Is AP CALB BC really necessary?

<p>Im currently a Junior and I'm highly considering trying to get in as an engineering major. Right now I am currently in AP Calc AB and i think i undderstand everything pretty well. I know I should take Calc Bc next year, however, the AP Calc BC teacher at our school is ridiculously hard....if i take it i'd expect probably a C. So is it worth taking? -.-</p>

<p>If you do well in Calculus AB, then you should already know at least half of the material in Calculus BC. So why would you think that it would be difficult?</p>

<p>Typically, Calculus AB gives you up to a semester of calculus subject credit, while Calculus BC gives you up to a year of calculus subject credit (i.e. up to one semester beyond Calculus AB). This means that your high school’s two year calculus sequence moves at about half the pace of a university freshman calculus sequence. Your first math course in university may be a shock if you are not prepared to learn math at twice the pace you are learning it in your high school calculus courses.</p>

<p>Some high schools allow students who complete precalculus (or complete precalculus with an A grade) to go directly to a one year Calculus BC course, run at the same pace as a university freshman calculus sequence.</p>

<p>I took AB Calc my junior year and am taking BC Calc my senior year right now. I did extremely well in AB Calc (A’s both semesters) and I haven’t had much trouble with BC Calc at all this year. Our BC teacher is very challenging, but extremely good at what he does, so it’s worth it (in my situation). Frankly, I can’t say it enough: taking AB and then BC was awesome for me just because it really helped me solidify my foundational knowledge in calculus. Plus, I love calculus to begin with, so I knew I’d like taking some of it over again with a new teacher.</p>

<p>Just take it. When I took the college equivalent I didn’t pay attention in class because the professor was very hard to follow and understood all of the material since I studied it on my own. Having a “bad professor” or teacher is no excuse really.</p>

<p>I’m a senior and I also took AB last year, got an A and got a 3 on the test. I choose to AP stats cuz u heard it was easy and it is. I have an A in that and really am not worried bout the test. My friend however did the same I did in AB and is currently in BC with a 58%. He’s really stressed about it while I am just cruising till graduation with no worries. I have no doubt BC will help u prepare for college but if you wanna just hang out senior year don’t do it.</p>

<p>So basically what looks better? Not taking bc and taking stats to get an A or taking bc and getting a C?</p>

<p>Taking BC and getting an A/B+… It really depends on your desired competitiveness for college admissions. Top engineering colleges might find it odd that you did AB junior year and not BC senior year even when it was offered to you.</p>

<p>just do BC anyways because it’s easy as hell
and yes, it really is necessary
calc is the foundation and you will be seeing some bc stuff later. however, i think it physically is necessary because isn’t bc like the 102 to ab’s 101? and those intro math classes are usually prereqs for engineering</p>

<p>If an engineering major requires statistics, it will likely require calculus-based statistics, which the AP statistics course / test is not.</p>