Anonymous wrote:We know of multiple kids from our FCPS public who have gotten into Ivys with "just" calc AB. Same with UVA. Totally a DCUM myth that the student is doomed if they "only" get to calc AB. Funny to see this play out every year - I have gone through this rodeo several times. Each of my kids has "only" gotten to calc AB and multiple kids from their math class go on to the kinds of schools this board drools over.

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Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Nope. No one with any sense of reality and knowledge of college admissions thinks calc AB is just fine for applying to T15 schools for STEM. You are the only one that seems to think “because their website says..” means anything. It is a disadvantage, especially given the further details given by OP

Regardless of OP situation for which we have incomplete information, math requirements for Biology and Neuroscience are different than typical STEM likes math major. You just need one semester of calculus and AB is sufficient. It’s not a disadvantage if the rest of the coursework and extracurriculars align with the intended major.

I don’t know why you’re so stuck on math level, colleges don’t sort their students based of who got to the most advanced math class. Definitely not for Biology majors.

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Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Nope. No one with any sense of reality and knowledge of college admissions thinks calc AB is just fine for applying to T15 schools for STEM. You are the only one that seems to think “because their website says..” means anything. It is a disadvantage, especially given the further details given by OP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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.

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Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Nope. No one with any sense of reality and knowledge of college admissions thinks calc AB is just fine for applying to T15 schools for STEM. You are the only one that seems to think “because their website says..” means anything. It is a disadvantage, especially given the further details given by OP

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Nope. No one with any sense of reality and knowledge of college admissions thinks calc AB is just fine for applying to T15 schools for STEM. You are the only one that seems to think “because their website says..” means anything. It is a disadvantage, especially given the further details given by OP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Nope. No one with any sense of reality and knowledge of college admissions thinks calc AB is just fine for applying to T15 schools for STEM. You are the only one that seems to think “because their website says..” means anything. It is a disadvantage, especially given the further details given by OP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP AB is not the highest rigor. That's just a fact, and many colleges ding students for this when coming from competitive, overly represented HSs. It would not be an auto-reject, but they need something else compelling.

DP. In our school profile, Calculus AB is listed as the highest rigor, but kids are taking all the way up to Multivariable Calculus and/or linear algebra. This allows counselor to still mark AB kids as highest rigor.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

T15 for STEM is fine. But the Top 5 for Engineering would be a problem.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Nope. No one with any sense of reality and knowledge of college admissions thinks calc AB is just fine for applying to T15 schools for STEM. You are the only one that seems to think “because their website says..” means anything. It is a disadvantage, especially given the further details given by OP

Anonymous wrote: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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Auto-reject, no. That 'most' classmates reach BC or higher could play a factor in rigor perception, I would think. If AB is required before BC, then that would be a function of math tracking earlier on and might factor in differently than if students can choose to go AB or BC and most choose BC. In that I would think it possible those students get a 'bump' in rigor perception'.

I think the 'risk' is more that other students get a 'lift' versus your DC gets a 'demerit'. Kinda like test optional. They say not sending in a test score won't hurt you, but that doesnt mean it doesn't help the student that sends it in.

That said there are essays, recs, ECs, all the other classes taken, etc that factor in. It doesn't hinge on a single class taken/not taken but it is a game of inches.

Mostly this. In the game of inches the difference between calculus AB and BC is maybe a quarter of an inch.

OP is agonizing over things that matter only a little. I haven’t seen a single college website that suggests BC is better for admissions, even if it covers two additional chapters. The admission outcome will not rest on doing parametric curves and series in the senior year of high school.

Instead of worrying about this, have your daughter go to Red Cross this weekend and take a first aid class and certification to list as an extracurricular on the application if she’s interested. It’s going to count more than AB vs BC.

What the college website says is irrelevant. Your application is judged against your peers and the other applications they receive. Only going up to calc AB (and senior yr at that) and trying to get a spot at a top school for stem is likely not going to be in your favor. While it isn’t an automatic no, you aren’t going to have a grade in the class nor and AP score when your application is being considered. In a sea of applicants that all have calc BC or beyond, many of them before senior year, your application is going to be put aside

No, what colleges say is not irrelevant. They tell you how and by what metrics the application is judged against the other students from your school.

They give general statements to maximize number of applicants, and to not discourage anyone. If you are applying to a college that has an under 10% admissions rate and top want to major in stem, talking calc AB your senior year is pretty much is going to make your already slim chances near zero. According to the MIT website students applying should have “at least some single variable calculus” and “at least some biology, chemistry, and physics by the time they graduate.” They don’t require any AP classes at all. But if you think you are going to get into MIT taking calc AB and zero AP sciences, if your school offers them (because they don’t say it is required or even recommend it), then you are very delusional.

It doesn’t sound like you read the page carefully, or you have the reading comprehension of a middle schooler.

Anonymous wrote:AP AB is not the highest rigor. That's just a fact, and many colleges ding students for this when coming from competitive, overly represented HSs. It would not be an auto-reject, but they need something else compelling.

Anonymous wrote:AP AB is not the highest rigor. That's just a fact, and many colleges ding students for this when coming from competitive, overly represented HSs. It would not be an auto-reject, but they need something else compelling.