FSU specifies the rigor of math course taken during senior year of high school. I was wondering whether I should take Calculus honors or AP Statistics. Note, I have not taken pre-calculus. I know it may seem like a huge jump from not taking pre-calculus, but I am willing to challenge myself and am committed to getting excellent grades through the chosen course. Also note that I am most likely to take the course through FLVS (online school), as people say it is relatively easier online.
Colleges won’t look down upon an online course as long as your school doesn’t offer it or if you have a scheduling conflict.
Ideally, you’d wanna take calculus. But seeing as you lack a precalculus background, I suggest taking AP Statistics (or AP Statistics AND precalculus if you can).
An alternate path to prepare you for calculus is to do some sort of precalculus preparation over the summer, preferably a course for credit, and then take honors calculus during your senior year.
@AnEpicIndian Ok cool… I will probably take AP Statistics and Honors Pre-Cal. With that being said, is Honors Calculus that prestigious since it is comparable to AP Statistics?
IMO, Honors Calculus >>>>>> AP Statistics. However, I would not attempt calc without precalc. If you can do precalc over the summer, that would be ideal.
Calculus > Statistics. As @skieurope said, if you can take precalc over the summer that’s ideal. I wouldn’t jump into calculus without that background. Precalc (hence the name) is pretty much a prerequisite of calculus.
If you have not taken precalculus, it is best to complete that while in high school, so that you do not have to take it as a remedial math course in college.
A non-AP high school calculus course that is less rigorous than AP calculus AB is really not worth anything in terms of preparing for other courses that need calculus in college. If you took that without precalculus, you may end up having to go back to precalculus in college anyway if you need to take calculus in college for some reason.
If you can the handle of Calculus, DEFINITELY take it. It is the basis for all other math classes and is essential for college math. However, I would strongly recommend you review pre-calc over the summer. There is a reason that there is a course specifically designed to get you ready for calculus.
Even if you can’t take calculus, take pre-calculus so you can jump into calculus as soon as you get into college.