<p>A friend took AP Calc BC in 10th grade and got an A in the class and a five on the exam. For 11th grade the friend has a bunch of scheduling conflicts and it appears that Calc AB is one of the only AP classes she can take sixth period. She will also be taking Calculus 3 concurrently this year at her local community college. Does it look bad to colleges, future employers, or scholarship application committees that she will be taking AP Calc AB after already taking Calc BC? Is it bad that she's regressing in her math sequence, although she's also advancing by taking Calc 3? She's partially doing this to boost her GPA. Is this a bad decision? All opinions appreciated!</p>
<p>It is a bad decision. It shows that she is grade-focused, not learning-focused. The colleges may not want someone like that as much as someone who chooses to push the frontiers of her knowledge by learning something new. (Yes, there are many pre-med and pre-law students like that, but why signal this tendency even before college?)</p>
<p>It is surprising that the high school would even allow that, since calculus AB is a subset of calculus BC, and she did not get a D or F grade the first time.</p>
<p>This would really show some poor judgement and be a complete waste of time. If she thinks it won’t be seen as filler busywork and grade grubbing she is mistaken. Better to to take a non AP that is a compliment to her schedule, do something outside the box for her like public speaking or art, or to let something else be sacrificed, like do that the Calc3 in college or next year.</p>
<p>What if she may not be valedictorian without taking Calc AB?</p>
<p>Valedictorian is meaningless when it comes to college admissions. Her chase of it, despite the utter idiocy of taking AB confirms her poor sense of judgment and frankly, her character of besting others w/o a real sense of using her time wisely to improve herself.</p>
<p>If you want to be a friend, tell her to not be a bold-faced grade grubber and a prestige chaser. She obviously has academic talent – let it not be sullied by such pedestrian pursuits. Teachers (and colleges) notice these things – and that’s not good for her.</p>
<p>Calc AB gives her a big GPA boost that would help her be valedictorian. She is taking 5 other AP classes and 2 college classes as well. So can’t the Calc AB be overlooked when it’s accompanied by such a heavy course load?</p>
<p>What if she’s going to a good state school? They wouldn’t analyze this Calc AB so much, I think! Would this affect scholarship applications?</p>
<p>You’ve gotten advice from 3 different people saying don’t do it. You seem like you won’t be content until somebody says it’s ok…but it’s not. All schools will look at it the same…negatively.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The grade grubbing here is far too obvious and will leave a negative impression on an admissions reader.</p>
<p>If she has 7 other courses already, what is wrong with taking some other course, or leaving it as an empty slot?</p>
<p>
No, they’ve not been.</p>
<p>@ipodsinger: you either disagree or just fail to acknowledge what I and other posters have said. You are blind to how negatively this is perceived. OK. Fine. Warned, now it’s in your hands. Your “friend” should do whatever she wishes. You asked the question, remember.</p>
<p>Don’t think this grade grubber isn’t discussed in the teachers’ lounge too. Wouldn’t at all be surprised if its not quietly implied into any rec letter she might get in the future too. Grade grubbers and prestige whores are disliked intensely. Do you not know that?</p>
<p>I would tell her to take that free hour and act as a teacher’s assistant – heck, even for that AB Calc class itself! Something radical; you know, like helping someone else.</p>
<p>sometimes when my parents aren’t home, I take Calc AB practice tests for fun</p>
<p>Do medical schools look at high school transcripts?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help! My friend will take this into consideration. </p>
<p>Maybe take AP stats instead…Why does she need more Math if she has the Cal3 class?</p>
<p>She doesn’t necessarily “need” more math. It would be redundant to take Calc AB after Calc BC when she performed great in the first class.</p>
<p>AP Stats would be a good choice.</p>
<p>She already took AP Stats in 10th grade. She’s taken like every AP class in the school practically and she just wants to have an AP class for that period. Calc AB is the only AP class available.</p>
<p>Tell her to take a non-AP class then. Something random and interesting. It will be okay if it’s not AP, especially if she’s “taken like every AP class in the school practically.” Or like T26E4 said, she can be an unofficial TA or something for the period. Or she can self-study for an AP her school doesn’t offer if it’s really that serious. Which it is not. Your friend needs to relax, or she’ll just be sabotaging her own success. If not now, then in college, or in med school (Most schools don’t look at HS transcripts), or in practice. GRADE-GRUBBING WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT HER.</p>
<p>Since she is taking some college level class already, she should consider multivariable calculus or Calc3. Taking CalcAB after BC would be a waste of time, and gives very bad impression to the GC and the adcom. I see no reason at all in doing that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, nobody will “overlook” something as odd as taking AB after having taken BC. It is something that will stop any admin official in their tracks and make them wonder what the hell is going on here. It’s the kind of weird thing on a transcript that students are advised to give an explanation for in their applications – but what is your friend going to say, “I was worried I wouldn’t make valedictorian if I didn’t have one more AP class, so I took a class that I’d essentially already taken before just to get the enhanced grade”? Do you realize how petty and silly that sounds?</p>
<p>It sounds like she has maxed out what her highschool has to offer, which is certainly a problem. She should be addressing that in some way, not trying to artificially retain her status at the top of the heap. Colleges look for evidence that smart kids are challenging themselves – not that they’re treading water in order to keep their hair from getting wet (if that metaphor makes sense).</p>
<p>Can she take more college classes instead? Or do an independent study project?</p>
<p>If you take AB after BC, it’s gonna be so obvious that s/he is just taking it so that s/he can have a higher GPA. Don’t do it.</p>