Hello,
I am currently a freshman in high school taking Honors Geometry. I want to take AP Calculus BC as a senior, however, my school makes AP Calculus AB a prerequisite for AP Calculus BC. I am new to the school system, so I wasn’t able to get into the honors math program in 7th grade (freshman take Honors Algebra 2). My current progression has me taking Honors Algebra 2 sophomore year, Honors Precalculus junior year, and AP Calculus AB senior year. I have been considering taking a summer math class, but all the classes cost $1500+. I have also considered taking an online course, but my parents are skeptical about doing this, and my counselor recommended that I take the class in an actual classroom. However, my math teacher said he thought I was the type of student who could do an online class, but he still didn’t recommend it. So I’m sort of stuck on what to do. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
Find out what the Algebra 2 and Precalc classes cover, they usually repeat much of the same material. Talk to your teacher about it and see if it is possible to cover the extra material over the summer independently, if it is viable, you can take Algebra 2 then self learn the precalc material and take Calc AB junior year.
Ok, thank you for your suggestion! So just to be clear, you’re saying I should take Honors Algebra 2 sophomore year, take Precalculus over the summer in between sophomore and junior year, and then take AP Calculus AB junior year?
Why do you want to take CalcBC? 99% of colleges have a STEM curriculum that assumes you will start with Calculus
If you’re determined to take Calc BC, then that’s the path I would recommend.
It is not particularly critical for any major or any US university to complete calculus BC rather than AB while in high school. In some cases, it may get you a semester ahead in college math.
Yes, you are probably right. I just feel like I can be challenging myself more in math, and many kids in my grade are currently in Honors Algebra 2 and are on track to take AP Calculus BC, which is probably part of the reason.
But be careful IndiansNation23…sometimes I hear stories of students here on CC who decided to challenge themself but overchallenged and got bad grades.
Thank you, bopper, and I will be careful should I decide to do this, which I most likely will not do.