I’m a ninth grader taking Algebra 2 Honors and I’m looking to skip PreCalc next year to jump into BC Calculus. Right now I have a 97 in the class, I’m understanding the material, and my favorite subject is math and I am willing to put effort into skipping it. I have spoke with the math department coordinator at my school and he gave me the simple answer: “I think it is a bad idea, but if you can pass the final exams for PreCalc and Trig, you can take BC Calc next year”. The reasons he gave for it being a bad idea: - I would have to take Calculus 3 as a junior at a community college and it would be better to learn it from a better college. - i would have less time to focus on other classes and extracurriculars.
He asked me to put some thought into it to see if it is something I would want to do but reminded me that he wouldn’t recommend it.
The reason I want to skip into BC Calc is because I think math is the most interesting subject. I’m also doing well in my class right now and I’m determined to work to skip if I choose to do so. In college, I want to work for a Physics / math degree, or maybe even both.
I don’t know which college I prefer yet, I might even study abroad. Either way, something related to math in college is what I will do.
The desired route: *Algebra 2 Honors in 9th grade, *BC calculus in 10th. *IB Calc HL or *Calc 3 Honors in 11th grade and *AP Statistics in 12th grade.
I would like to know what people think of my idea, I will consider opinions from both sides and will make a decision within the next few weeks. Please share your thoughts to guide me through this situation.
You want to skip some math because math is interesting? Are you sure that calc is more interesting than other math? In my opinion, what you need is more math, not less, particularly exposure to more types of math that are not calc (you will be taking calc for years regardless). And, you need to not sabotage your future success in math by skipping classes.
Go to the AoPS site and play For The Win, join the forums, practice in Alcumus.
Your proposed sequence does not add anything to your college prospects. Better:
9th grade, Algebra 2 Honors
10th grade, Honors Precalc
11th grade, AP Calc BC
12th grade, Calc 3 Honors
If you have room in your schedule, you may take AP stats in addition to your other math courses. But, I don’t think it adds significant value. You can take real, calculus-based statistics in college regardless.
I’m doing something pretty similar myself since my school’s math program is kind of awful.
I’m currently a freshman and I’m taking geometry. Last year I took number theory and algebra 2 and wanted to take precalc, but the school required me to take geometry.
I’m taking precalc over the summer, and I plan to take Calc I and ii at a local community college over the summer and then taking the AP Calc bc exam.
Honestly, taking precalc over the summer instead of skipping it completely would probably be a good idea, no matter how strong you may be in math.
If you are going to skip it and take the finals for placement, do. Not. Wait. To. Study. You’re going to need to spend a lot of time working on the subject to make sure you are absolutely solid on it.
But if you think you are certain that you can do it and you’re doing it for the right reasons, I’d say to go ahead with it.
Skipping a math class is always a smart idea, if you take the time to properly learn the material. Working at your own pace yields better comprehension than lecturing from a teacher does. I did so with algebra II and would highly recommend!
I agree with others that if you want to take it you should first do PreCalc over the summer.
My son worked through the AoPS Calculus book and asked the Calc teacher if he could skip AB and do BC. (At son’s high school, the typical progression is Advanced Calc in fall semester, AP Calc AB in spring semester, AP Calc BC the following spring semester.) We decided that since ultimately the Calc professor would probably be writing a recommendation at some stage we would follow his advice. Son did very well in the Advanced Calc class this fall that the Calc teacher came up to him and said he thinks he should skip AB and do BC in the spring. Perhaps you can demonstrate to your teacher that you are very prepared by taking the class over the summer or self-studying it now so that when you take the test you do not miss any questions.
@r2v2018 Taking Honors Chemistry this year, no history classes, taking AP Human. The usual sequence for social studies is: APHG>AP Gov> APUSH. I’m not worried about social studies, I could choose the easier class, just having a hard time deciding whether or not I should skip PreCalc for math
8 classes? lucky… I’m a Junior right now and I did something similar to you. I “self studied” pre-calc with BYU Just to get the credit and went onto AB. As a BC student right now, I would recommend not skipping AB especially if you are planning on taking the BC class. Usually BC classes assumes you know the basics of derivatives, integrals, limits, related rates etc. Also what would you take senior year? Multi variable?
For Social studies, my school goes APHG APWH APUSH APGOV
For me APWH and APUSH is really easy b/c of good teachers but it depends on your school. (Gov is the easiest according to all the Seniors :P)
For science, I would recommend AP Chem. I took chem then went on to Physics C with just the knowledge of Calc AB and its working out fine. You just need to take extra time yourself to learn the material.
I did have a bad Chem teacher so I scrapped by with a 4 but if you study a lot and memorize stuff you should get a 4-5
For those who are telling you to do Pre-Calc over summer: Meh. From my experience my Pre-calc study did not help me a lot in Calc. That said, you should no the trig identities and formulas for different equations but there won’t be anything you can’t handle as the year progresses. Also comapared to what you would face in class, the AP test is WAYYYYY Easier.
My course work for Sophmore year was: Adv. Orchestra, Japanese2, APWH, APCHEM, Honors English, AP Calc AB.
Something I do regret is not taking AP Lang sophomore year as Honors English was a waste of time… AP Lang is a hard class on top of everything, but it will make you more prepared to take your SAT Junior year. With APLANG under your belt SAT essays especially would be much easier.
(My AP scores were Chem4 calc5 world5)
I think it is a bad idea. You are already ahead in math. By skipping to BC you would be putting yourself at a disadvantage by not having the prerequisite in a sequential course and you would be going against the advice of the department head.
Not if you learn the content before skipping the course. I think the key distinction is whether they plan to self-study or skip entirely.
I would agree with you that the best route would be to stay on track with the current progression if they do not intend to spend extra time studying during summer. However, if they take the opportunity to learn the material thoroughly during break, I don’t see a problem with going through a skip.
This is a really bad idea. What does this get you? The ability to take AP stats in 12th grade? You are going to skip a class and then move up to a college paced class. You have never had a class at that speed. You are putting a lot of risk in your schedule with no reward.
I think the only people who really have a say in whether it is good or bad is those who have ACTUALLY tried it out Pre-Calc is just not worth the year.
Pre-Calc is just not worth the year.