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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If AP Calculus AB is the highest math my DC reaches, will they be auto rejected from T15 as a biology/chemistry/neuroscience major? DC attends competitive public in over-represented area with most classmates reaching BC calc or higher. [/quote]

Life sciences majors like biology and neuroscience usually do one semester calculus for life sciences which is very close to Calculus AB. Chemistry majors require the full two semesters of Calculus, akin to BC.

This being said, I don’t think colleges discriminate between the versions of calculus taken in high school for admissions purposes, especially if she entered high school with geometry in 9th. Calculus AB is roughly 80% the BC material.

Why is she not taking BC instead? Is it because the school has AB as prerequisite for BC, scheduling conflict issue, or she’s not confident in her abilities? If she’ll do well in AB she’ll do well in BC as well with a little more effort. It’s a good idea to explain on the application her high school course choices.

Just make sure the school doesn’t treat them differently as in not giving the most rigorous mark to AB students, so you need to talk to the counselor directly.

If she took AP Biology, Chemistry and Physics, has the gpa and extracurriculars she’ll be competitive to Top 15, but be aware admissions are a lottery at these schools.

She won’t be on auto reject because she got an A in Calculus AB.[/quote]

Thank you to all who responded for helpful insights and advice. DD has excellent grades and rigor (just not in math) in her school but is not taking BC because of a health issue/medical treatment this semester and was advised to take a “balanced” senior course load. DD taking 5 other AP courses on top of calculus (to try to be as competitive with peers).

Just very worried because 85% of her class probably finishes HS with BC calc or higher. Not sure if will get the highest rigor mark by counselor because of this. [/quote]

It sounds a bit like a cop out to taking less rigorous coursework. Who advised her to take a balanced load, and why can’t BC be part of a balanced but challenging coursework? I think it’s bad advice, BC is the same as AB in the beginning, although at a somewhat faster pace. She is choosing less rigorous classes, it’s not because of the math placement she started high school with, and it’s not because the high school makes AB a prerequisite for BC. If the counselor won’t give the highest rigor mark, it is understandable and it’s gong to be a negative for the application.

You also mentioned the grades, does she have anything less than A in prior math classes? If she had straight As in honors math she should have gone straight to BC, no question about it. If she had maybe a B in precalculus then it’s understandable why she chose AB, but that will be a negative on grades and gpa, especially for top 15.

In the end if the counselor gives most rigor, she’ll still be competitive, but very little was provided about grades and rigor. She needs 10-12 APs in the core classes and good extracurriculars.[/quote]

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