Hey guys so I found out that I’m going to have a C for my first quarter grade for AP Calculus AB. This is my first C in high school, and I’m kind of worried about what this might look like on my transcript. I want to get into a good college (not necessarily Ivy League), and I’m not sure if this C will affect much. If I try really hard, its possible that I might be able to get a low B for the year, but I have no idea because I don’t know how much harder the material will get. I can switch into regular calculus and get an A for sure but I don’t know if I should or not. I have 2 other AP classes, 2 honors, and 3 regulars that I’m doing great in. I have a C in this AP class which will give me a 4.2 GPA, opposed to a 4.3 GPA if I were to have an A in a regular calc class. Anyone have any advice? I’m really unsure of what to do.
I would talk to your teacher about what the rest of the year is going to look like. It’s possible that the first quarter was hard for you because of the jump in difficulty from pre-calc to calc, and that things will straighten out. My BC calc teacher told us straight up that everyone does the worst during the first quarter but not to be discouraged, because it does get better. So maybe your teacher will have some idea of how the first quarter compares to the rest of the year in terms of difficulty. That being said, it’s really a personal decision- will having to work extra hard in calculus to get a low B, as you said, take away time from your other classes? Are there resources you can use to help you this quarter (tutoring, math teacher’s office hours, etc)? Best of luck in making your decision. 
Okay, I see what you’re saying. Thanks for the input!!