I’m a junior in high school and I’m trying to figure out which classes would be best for my senior year.
My junior year I am taking
AP Physics 1
AP Economics
AP English
Pre Cal Honors
US History Honors
French III Honors
Theology (required)
My senior year plan is
AP Environmental Science (this would be my 5th year of science)
AP Psych
AP French
English IV Honors (my school doesn’t let us continue with AP)
3D Art
Theology IV
AP Calc BC or Honors Calc
Maybe American Foreign Policy
I’m not sure whether or not to take AP Calc BC or to take Honors. I’m not interested in a math or science major but I know that the AP Calc BC would look a lot better to take. I don’t want it to be a terrible and hard class that I don’t do well in because I’m going to have a lot going on senior year. Does it look worse to take Honors calc even if I’m not going into math? I also don’t want it to look like I’m decreasing my junior year rigor. I’m not sure whether to take American Foreign Policy because I’m possibly interested in an international relations or poli sci major and I don’t know how critical it is that I take classes that could go into a possible major, but I also don’t know if I have room for another class or if it will burden my schedule with too much work. I’m possibly interested in Boston College, Tulane, or Georgetown as schools to apply to.
Does you school not have AB? Jumping from PreCal to BC isn’t the best idea (I did that. It was not fun. At all.)
But to answer your question, if you’re not interested in math, take honors!! Calc BC is a lot of work, and depending on your teacher, it’s hard to do super well without studying a crap ton. Math is my least favorite subject, I took BC, and ended up getting my first B ever in that class. I’m not saying that to scare you, I’m just living proof that if you’re not interested in something, and that something is significantly difficult, you’re probably not going to do too well. More importantly, you’re not going to enjoy it.
Also, I wouldn’t worry about things “looking” good. Who knows what that means? Bottom line, your admissions decision is definitely not going to be swayed one way or another based on whether you took AP BC or honors calc. I’d say take either AB (if you can) or honors. If you work hard, BC is also doable, but you’ll really have to commit to it. Good luck!
Considering your choice of major and universities, American Foreign Policy and Honors Calculus would be better choices than Calc BC. If your school offers Cal AB it might be an alternative but I’m guessing they’re offering EITHER BC OR calc honors because calc honors follows the AB curriculum (ask the math teacher if you’ll be able to take the AP calc AB exam if you take calc honors).
The one thing I’d change due to your major+colleges is AP psych. It’s an easy class and not a core subject - if your school offers AP euro or AP world, either would be a better choice.