She’s planning to take AP STATS
My unknowing opinion is that she should take the class that she would be successful in. Regardless of what the transcript will show. If AP Calculus would result in a C or D and she would spend many hours on it and suffer it is not worth it. If she can get a B then that is a different story, even if she doesnt think she will get a 4 on the AP test
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Based on discussing with our counsellor if they can get a B its fine. If it gets to a C or lower better to go down a level if needed. Our counsellor says avoid a C if you can. Good luck not an easy decision. S24 is taking AP Cal BC this year and is one of the subjects he is having a tough time (as in our school you skip AP Cal AB if you take pre cal honors) and having to work extra hard. Good luck.
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Agree with not needing get a 4 in AP exam. You can alway not submit or take the AP.
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When are you going to Rice? My daughter is a senior there and we often visit in March. We come from a cold weather climate and love the weather in Houston in March.
I am not sure if this is the right forum to ask questions about senior course selection. S24 wants to apply to business/finance/econ programs and is thinking of taking AP Physics C as a science subject (the other option is AP Environmental Science). He will also be taking AP Calc BC, AP Econ, Spanish 4 Honors, English 4 and some mandatory health and art 1/2 year courses. Would AP Calc BC and AP Physics C be too heavy a load, does AP Physics C strengthen his profile ?
We are going during the 2nd week in April. Hoping the weather isn’t too hot / humid by then. We live in Arizona so we aren’t trying to get out of the cold. I’d love to hear any suggestions you have about food, must sees, etc. D24 is going to try to sit in on a class , and we’ve signed up for the tours and will contact a graduate of her high school who is currently a sophomore at Rice. On paper, Rice is a great fit for her, but who knows what she will think of it…. We have visited Stanford & Santa Clara University while on a trip to the Bay Area, both of which she liked. She was a big no on any school in NYC. (we only toured Columbia & Barnard).
AP Physics C definitely strengthens his profile.
As far as if it is too heavy a load, it really depends on the kid. Has he taken any calculus or Physics before? Does he usually learn math easily? My S24 is taking the level a step down from each of those this year (Physics 1 & Calc AB) for him at this point BC and Physics C would have been too much (too fast paced, too much work each week to cover the required material before the beginning of May). I did in in HS though with no problem, and I know of other kids who do.
Calc BC is considered equivalent to the first two semesters of College Calculus. Physics C (is he doing both mechanics and E&M? Or just mechanics?) if both sections are taken is equivalent to the first two semesters of college physics. So if he takes both the calculus and the physics class, it is like having 2 college level/speed classes each semester.
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The weather should be good then - hopefully!
Are you staying near the school or out a ways? I would check out Hermann Park which is right next to Rice in the Museum District. It’s a nice place to take a walk and there are tons of museums/a zoo there. There is an area near Rice called “RIce VIllage” - lots of shopping and restuarants.
That realization still made it a “good” and important visit. Eliminating certain environments/options will help her gain focus what ultimately works best for her.
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@Viki9 , Based on his interest, I wouldn’t recommend AP Physics C. It’s mostly for purely for students interested in engineering, just AP Physics 1 is good enough. Also Physics C and BC would be a overload especially while applying for colleges. My opinion is it’s over killing as I have seen the amount effort that goes into the applications.
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Thanks, he is taking AP Physics 1 now and Pre-Calc Honors. It will be his first Calc class next year. Physics C in his school is both Mechanics and E&M. The other choice is AP ES which also has a heavy workload though Physics seems more relevant in quantitative finance fields though it is also too early to think about these types of specifics, he will figure that out in college
Great input thanks. He will need more effort on apps - deep thoughtful writing does not come as easily to him. He has one week to put in his senior class requests so a lot of thinking to do between now and then.
My son is interested in Premed studies in college (That could change but thats a different story). How will it look to colleges if he took AP Calc AB instead of AP Calc BC in senior year?
By graduation he would have had taken the following STEM APs - AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Stats, AP Psych, AP Comp Science Principles, along with AP Calc.
Would taking a less rigorous AP Calc course hurt his chances for competitive schools since he is thinking about majoring in a STEM degree (Not Engineering)?
So my S 24 is taking those classes too. Counselor said it would be fine with solid As in our honors physics class and precalculus honors. He is planning a humanities or music major and it is what people just do in our school if they are interested. If he can handle the coursework and finds it interesting def high rigor but no reason not to do it
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If Physics 1 has been relatively easy for him, Physics C mechanics will be a breeze IF he learns math easily. It is all the same material but you have to do the problems with calculus rather than just algebra.
The E&M material will be new, but if they cover it in the spring (which is typical but not always the case) that new material will be after he gets college results so shouldn’t affect him negatively if he struggles as long as he eventually passes. (But he won’t necessarily struggle.) I guess the question is, is he a kid who will do well with challenging material in the spring of his senior year, or will he be checked out? I think it looks good to colleges to see a kid not slacking senior year, but is worse if he takes the classes but doesn’t take them seriously and does very poorly.
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My S24 tool pre-cal honors in 10th grade and breezed through it without any issues so he is taking AP Cal BC this year and is having to work a lot harder and we had to get a tutor for the first time. The class goes at very high speed. So talking AP CAl BC and AP Physics C will be lot of work.
You could take AP Cal AB instead if you are worried about amount of work as that class goes slower. The other thing you could do is get a head start in summer so it will be easier.
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I don’t know for sure. On college tours with my S23 the more selective (BU, BC) schools all urged the kids to take “the most rigorous course offered” (of course it was implied assuming you can do well in them). Personally, if I thought my child would struggle or be stressed with BC I’d stick to AB, but otherwise I’d go for BC.
My S24 is doing AB this year. He could have switch to BC at the beginning of the year and if he did it would have been an extra 4 units of material (on top of the 8 units for AB). So it isn’t twice the material but about 50% more.
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I think Calc AB will be fine- it is considered a rigorous class too. In our school district, the path is AB and then BC. I don’t know of any kids who skipped to BC (I bet there are a few).
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This is so true! Her twin brother, on the other hand, has a NYC school as one of his current favorites. Unlike his sister, Rice would be a not so great fit for him, on paper, but we will see after the visit.