Should I dual enroll or take AP calc?

<p>I am going to be a senior and I was pretty positive that I wanted to dual enroll. I figured since I had already taken all the math classes in my school except AP Calc that I could dual enroll in Pre Calculus with Trig at a community college, but now I am thinking maybe I should just take the plunge and do the AP calc AB. Only thing is that I don't know if it'll be too tough for me. I have done well in my other math classes, but I am scared of taking the class and ending up with a C or lower. Plus, my school has two semesters, so if I take AB first semester and decide not to take BC the second semester I probably won't even pass the AP exam at the end of the year for AB. All of these things, along with the fact that the teacher, while she is a good teacher, is really really hard and I'm just not sure if I want that stress my senior yr with college applications and everything else, led me to decide to dual enroll. </p>

<p>If I DE (without calc), my first semester schedule would be:</p>

<p>DE Precalculus w/ Trig
DE Sociology
AP Human Geography
AP English</p>

<p>Second Semester I would take AP Bio, try to take AP spanish (if the school allows me to... I don't have all the prerequisites but I am a native speaker), and my two other classes I'm still not sure, but I don't have to decide them until later on in the school yr so that's ok. </p>

<p>So I do have room in my schedule if I decide not to dual enroll (or only DE in one class) for AP calculus. I suppose I am wondering if it would hurt my chances of getting into more competitive colleges if I don't take AP Calculus AB or BC. I know that to answer that question a little better you'd need more of my previous classes, GPA, etc., but just looking at my schedule, would it be better to dual enroll or take AP Calc AB and possibly even BC?</p>

<p>Well Trig is supposed to be a basis for Precalc. You usually take it after Algebra II or Geometry. Depends on whether or not you are confident in your skills in math. Personally I think you might as well work harder now than later because second semester senior year there is sooo much slacking off. If you have Calc BC, than at least you will be giving it your all and maintain focus for school the next year.</p>

<p>I don’t really remember Precalc really being that much into my Calc class. Generally precalc closes up lose ends that you learn in Algebra, Geometry and Trig. and preps you for Calc. You may need to know the trigonometic identities for some derivations and integrals.</p>

<p>I say, go with DE Calculus I, but be sure to PREPARE this summer. You will be able to do it, but it is harder! Take Calculus II second semester and then take the AP test (calc BC) to prove to yourself that you understand the material (you will probably be getting credit on the CC side anyways, unless you go to an ivy or ivy quality school).</p>

<p>Its just a huge relief to get Calculus I and II out of the way for college. In my school we even skip out Calc I and go straight to Calc BC because there is only a little more material that if you condense the year enough, you can finish both.</p>

<p>thanks for the info! I’ve already taken Precal, calculus, and AP Stats at school and thats why all that’s left is AP Calculus. I’m not sure if I can dual enroll in calculus (as in I may not be allowed to) but I should consider it as another option.</p>

<p>Wait i am very confused. If you have taken precalculus why are you taking it again? In addition, if you have calculus experience, than taking the dual enrollment should be a no brainer since it wouldn’t be as hard as newly coming with no knowledge.</p>

<p>If you know the different ways of integrating (I think that is Calc I - am a little mixed since I took Calc I and II together) and finding the area between two graphs using integration.</p>

<p>Just know that getting credits really saves you money in college!</p>