Taking Both AP Calc AB (Junior Year) and AP Calc BC (Senior Year)
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Anonymous
| If a child is interested in applying to engineering schools, is this a really bad choice? We have heard that these classes may be redundant but child is worried that moving directly into BC after pre-calculus may be very difficult - particularly given that they are taking a host of other AP classes at the same time. |
Anonymous
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Make sure the school will allow it! There are private schools that will not and will not budge on this. Publics won't have a problem with it.
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Anonymous
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Some high schools organize these courses such that AB is a prerequisite for BC. Other high schools organize each as a standalone course, so that a student can go directly from precalc to BC. You need to know what your high school's math track is.
If your child is concerned about BC, and the high school gives the option of taking AB junior year and BC senior year as many, many high schools do, then there is no downside. |
Anonymous
| This was the standard sequence at my kid's HS. In theory, you could take BC without taking AB but there weren't enough spots for everyone who wanted BC. So those who took AB first got priority. |
Anonymous
| Is BC the highest level of math available at your child’s school? If so, no problem. If not (say the school offers multivariable or another higher level), then colleges will want to see him max out if he can and that might mean BC jr yr so he can reach the highest level sr yr. |
Anonymous
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Colleges don't "want to see" 1.5-2 years of university math in high school. "Most rigorous" is a tier, not "most advanced class theoretically possible in every subject".
Colleges know that people taking calculus don't fully learn the material in the class (only 20% even get 6s, which is already a low bar) so appreciate students taking their time to study calculus thoroughly. |
Anonymous
Rigorous is the most advanced. |
Anonymous
| OP, I'm sorry but are you the same poster that's started like 4 different threads in the past week about HS math courses and engineering? |
Anonymous
NP. The PP is correct. Rigor is a threshold, not a competition. Rigor also depends on the rest of the transcript. |
Anonymous
| Skip AP go straight to BC. No reason to spend two years in calculus. BC with AP Statistics is solid. |
Anonymous
| My DD is an engineering student and did it this way. |
Anonymous
| Our HS apparently makes kids do AB first and then BC. |
Anonymous
| Sounds like a reasonable choice that will secure a strong foundation in calculus. Calc BC is rigorous, regardless of how you get there. |
Anonymous
i have to disagree with this. My son went all the way up to multivariable calc in high school and pulled those credits over to college and completely was able to skip calc 3 which only has a 50% pass rate at his school and thins out the COE. he’s graduating this May with a double major in CS and applied math and is already working part time since summer for his employer he’ll be full time with in May, making well over 100k/yr. His high school prepared him incredibly well in the area of math and science. |
Anonymous
| AB and then BC is a good path for a student headed for E School or for other STEM degrees. |