Math classes

[Anonymous]

My sophomore is in honors precalc (MCPS). Wondering what he should take Junior and Senior years. He is more interested in humanities and social sciences but is decent in math. Wants to be competitive for selective liberal arts colleges. Should he take AB Calc or BC? What’s the difference? Or both? (Meaning AB Junior and BC Senior). If he takes one year of Calc Junior year then should he take AP stats?

Really just asking for college admission purposes.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how the high school structures the calc sequence. For some high schools, students take AB first, as a prerequisite to BC. For other high schools, students may take AB or BC, with BC including all the AB material - in that case, the BC class would be more fast-paced.

For the purpose of college admission, it would be most ideal if he finishes BC by the end of high school, and that should not be a problem for your student. If the high school teaches AB and then BC in separate years, it is fine and best to take the courses that way. Check the high school's curriculum guide for the prerequisites.

Note that teaching quality varies widely among high school calc teachers, so keep your ears open about that. If you hear the calc teacher is not good or is a really harsh grader, that may be one situation in which it makes sense to opt for taking AB first and then BC, if that's an option.

AP stats isn't important for college admission purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is in honors precalc (MCPS). Wondering what he should take Junior and Senior years. He is more interested in humanities and social sciences but is decent in math. Wants to be competitive for selective liberal arts colleges. Should he take AB Calc or BC? What’s the difference? Or both? (Meaning AB Junior and BC Senior). If he takes one year of Calc Junior year then should he take AP stats?

Really just asking for college admission purposes.

If he is in honors pre-calc as a 10th grader, he is more than just "decent" in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is in honors precalc (MCPS). Wondering what he should take Junior and Senior years. He is more interested in humanities and social sciences but is decent in math. Wants to be competitive for selective liberal arts colleges. Should he take AB Calc or BC? What’s the difference? Or both? (Meaning AB Junior and BC Senior). If he takes one year of Calc Junior year then should he take AP stats?

Really just asking for college admission purposes.

If he is in honors pre-calc as a 10th grader, he is more than just "decent" in math.

That's the typical 10th grade math class for most college-bound kids. My kid got As in Honors Precalc in 10th (and earlier math classes), but is finding AP Calc AB significantly more challenging this year. He'll take AP Stats senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is in honors precalc (MCPS). Wondering what he should take Junior and Senior years. He is more interested in humanities and social sciences but is decent in math. Wants to be competitive for selective liberal arts colleges. Should he take AB Calc or BC? What’s the difference? Or both? (Meaning AB Junior and BC Senior). If he takes one year of Calc Junior year then should he take AP stats?

Really just asking for college admission purposes.

If he is in honors pre-calc as a 10th grader, he is more than just "decent" in math.

That's the typical 10th grade math class for most college-bound kids. My kid got As in Honors Precalc in 10th (and earlier math classes), but is finding AP Calc AB significantly more challenging this year. He'll take AP Stats senior year.

Maybe if they are headed to a top 20 school. Most kids do not go to top 20 schools and are not taking pre-calc in 10th grade. Leave your bubble occasionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is in honors precalc (MCPS). Wondering what he should take Junior and Senior years. He is more interested in humanities and social sciences but is decent in math. Wants to be competitive for selective liberal arts colleges. Should he take AB Calc or BC? What’s the difference? Or both? (Meaning AB Junior and BC Senior). If he takes one year of Calc Junior year then should he take AP stats?

Really just asking for college admission purposes.

If he is in honors pre-calc as a 10th grader, he is more than just "decent" in math.

That's the typical 10th grade math class for most college-bound kids. My kid got As in Honors Precalc in 10th (and earlier math classes), but is finding AP Calc AB significantly more challenging this year. He'll take AP Stats senior year.

Precalc is not typical 10th grade math at any normal high school in the US. Precalc in 11th is typical college bound. Precalc in 12th is typical across the board. Precalc in 10th is the gifted/advanced track.

[Anonymous]

If you want a top school/scholarship at 25-50, I would argue it doesn't matter STEM/notSTEM

B/C Junior year
MV/DiffiQ senior year

AP stat should be taken one of those years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want a top school/scholarship at 25-50, I would argue it doesn't matter STEM/notSTEM

B/C Junior year
MV/DiffiQ senior year

AP stat should be taken one of those years

I disagree completely. No one who has calc BC needs MV or AP stats. BC is enough. (No one even cares about AP stats. Stats is a good choice for those who need to fill a fourth year of math and are not keen on a second/third year of calc.)

[Anonymous]

Maybe a kid likes stats?

There are reasons to take a class beyond admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe a kid likes stats?

There are reasons to take a class beyond admissions.

I took probability and statistics my senior year because I hated math and chose the easiest math class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe a kid likes stats?

There are reasons to take a class beyond admissions.

Well sure. The point was that AP stats isn't necessary for admission to top schools.

[Anonymous]

My DD, an Ivy English major, was in a similar situation. She just took calc BC in junior year and did not take math in senior year. She could have chosen to take an advanced math class (linear algebra or multivariate calc) or a super easy class (AP stats). For her interests, there was simply no reason to take anything beyond calc BC and taking AP stats after calculus just to have another AP class on her transcript seemed a waste of time. It made a lot more sense to take advanced courses in another subject instead. Colleges didn't care at all, since she had reached a pretty standard endpoint for high school math. However, she went to a private school and it didn't matter that she only had 3 years of math. I don't know if public schools require it for "advanced diplomas."

[Anonymous]

To clarify, he needs 4 years of math to graduate. It’s a state requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To clarify, he needs 4 years of math to graduate. It’s a state requirement.

Chances are, his middle school algebra or algebra 2 will count toward that four years. You don't necessarily need to take math all four years of high school to fulfill the requirement.

That said, I think every smart student (STEM or not) should take at least a year of calculus, just to appreciate the beauty of it. But I was a physics major, so I'm a little biased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To clarify, he needs 4 years of math to graduate. It’s a state requirement.

Chances are, his middle school algebra or algebra 2 will count toward that four years. You don't necessarily need to take math all four years of high school to fulfill the requirement.

That said, I think every smart student (STEM or not) should take at least a year of calculus, just to appreciate the beauty of it. But I was a physics major, so I'm a little biased.

In MD you need four years of math in high school (grades 9-12) to graduate.