I’m about to start my junior year, but I’m planning on dropping one of my harder classes to a regular class. I’m deciding to drop either APUSH or Honors Precalculus to regular U.S. History or regular precalculus. Even though I could probably handle both classes by themselves, I am very busy outside of school and I don’t have time for both classes, plus I’m easily stressed out. History is an easy subject for me and I’ve always gotten an A+ in history, but I know that APUSH is a lot of work. Honors Precalulus is probably less work but I’m not very good at math and I struggle to understand it well even with help from teachers and friends, causing me to spend a lot of time trying to grasp the lessons. I could probably get decent grades in both classes, but which class is worth more to take?
Do you know what you think you’d like to major in at college? If it’s anything STEM related, keep precalc. If not, go with APUSH since it sounds like you are more comfortable with the subject material.
Personally I’d keep the AP class… Are you planning on doing AP calc AB next year? If so let me tell you, Pre-calc is NOT going to help you at all. Despite its title, Pre-calc does not give you the basics of calculus instead it just gives you a more difficult lesson on algebra and trigonometry. Trust me in this I skipped pre calc and got 5’s in both AB and BC
Ignore what @Just a Korean says…Pre-calc is the next step in the math sequence in the US. If you are wary of pre-cal, you will not do well in Calc.
I agree with @momofsenior1 …if you are doing STEM in college, take honors precalc otherwise take AP USH.
If you’re going to post the same garbage advice, I guess I need to cut and paste my same response.
I would recommend the OP following the school’s math track as opposed to taking advice from HS students (or college students or adults for that matter) who are neither familiar with the curriculum at your school or your own ability. Just because some other kid did it does not mean it’s appropriate for you. It’s called pre-calc for a reason. Additionally, at many schools, the last couple of months of pre-calc is actually a start on the Calc AB topics. So skipping (assuming the school would even allow it) could put you a few months behind your classmates.
Now to the OP’s actual question. While I agree with @bopper and @momofsenior1 , I would further suggest not making any changes until school starts and you get a feel to what the classes are actually like (again, assuming the school allows you to drop down a level after the beginning of classes). You might find that you are able to handle both.
I’m going to agree with @skieurope - often times people’s school tracks are slightly different both in high school and college. For example on the college level I’ve noticed many people saying after college algebra the next math class is Calculus 1. That would not even be allowed at the school my daughter did dual enrollment. You could do college algebra then some management calculus which only covers some calculus or you need to take precalculus after college algebra then do Calculus 1.
One precaution.
My best friend went to a strong LA college and majored in Russian History. He did well in all his courses but could not meet the basic math requirement. Math was a stone around his neck, but he did finally finish. Next he went for an MBA and ran again into his old adversary “MATH!!”
Math is a language now used all around you. You might not want to spend your life running from it as you share your fears with like travelers.
I ended up helping him and found that a large part of his problem was attitude. Today, even historians are using math. This Jo Boaler presentation may interest you. In fact, many are using “Big Data.” Here is some of the latest research in this area. SEE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3icoSeGqQtY
I teach Precalc. I’m going to disagree with Just aKorean, yet again, on his appraisal of course he’s never taken.
OP, have you spoken to your guidance counselor? He or she knows you, your grade history, and both the syllabus and sequence of courses in your school. He or she would be a much better resource than 18 year old kids.
Math is, very much, a pyramidal structure. There are those who can skip courses and get away with it. It does not sound to me as “aspengray” is one of those students. The biggest problem for students who have difficulty passing calculus courses has been shown to be gaps in their preparation. Get some sound footing so you can run a good race.
Take pre-calc if you’re going to do anything scientific, otherwise APUSH, because it’ll look good on your college application. If you’re going to do APUSH, I’d love to help you anyway I can. I got a 5, and it really hurt to watch my classmates worry so much about it.