Senior year schedule?! Ap calc v. Ap stat, and what is considered rigorous enough?

Applying to College
1

<p>So, I'm a junior and we're registering for our senior year classes.
Let me start off by saying I am NOT good at math. I have usually been able to maintain a high B, but last semester I was very very close to getting a C. So, I'm not trying to go to some Ivy League.
My dilemmas are:
1) I can't decide between Ap Stat (which would be easier but not viewed as favorably as calc from what I've heard) and Ap calc. I COULD take both, but as I said, math is not my strong suit.
2) With my preferred choices so far, I think my schedule doesn't look very rigorous. In an ideal world, I would be taking this:
Ap psychology
Ap lit
Ap stat or Ap calc
Speech/Debate
Econ/lit elective (econ is required and is only a semester, so my options for the other semester are limited)
Spanish 4
BUT, I know ap psych and ap lit aren't necessarily the same difficulty as ap calculus or ap physics, etc. </p>

<p>SO, my question is, what should I do about math, and if I only took one of those courses, does the selection above seem rigorous enough or no? (it would be the same number of ap courses I'm taking this year).</p>

2

<p>AP Stat is considerably less strenuous than AP Calc. If rigor is your goal, then Calc, hands down.</p>

3

<p>Depends on what your major is also.</p>

<p>But generally I’d say calc I.</p>

<p>There are some very helpful videos online to help you get through the material, I’ve used PatrickJMT sometimes for that.</p>

4

<p>calc definitely!</p>

5

<p>I could never speak to the trends in college admissions these days, and if admissions reps would dock a student for taking AP Stats instead of AP Calc, I would find that absurd. But that is just me.</p>

<p>I would rather a student consider whether taking AP Calc is going to lead to actually learning calculus. Is your high school’s AP Calc teacher any good? How many students end up earning AP Calc test grades that earn some college credit?</p>

<p>My son is going to pursue a double major in physics and engineering, and he would certainly need to take Calculus, but I persuaded him to wait until college and take the three-semester Calculus courses with an actual mathematics professor rather than take the high school AP version. Instead, he is taking AP Stats as well as a financial mathematics class (thought would be very practical) and doing so did not keep him from getting several admission offers.</p>

<p>Calculus (at least when I took it in high school) was very time consuming, and I enjoyed math and had some fantastic teachers. I was involved in a lot and had plenty of other college prep courses, so I only took the first semester my senior year. Once in college, I took the three-semester college version with a Harvard-educated professor and learned so much more. I admit I have a bias since AP courses had not become so prevalent yet in the late 80s when I was in high school. When my son graduates, he will have completed 11 AP classes, and I have yet to be impressed by any of his AP classes (my college prep high school classes covered more than any of his AP classes have.). </p>

<p>All that to say that you should carefully consider whether you really need to take AP Calc in order to be competitive for whatever school you want to attend. If you decide to sign up, then consider finding the Life of Fred math textbook series and go through those books over the summer to shore up your math skills. And be prepared to spend at least 2 hours a night on just that AP Calc math work (and if your school’s AP Calc class does not require that kind of commitment, then that is another to consider waiting until college.)</p>

<p>You can create a rigorous schedule without including AP Calc, but, again, I speak as a parent and former calculus student, not as an admissions officer. Take an extra honors science, or some other honors academic course. My son’s schedule this year is AP Stats, AP human Geography, AP Biology, AP Eng, Marine Science Honors, Applied Algebra Financial Applications, AP Macroeconomics, AP Art History, and French 1 (he already fulfilled his foreign language but wanted to take French for fun.).</p>

<p>AP Stats is a nice complement to the AP Human Geography class actually, and while he finds the Stats work tedious at times, he is being challenged. In general, though, he can’t wait to get to college where he can spend more time studying and learning rather than completing endless DBQs and other dull assignments :)</p>

6

<p>I’d think a terrific grade in AP Stat would be better than a mediocre grade in AP Calc. If you’re not trying to be a math-science major, I doubt it matters which one you take. If you anticipate having to take Calc in college, maybe AP Calc is a good idea, not because you can skip ahead but because you can go into college Calc with some familiarity with it. But if you don’t see taking Calc in college? Plenty of people never touch it and go on to have wonderful careers and lives.</p>

<p>Stat also can have an immediate relationship to and application in the social sciences…I mention it because you say a dream courses would include Psych and Econ. </p>

<p>Who will be teaching which class? That can make a HUGE difference in your experience.</p>

7

<p>If you aren’t a strong math student, off-ramping into AP Stat is no crime, and may be a wise move. There is no point taking an AP class you are going to wind up with a C in.</p>

<p>AP Lit is NOT an easy class, it involves a tremendous amount of reading. Sure, it’s easy if you have the time and reading strength to get through that much material, but with a full course load, it can be a bear.</p>

<p>Is AP Microeconomics a possible alternative to the regular Econ class?</p>

<p>No science class? Any AP possibilities there?</p>

<p>APUSH?</p>

8

<p>I agree with the adult posters above: if you’re doing B-to-C work in precalc, it’s better you wait till college and see whether calculus is required for your major, and take statistics. AP stats will actually help you understand a lot of classes in the social sciences and an A in AP Stats is definitely better than a C in calculus (if you’re borderline in precalc and math isn’t your strong suit, you’re unlikely to get a good grade. There are even students who go to a D :s)
However if you want to be premed or engineering, taking Calculus <em>and</em> doing well in it would be considered important for your admisions and your success in that major. However if you’re not very good at high school math I wouldn’t recommend a STEM major.</p>

9

<p>You say you’re not reaching for ivys. What schools are of interest?</p>

10

<p>In my opinion, taking AP Stats is an easy course to do well in. Calc BC, however, is challenging but extremely rewarding.</p>

11

<p>Generally avoid courses in which you are not confident of getting a grade of B or higher.</p>

12

<p>^^Excellent advice.</p>

<p>It is one thing to challenge yourself into a B. That should happen a few times in your HS career, or at least the threat of a B. No one is impressed by challenging yourself into a C, at least at the HS level.</p>