I’ve read a ton of threads from CC before, but I finally made an account today since I had a question and figured it might be a good idea to ask here.
This is my senior year of high school. I had planned on taking AP Calculus BC this year, but the teacher removed several students, including me, from his roster. He upped the minimum requirement of 85 in both pre-calculus and calculus to 88 in both classes. I had an 86 in pre-calc, so I didn’t make the cut. He told us all to transfer to AP Calculus AB.
Although BC is supposed to be tougher in general, the AB class in my school is actually much more difficult because the AB teacher makes it so. I went to the BC teacher later on during the school day and tried to convince him to let me into the class, but he asked me some questions that I couldn’t answer, because we never covered it in my pre-calc class.
I’m not sure if I want to take the AB class. I’m considering dropping math for senior year. Freshman year, I took Geometry during school and Algebra II after school. Sophomore year, I took pre-calculus. Junior year (last year), I took regular calculus. Do you guys think I should take calc AB this year then? Would it look horrible to colleges if I didn’t take 4 years of math in high school? Would taking an online Statistics class be a good idea to cover for the calc class if I did drop it?
Thanks in advance to anyone who reads and answers!
What kind of calculus was it if it is a pre-requisite for AP calc?
Can you take Calculus 1 at a local community college as part of dual-enrollment?
Since you already took calculus, you could take any other math class, but taking calculus 1 at college would be the most impressive for admissions. Calculus counts as having 4 units of math (5, actually), so you’d be good in most cases. However, if you can drop Calc AB, can you take another class instead or would it result in your having a study hall? Because a study hall is not a good idea senior year unless you have a very convincing reason (ie., early release to go to a job or internship or dual enrollment class.)
It was a regular calculus class. Not sure if that says anything. It isn’t a pre-req for AP calc, but juniors at my school aren’t allowed to skip straight to AP calc. Since I had taken an extra math class freshmen year, that’s how it ended up.
I can look into dual enrollment, but I heard that the local community college isn’t too good, so I’m not sure if taking a class there would be a great idea.
I haven’t had a chance to look what other courses I could take if I dropped calc AB, but there should definitely be other classes that I could take.
Even if the local community college isn’t good, taking calculus there will “look” good and will accustom you to college classes, with more autonomy for students and typically a faster pace than high school.
What would the other options be?
Other options as in other classes? I don’t know yet. I’ll be able to find out on Monday. The other two faculty members who were able to change schedules today left for a meeting and never came back, so I didn’t get a chance to check it out yet. But if I took another class then, I would go for an AP class; possibly physics, which I ran away from at first.
It wouldn’t need to be AP Physics, it could be any class you’re interested in. What classes are you currently taking (to see if anything’s missing from the “core classes”).
No, there are 9 periods. Those classes are more than a total of 5 periods a week, besides Japanese IV. My schedule has random free periods, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to add any classes. I want to though.
If your school day has 9 periods colleges will only accept a minimum of 7 classes a day. Your taking 4 or 5 periods will be a warning sign that you can’t handle a “full” curriculum and it’ll hurt you in admissions. See what you can take during the “free periods”. For colleges, free periods, except for lunch, are an indication you’re not trying to challenge yourself and are not interested in learning. Take art, shop, current events, sociology, cs, an English seminar… during those periods.
I will. My school’s scheduling is pretty screwed up, but I plan to add as many classes as I can. Not sure if I’ll be able to, though. We don’t have enough electives.
Can you take an online class during a free period that can’t be filled with an onsite class? K12 or FLVS offer a good choice, although they’re fairly pricey.
Well, after a lot of asking about schedules, the only thing I managed to get was independent study for APUSH, since I can’t take it normally. AP Human Geography and AP Economics were both full, and there aren’t any other classes I could take. Are those online classes worth it?
Independent study for APUSH is great, congratulations.With 5 solid periods and one mandatory period, and all 5 “core” subjects covered, you’re now good for most selective colleges.
