<p>I'm currently in precalculus right now, and I consider it one of the easiest classes I've ever taken. We're signing up for classes, and I was wondering if Calculus AB is different from BC.</p>
<p>My school offers AP Calc AB and BC, and AP stats. I'm going to be a junior next year, so should I take AB junior year and BC senior? Or try to do BC junior year (it'll take some major persuasion, but my counselor loves me) and stats senior year?</p>
<p>Thanks guys, it means a lot. (:</p>
<p>Calculus AB is a subset of Calculus BC.</p>
<p>Calculus AB is generally equivalent to a semester of university calculus.</p>
<p>Calculus BC may be counted as up to a year of university calculus if you score high enough.</p>
<p>If the BC course at your high school starts from the beginning, there is no reason why a student good enough in math to be doing well in math two grade levels ahead would have any problem with it. It will be like a one year university level calculus course running at the same pace as in a university.</p>
<p>However, it is common these days for high schools to make AB a prerequisite for BC, starting the BC course where AB leaves off, forcing all students to spend two years to learn one year’s worth of calculus. If this is the case, then if you want to learn calculus at a pace similar to that of a university calculus course, you may want to consider taking a transferable freshman calculus course (for math, physics, and engineering majors) at a local community college.</p>
<p>AP Statistics is not considered to be very difficult. Be aware that it is a non-calculus based course, and many majors which require statistics require a calculus based statistics course. It is best considered to be more like a high school level introductory statistics course (some other APs, like Physics B, could also be described this way). Some community colleges do offer a calculus based statistic course.</p>
<p>So, I should look to take Calculus at a college level?</p>
<p>Only if it starts from the beginning (i.e. AB). Usually, BC courses only take on the extra concepts that differentiate AB from BC, and you won’t be able to take BC without understanding AB.</p>
<p>EDIT: You should take BC ONLY if it includes all of the AB fundamentals.</p>
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<p>I don’t think so. Since BC covers AB and C, most classes have to cover AB material before getting to C, but that’s just my understanding.</p>
<p>Ok. So it’d be fine on a college transcript to have both AB and BC?</p>
<p>To the OP: find out if your high school BC course starts from the beginning (i.e. including AB) and approximates a one year university level course, or if it starts off where your high school AB course ends.</p>
<p>If the former, you can jump right in after precalculus, if you are confident of your ability to handle a course approximating a true university level math course (if you are not as confident in that, you may want to choose AB for a slower pace).</p>
<p>If the latter, then your high school is essentially forcing you to spread a year of calculus into two years, unless you go to a community college to take calculus instead.</p>
<p>Yeah, it splits it into two years. So, I should just go with AB?</p>