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<p>Regardless of prospective major or area of interest, if your high school offers AP Calculus (either AB or BC) and you want Yale to seriously consider your application, you better take it.</p>
<p>Yes, there will be exceptions, but that’s the general rule.</p>
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But the OP already took AP calculus AB so the question was whether it was necessary to take BC and I still say no if there is risk of it affecting the GPA. I still believe the GPA is more important than having BC on the application.</p>
<p>What ever happened to taking classes out of interest, rather than taking classes for the sake of college admissions?</p>
<p>kdog: Read my posts. </p>
<p>I agree with you that the OP should NOT take BC if his/her GPA is going to tank as a result.</p>
<p>My point in post 22 was that for a student who aspires to get into Yale, SOME form of AP Calc should be taken if the high school offers it. Whether the choice is AB or BC (assuming both are offered) will depend on the particular student’s aptitude and interests. The OP says s/he wants to major in science. In that case, the lack of BC on the transcript may raise concerns around the admissions table. Is it the absolute kiss of death? I don’t know; I’m not on the admissions panel. But regardless of proposed major, no AP Calc (when it’s offered by your high school) is a bad idea.</p>
<p>If it helps, I know someone who got into Yale EA who only took AB and she’s going to major in biology. Yes, my school offers BC.</p>
<p>My son also got in with only AB but BC wasn’t offered. I doubt Yale knew that though as it’s not a known public school. He is also a Bio (pre-med) major.</p>
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<p>They probably did know.</p>
<p>Most high schools include something called a “Profile” along with each transcript they send as part of an application. The Profile provides detailed information about the high school’s curriculum and grading policies. It may also include GPA and ACT/SAT distributions, the grade range of each decile of the class, info on the number of students taking and passing APs – all sorts of info that lets colleges appraise an applicant in context. It gives colleges an idea of the kinds of opportunities as student has had and how s/he has performed relative to peers. In your son’s case, Yale was able to see that AB Calc was the only calculus option at his high school.</p>
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<p>Most high schools in the country are not well-known.</p>
<p>That’s what the school profile is for.</p>
<p>OP: As a parent, reading your message, I just cannot see why should force yourself to take AP Calc (BC). Math is obviously not your strong point (and for a majority of Yale-bound students, it’s probably not a strong point), so your admission will be dictated by the rest of your application and accomplishments. So don’t lose sleep over it! Take the courses that teach you what you want to learn, do well, and let the chips fall where they may. Best wishes.</p>