end of the semester brought it up to a 80.01 barely. She ended up with a 5 on the exam, because apparently he preps you insanely well, and he ended up bumping her grade 10% instead of just 5% like he says. I feel like I should stick with it, but I don’t want to risk getting a C. I honestly thought I did ok, which is the scary part. The last time I thought I did badly, I got a 70, but I kind of already expected it so it wasn’t too bad of a shock. This time I thought I did ok, which apparently wasn’t the case
Before deciding on whether to switch with another English class, find out how many math credits you need for the colleges you are applying to. Most colleges will want at least 3 math credits and recommend 4 credits. I recommend that you get 4 math credits even if they require only 3, though, because you will have to learn Calculus when you go to college either way, and Calculus gets hard in college. If AP Calculus really is not your taste, yet if school recommends/requires you to get 4 math credits, then I suggest switching with Applied Calculus (easier calc with no trig) or AP Statistics.
@MYOS1634 so I actually decided to switch into AP stats online! I heard from my dad, who’s a currently an engineer (slightly disappointed for my lack of affinity for math haha) and he told me I should try stats. I’m starting the 1st semester online after my actual first semester ends in about a week or so. Does that fill the requirements for most colleges?
yes, absolutely.