I’m currently a sophomore in Pre-Calculus Honors with a 98-99 average. Math comes (relatively) easy for me, but my heart truly lies in the natural sciences.
If I’m planning on majoring in Biology when I get to college, should I take AP Calculus AB or BC as a junior? (At my school, you can’t take both.) I know AB covers the 1st semester of college calculus, and BC covers both semesters.
Since I’m probably majoring in Biology, is it necessary to do BC, or would AB be enough to give me a strong foundation in college calculus - or possibly even let me skip it?
It depends on your school, future career, and, if applicable, your specific discipline within your major (some schools offer biology with an emphasis on environmental science, for example. At my perspective college, ASU, for a general biology major with no emphasis, you only need brief calculus, so AB would be more than enough. However other emphases or cross disciplines like biochemistry do require up through what BC will cover at the least. Also, if you are looking to major in biology to be a doctor or something, BC might be helpful.
I’d say your best shot is to try and access a “major map” or something similar for all of the schools you are currently considering and see if you will need the BC credit or not.
If math is easy for you, why not go with BC? You’ll most likely get some college credit and learn some very fascinating mathematics while you’re at it. They may not be applicable as a biologist, but they will certainly come in handy in gaining a broader perspective on mathematics, which may be helpful in the future.
context: I worked part time advising science freshmen during orientation.
If you’re planning to graduate school or professional school (like medical), math perquisites can include up to integral calculus and statistics. So BC could knock out your math requirements as early as freshman year.
On the flip side, I took AB Calculus and retook differential calculus fall semester then integral calculus in the spring. The prior knowledge was really helpful in processing information - and sometimes tutoring my classmates.
So your school doesn’t allow you to take AB next year and then BC as a senior? If so, that’s strange. Normally that’s what people do at my school. But if you’re strong at math, and you’re already going to learn some calculus topics this year, you might be fine taking BC next year.
smallkid9 - You said you took AP Calculus AB and had to take some more calculus in college. Do you ever wish you had taken BC and hopefully knocked that credit out? Also, were you planning on going to professional school - like medical, for instance?
I say take AP Calculus BC. I’m taking it my senior year, and even though math isn’t my strongest subject, I’m doing fairly well. I don’t regret taking it.
I don’t wish I taken BC. My high school self had confidence issues, so AB pacing reduced my stress about getting hw done. At the time when I entered college, the health professions office told me both medical and pharmacy schools ask integral calculus as a minimal math requirements. Times have changed, and some schools are okay with just differentials and statistics.
What would you take senior year if you take BC - does your school offer Multivariable or another math class?
Most premeds retake Calculus in college (they’ll need one semester of it for med school and when you’re premed your goal is to maximize the number of A’s.) So AB is fine for that. If you’re going to be a Biology major, you may be required to take more math, so taking BC would help because you’d start taking Calculus 2 Fall freshman year.
Hi, I was in exactly your position. I had a strong A in honors pre-calc and thought I would be just fine. I took BC and it was way too much for me. I had hours of homework nightly - just for that class - and still didn’t understand the material (my unhelpful teacher may have impacted this). I dropped down to AB (online due to how late in the semester I dropped) and I currently have an A in the class. I would recommend that you take AB next year and then BC as a senior, especially if you are taking other rigorous classes or participating in time-intensive extracurriculars.
Unless you are extremely confident in your abilities and are willing to devote a lot of time to a single class, I would recommend taking AB.
I’m also a sophomore debating whether to take AP Calc AB or BC but am planning to take AB instead. It really depends on what other classes you are taking, your interests, and the time you have