I’m planning on taking ceramics instead. It’s not senioritis settling in—I’m taking 5 APs and I want to make straight A’s this semester. The issue is that my calc teacher was my forensics coach last year, and I faced harassment from this teacher during my experience in the activity. First semester was a struggle—I got a B+, despite it being a review of Calc AB—since I was very uncomfortable in this teacher’s class. I don’t think I can handle another semester of this, and I’m worried my grade in calc will end up being really low (as low as a C) since this semester is supposed to be significantly more difficult.
I applied to all the UCs and a selective $50,000 scholarship to a local university. I’m confident I have the ability to make As in all my other APs, as I did last semester. Will dropping Calc BC seriously hurt my admission chances? I have a 4.43 GPA and a 1480 SAT with quite a few ec’s.
You will need to let the colleges know, and since ceramics is in no way equivalent to Calc BC, it won’t look good. The only way to know for sure is to ask each college, though.
You knew this same teacher was teaching the class on Day 1 (or earlier, if you got your schedule over the summer). Why didn’t you drop then?
A B+ is a strong grade in Calc BC. Even if you drop to a C, it is unlikely that any college will rescind your acceptance. Bottom line is that I think you should stick it out.
your reasons for dropping, and what you would take instead both seem like weak arguments and choices. I’d stay with BC, the hassle of having to notify schools is not worth what you explained.
Do it. Your second semester schedule will not count against you in admissions - the only thing you need to do is do well in your classes. Whatever college you end up will be more than happy to let you take Calculus there. But I would recommend taking it from scratch if you feel your high school class was iffy.
If possible, I would stick it out. You don’t necessarily need to get straight A’s, especially 2nd semester of senior year, and a B+ is an excellent grade for BC Calc.
If you do for whatever reason decide to drop BC, is there any chance you could take a more rigorous course than ceramics in its place? No matter what you tell colleges, replacing BC with ceramics will LOOK like senioritis to them and it may negatively impact your admissions chances. I know that it may be difficult to transfer into another AP mid-year, but are there any honors courses or more academically-focused CP classes you could take?