<p>Would admissions at UC or private colleges care if I skipped Calculus BC and went
to multivariate calculus with school approval? I've been studying the C portion on my own
over the summer and can likely test into the multivariate. I got a 5 on the Calc AB AP test
and I'm concerned that the first half of the year will be a real snoozer if I stick with Calc BC.<br>
I realize I wouldn't get any AP credit to place out of anything in college doing the multivariate.<br>
It's just a matter of keeping the material new and interesting. But I want to make sure
that this would not hinder my chances for college admission. Thoughts appreciated.
Thank you.</p>
<p>Are you planning on taking MVC at your school or at a CC? If so, it will not hinder your chances for admissions.</p>
<p>I would not recommend skipping BC. there is plenty of new curriculum.</p>
<p>MVC at the HS during senior year.</p>
<p>
OP is self-studying over the summer and taking a placement test. That’s placing out, not skipping. Although to be fair, the thread title is misleading.</p>
<p>IMHO self-studying Calc 2 rarely leads to enough proficiency where you’ll be able to do well in multivariable. It’s a huge step up. I don’t know how colleges would view it because at my school the only way to place into multivar is to take the BC exam. You can take the BC exam in precalc, that they don’t care about, but unless you took the BC class I believe you have to get a 5 on the exam to place into multi (maybe a 4 idk, I know they wont let you with a 3). It does cause some concern though, especially if you don’t do well in multivar. I honestly think you should take BC.</p>
<p>If you are in CA, could you take the 2nd semester of Calc at a local CC (perhaps as dual-enrollment)? For us, that is Math 160, but the numbering is probably different at various CCs.</p>
<p>BC is a weird class to skip, most skip earlier on like alg 2/precalc. </p>
<p>Honestly though, BC’s material isn’t terribly in depth (more similar to precalc’s assortment of random topics, which all come up in the BC part) and since it’s at your high school, neither will MVC. If you can get a 5 on the BC section, you should be fine imo. </p>
<p>My daughter did this very successfully. She took Calc AB junior year of HS and then Multi senior year (taught by the HS). She got a 5 on the AB AP test. She felt that the only thing she missed out on from BC was series (which were not part of the multi curriculum). Having AB was sufficient to succeed in Multi (in her case taught by the same teacher). Her multi class was mixed with both kids who had had AB and kids who had had BC. She went in knowing that no college would give her credit for multi taught by a high school. </p>
<p>She then got four credits for calc 1 in college and proceeded to take calc 2 and 3 at her college. Interestingly, calc 2 at the college did not match the BC curriculum (had some multi stuff and did not have some of the series stuff they teach in BC) so she was happy that she took calc 2 at college. </p>
<p>She is a joint econ/math major and has felt that her HS background of AB and Multi made her very prepared for her college math classes.</p>
<p>As an aside, Calc 2 for her major (they have different calc 2 classes for business, engineers, etc.) was the one for engineers and math majors and was a very tough class. Lots of kids dropped out, took a W, or failed.</p>
<p>If you feel well prepared for MV, go ahead. However, if it turns out later that you weren’t truly ready for it, it could tank your GPA & affect your admission offers (mid-year grades). As appealing as MV may sound to you, no one is going to penalize you for not taking it, specially since you’ll have to take it in college anyways. It’s a risk with little rewards, in my opinion. </p>
<p>Also, some BC concepts take a while to master, so it might be good to take the actual class. I took both AB & BC; got enough AP credits to skip both in college, but I still feel more comfortable re-taking Calc 2 instead of going straight into MV. Maybe it’s just me, though. Every student is different.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve changed tack and put in to take the Calc BC. I should be able to get a 5 or at least 4 on the AP and then as you say I can likely get some credit at whatever college for that. I may just self study AP stats and get that in there while I’m at it. :-)</p>
<p>Oh Boi.
Calculus is a 3 series course in College.
Some schools expects students to take all 3 semesters of calculus. So if they allow you to take cal i based on your AP, SAT or ACT maths score, that is fine.
However to move from Cal 1 to Cal 2, you have to test out, and Cal 3 placement.
But in all, this does not sound like a good idea. You want to impress admission officers, but you might also end-up with a bad grade.
So if you ask me… go with the pace that is designed in your school and You should be fine.
Life is not a race, so no need to be in a hurry.
So good choice for doing the Cal BC.</p>
<p>@CollegeBargain You might get bored at first with some of the AB review, but it’ll be so worth it to have a solid BC background. And yes, for AP credit:</p>
<p>AB + MultiV = Only AB credit = Take Calc 1 or 2 in college</p>
<p>but</p>
<p>AB + BC = Both AB & BC credit = Take Calc 2 or 3 in college</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>High school multivariable calculus won’t give you any credit or placement at colleges, unless the college’s math department is willing to do individual placement testing. Better would be to either take BC at the high school (and the AP test), or take calculus 2 and multivariable calculus at a local college if you want to continue at a college pace and college environment.</p>