AP Stats experiences?

[Anonymous]

For what it’s worth, my DD didn’t take it in high school and instead took it her freshman first quarter of college this year and she liked it fine. Did well, no complaints.

[Anonymous]

I'm troubled by the PP who said don't take AP Stat senior year as your final math class because colleges don't like it. Anyone else had that experience? My DC wants to take AP Stat next year because of a lousy BC Calc teacher this year.
DC is afraid that they'll do horribly in multivariable next year because they only thing they're learning is what they spend hours studying online outside of class. She'd rather wait and take Calculus again in college with a hopefully better teacher. DC wants to major in engineering.
What other options are there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm troubled by the PP who said don't take AP Stat senior year as your final math class because colleges don't like it. Anyone else had that experience? My DC wants to take AP Stat next year because of a lousy BC Calc teacher this year.
DC is afraid that they'll do horribly in multivariable next year because they only thing they're learning is what they spend hours studying online outside of class. She'd rather wait and take Calculus again in college with a hopefully better teacher. DC wants to major in engineering.
What other options are there?

Your best bet is dual enrollment at Montgomery College. You child should do fine with intro to Linear Algebra. Would look good, get credit and not waste time.

[Anonymous]

ugh, thanks PP, but now I'll need to persuade that DC to do an extra college course senior year!
I think the high school offers linear algebra, but will check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of two kids who take AP Stat.
We opted to not register for AP exam. Waste of time, money and energy for nothing.
Since both kids are technical, they would have to take real Stat in college (calculus based.)
I guess this course is OK intro to Stat, but my kids definitely could use time more effectively in another class.
Since it was mandatory we had no choice...

I work as a statistician. "Real (calculus-based) stat" is not a thing that I have ever heard.

It sounds like statistical theory, which, as I recall, is proofs on the distribution curve. I earned my MS in Statistics in the early 90s, so who knows. I don't "do" stat theory in my job. The idea that someone wants "Calculus based statistics" for AP Statistics is silly. Stat Theory was my hardest class in either undergrad of grad school.

The only people in Stat Theory were stat majors or minors. It wasn't something the engineering or computer science majors took.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm troubled by the PP who said don't take AP Stat senior year as your final math class because colleges don't like it. Anyone else had that experience? My DC wants to take AP Stat next year because of a lousy BC Calc teacher this year.
DC is afraid that they'll do horribly in multivariable next year because they only thing they're learning is what they spend hours studying online outside of class. She'd rather wait and take Calculus again in college with a hopefully better teacher. DC wants to major in engineering.
What other options are there?

Your best bet is dual enrollment at Montgomery College. You child should do fine with intro to Linear Algebra. Would look good, get credit and not waste time.

What should a kid who is excellent in math, wants to look good to colleges, and has no plans to go into a STEM field take -- linear algebra or multivariable calculus (or something else, that's all I am familiar with)?-- this is a non-magnet kid at a magnet school, so tons of advanced math classes offered if you have the prerequisites.

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest non AP calculus for the above student. Even without going into a STEM field, he/she will probably need the "humanities majors version" of calculus (which was VERY different from the engineers & science majors version of calculus). That is how it was at my college at least 20 years ago.

Non AP Calculus is still going to help give him/her a foundation for a college course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest non AP calculus for the above student. Even without going into a STEM field, he/she will probably need the "humanities majors version" of calculus (which was VERY different from the engineers & science majors version of calculus). That is how it was at my college at least 20 years ago.

Non AP Calculus is still going to help give him/her a foundation for a college course.

To clarify, the "above student" would have already taken AP Calculus BC junior year. The question is what to take for senior year. Just because the kid isn't going into STEM doesn't mean that high-level math in high school is not good brain training for the kid, so the kid is taking the most rigorous course load available during high school. This has so far been easy for the kid (in Honors Pre Calc now), but unsure whether the next two years would be significantly different -- meaning AP Calc BC and then Linear or Multivariable Calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a physics major and was one class shy of a dual major in math, and statistics was always the one subject that baffled me.

And I was most emphatically not a Math or Science major (though I liked both) and aced Stats in college. I think it really does take a different mindset then the typical Calc etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest non AP calculus for the above student. Even without going into a STEM field, he/she will probably need the "humanities majors version" of calculus (which was VERY different from the engineers & science majors version of calculus). That is how it was at my college at least 20 years ago.

Non AP Calculus is still going to help give him/her a foundation for a college course.

To clarify, the "above student" would have already taken AP Calculus BC junior year. The question is what to take for senior year. Just because the kid isn't going into STEM doesn't mean that high-level math in high school is not good brain training for the kid, so the kid is taking the most rigorous course load available during high school. This has so far been easy for the kid (in Honors Pre Calc now), but unsure whether the next two years would be significantly different -- meaning AP Calc BC and then Linear or Multivariable Calculus.

I'd recommend linear algebra, it's the sort of subject that if you know it, you may put it to use. Calculus, the basic concepts are already in place after BC, and the techniques of multivariable aren't of much use outside technical fields. But talk to counseling, and also try to find out which teacher/class is better at your school.

[Anonymous]

For the PP whose kid is a sophomore searching for a math path, your child might consider AB Calculus as a junior and then BC as a senior. My DC is in BC as a junior after honors pre-calc and is struggling to maintain a B. Even the many students who took AB last year are struggling. The teacher isn't great and apparently no one got an A last quarter. If your child isn't going into STEM in college, that might be a better path.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the advice about a math path. FYI, I asked a mathematician, and he too thought that linear algebra was the way to go for a senior year math class in the scenario where the kid takes AP Calc BC junior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ugh, thanks PP, but now I'll need to persuade that DC to do an extra college course senior year!
I think the high school offers linear algebra, but will check.

Linear algebra is actually super fun.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a math person and stopped at trigonometry myself, but could you explain how linear algebra is fun? Maybe I can sell my DC on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a math person and stopped at trigonometry myself, but could you explain how linear algebra is fun? Maybe I can sell my DC on it.

I also want to know what linear algebra is and how it's fun. It seems like it is for engineers. My junior BC calc student doesn't want to go on to MV calc (future journalism major). Feeling pressured though because of college admissions.