I am a rising junior hoping to apply to McCormick but I am a little worried. Because of how my middle school math program was (I switched to a private school for high school), I won’t get the chance to take AP Calculus BC and will end high school with just AB. Will this badly affect my chances of admission?
No. There is no college in the country, including the tippy top STEM schools, that require applicants to have BC.
Many HS’s when it comes to Calc will let you take Calc AB or BC, but not both. In PreCalc if you get a B+ or higher average or a teacher recommendation you go straight to BC. However as I’ve seen in many threads, a lot of schools go on a track where you take both AB and BC. @e2001 it sounds like your school is one of these schools. Personally I think it’s overkill as there is significant overlap between the 2 but that’s been covered as nauseum in many different threads.
First of all check to see if you have the option to go right to BC. BC covers everything that AB will cover. Or you can take AB, self-study for the C part, and sign up for the BC exam. The exam will have 2 separate scores, 1 for AB and one for BC. There are other options - taking the classes in CC or at a university, or online on a site such as Art of Problem Solving. (I’ll assume that Calc is an elective and there’s no requirement for you to even take the class at the high school). Also, can you skip a track, eg take Geometry in the summer or concurrently?
At the end of the day, BC is not required for admission anywhere, but it is very useful to show that you are a top math guy.
There is one score, which covers the entire exam (AB + BC), plus there is an AB-only subscore; there is no BC-only score.
The OP will be a junior. One assumes s/he already completed geometry. Yes, there may be options that will allow him/her to complete BC in HS, but all of which will require time and effort that may (or may not) be better spent elsewhere.
Having BC will not matter for admissions, but the OP may find it preferable to knock out a college requirement in HS, rather than college. But that’s a personal choice.