I have a C in high school AP Calculus AB...what do I do now?

<p>Hi all, </p>

<p>So I am a SOPHOMORE in high school, currently taking AP Calculus AB, and I am just not getting it. I have gotten A's all throughout my life in school for math classes ( except for one C in Pre-Calc). But something is just not clicking with me and Calculus.
Anyways, I still want to get into a good University, (In North Carolina)
I talked to my teacher and my counselor about this and here is what they recommended: </p>

<p>I should drop BC next semester, and take ICM(Intro. To College Math Honors) instead so that I can get a better foundation. Then they said that I should AP Calculus BC in Junior Year, and with a my renewed and stronger foundation...I should get an A in Calculus BC and at least a 3 on the exam. Afterwards, my Calc teacher said that she would write a letter or recommendation/ explanation about how I was too eager and rushed into Calculus to soon. But, I went back and fixed my foundation only to rock Calculus the second time around. She says that she could write about how much determination I took, and how I didn't give up like most students would do. And then she just told me that since I am a sophomore, that I have plenty of time to get everything straight.</p>

<p>Do you guys think that that would work?
I mean the C is still going to show up on my transcript. But I do a lot of volunteer work, and get good grades in all of my other classes. What would you recommend me to do, and did you ever have a similar experience and still get into a good college that you are happy with? </p>

<p>Thank you for all of the replies in advance :)</p>

<p>We’ll have you tried any online resources like Khan Academy and PatrickJMT? People usually find those really helpful.</p>

<p>Yeah, I already use those, but I used them too late.
I understand every one of my courses except from Calculus, in which it is too far into the semester to even get my grade up to a B. I just want to know what I can do to make my application stand out from all of the others.</p>

<p>If you’re applying to tippy top schools, you aren’t going to stand out no matter what. There’s challenging yourself, and then there’s being insane.</p>

<p>Drop BC next semester.</p>

<p>If you got a C in pre-calc, why on earth would you think you were ready for AP Calculus?</p>

<p>I have a C in AP calculus too, and I know people who got B’s and A’s in pre-calc and get low B’s or C’s in AP calculus. I’m not saying that this is true for everyone, some people do really well in calculus because they’re just good at math. It’s a hard class; it isn’t easy. I’m not a math person, so I tried a few things to see how can I maximize my time and effort and work smarter, not harder. Try talking things out as you do problems. By talking, this gives you a better understanding of the processes of each problem. Also, calculus is a lot of problem solving, it isn’t plug and chug anymore like algebra 2 or pre-calc. You actually have to know the concepts behind the math and then apply what you know to a range of situations. Really try to understand why you are doing each step instead of memorizing what to do.</p>

<p><----C+ first term in AB calc (struggles and glories, teacher respects me which is the most important thing), C- in Honors the previous year (I genuinely blame the teacher, I’d have to try to grade that terribly in that class), B- in Honors the year before that.</p>

<p>To all those who say G TFO from AB because of poor grades: Sit down. Some of us like to challenge ourselves. I have no idea how high a grade OP thinks is good enough (B+ or above is good enough for me), but there is nothing wrong with sacrificing easy courses for some tough battles in Math, regardless of how tough they get.</p>

<p>You still have time, keep pushing through AB. I have no clue when your scheduler requires you to know your next year’s course, but keep working at AB until all is lost, or you can’t say you didn’t give it all (and that may haunt you, for all you know). And if its something you really want to be good at, keep fighting for yourself, and your other good grades elsewhere will be fine. </p>

<p>A letter of rec from the class you struggled in, might be a very good thing in college admissions, where your growth and maturity and struggles in that class can be written about, and your potential hard work documented in a rec letter.</p>

<p>So my advice? Stay with it for as long as you can, and strike up good relations with the teacher (seems like you already have). Keep pushing, and then decide the course stuff next may ish. And see what happens from there…One C isn’t going to kill you, collegeconfidential warriors.</p>

<p><flamesuit></flamesuit></p>

<p>PS: Some schools don’t think a three on AP exams is “good” enough anymore. So you might need to get at least a four on your AP. Good luck, OP!</p>

<p>You really just have to keep working. My grade in calculus BC was originally a low B and dropping, but I remained determined and worked until I not only got an A, but I also got a 5 on the AP test. Stay motivated and work hard. You’ll reap great benefits in the end</p>

<p>AB calc as a sophomore???</p>

<p>I took BC cal as a soph…
Apparently, there are some geniuses who have taken AP Cal BC as eighth-graders and have gotten 5’s.</p>

<p>Yeah, I know a seventh grader taking calculus. He’s better at it than me lol.</p>

<p>I got an A in precalc honors last year and a B+ my first quarter of AP Calculus BC. Second quarter is looking like anything from another B+ to a low A. I would suggest Khan Academy and other video resources. For me it helps when someone explains the problems out loud. And do practice problems!!! Buy a prep book.</p>

<p>It sounds like the OP is on a semester schedule and almost done with AB now. I think it certainly would be a bad idea to go into BC when you are struggling so much with AB. </p>

<p>Not sure what the best way out of this is though. College math sounds like precalculus. Maybe that is the best solution at this point, but I’m also a little doubtful that jumping from precalculus directly into BC next year is going to go well when you were weak in AB. You need to understand AB to be successful in BC. Or does this college math class also cover AB material? Is another option simply to drop AB and retake it? (Do you think that would help, repeating the AB material next semester again, or do you think your problems are deeper than that?). </p>

<p>The C in precalculus should have been a warning to everyone–you, your parents, your teachers, your counselor, that you are moving too fast…</p>

<p>I’d also like to suggest that kids who are very bright often run into trouble in high school when they encounter the first class that is actually hard for them. They often don’t have the work habits in place that their classmates had to develop already. Whatever classes you enroll in, it’s worth taking a close look at your work habits and see if you can make changes to be more successful.</p>