How do you know whether to take AP Calc AB or BC?

[mirabillis]

I never realized until lately that Calc BC was just Calc AB + 3 extra topics. 

 

I had always planned for my ds to take AP Calc AB in 11th grade (in 2 years). He will be taking Pre-Calc thru WHA next year. Now he's mathy by nature, and if I'd known earlier, I probably would have had him a little farther along in his sequence, but somewhere between 5-7th grade, we slowed down the pace. I didn't realize you could take things like Calc so early in your high school career. But I digress...

 

So I know this will largely depend upon how he does in Pre-Calc next year - but aside from that, how do you decide whether to go from Pre-Calc to AB or straight to BC? What's the courseload difference? Again, math is his favorite subject and always has been - it comes really naturally to him. Straight A's always. But we do have some other heavier courses that year planned like PAH AP Eng Lang and AP Physics C (or DO Hon Physics)... 

 

Thanks for your math insight.

[Julie of KY]

Well, saying that Calc BC is just an extra three topics doesn't do it justice.

 

At many universities, Calculus AB is equivalent to one semester and Calculus BC is equivalent to two semesters of calculus.

 

BC is definitely a much tougher schedule. My mathy boy took BC just after precalc and did fine. My very good in math, but doesn't like math, boy will take AB in 11th and likely follow it with BC or dual enrollment in 12th.

[mirabillis]

Well I didn't mean an extra 3 topics - I meant an extra 3-4 months of material... I was distracted by my dd while typing that up. LOL! 

 

Thanks for your experience, Julie of KY. May I ask, why did your mathy boy take BC instead of AB? Did he want to push himself to a more rigorous schedule and challenge himself? Or was it based on college admissions - does it look better to college admissions if you decide to challenge yourself to BC? Just curious. :-)

[Grantmom]

We struggled a bit with this decision, too, and my DS had not been super accelerated in math. Not out of lack of ability, we just started a bit later.  In the end, he decided he wanted time to absorb everything, and I think it has been the right decision.  He has As in Calc AB and is understanding and enjoying the class.  It is challenging and a good fit.  I honestly think it really just depends on the student.  I think if he has had a really solid foundation and it naturally comes easy to him, he would probably do fine in BC.  What would he take after Calc BC if he does that in 11th?  I remember reading that here, that it would not be a good idea to take a whole year off and do something like statistics in 12th, so if you decide to do BC in 11th, have a plan for the next level for 12th.  

 

 

[mirabillis]

I'd like for him to have DE post-Calc class in 12th. Either after Calc AB or Calc BC.

[tampamommy]

This was my ds's math sequence (big mathy type like your ds)--

 

PreCalc/Trig - 10th grade

AP Calc BC - 11th grade (definitely was equal to Calc 1 & 2 at college level) - prepped him very well for AP exam

Calc 2 - DE at a private college, 12th grade first semester (his choice - his AP score got him validated into Calc 3 but wanted to make sure he knew Calc 2 super well)

Calc 3 & Differential Equations (concurrently) - DE at a private college, 12th grade 2nd semester

Tested into Calc 3 at US Air Force Academy(USAFA) - freshman fall

Differential Equations - USAFA - freshman spring

Sophomore year and beyond - lots of super mathy/techy courses like Engineering Math & Dynamics

 

So essentially, he took Calc 2 twice, Calc 3 twice and Diff Eq twice. (He said that Calc 3 & Diff Eq at USAFA were harder and covered more topics than those courses at the private college where he took DE)

 

His strong and heartfelt advice to any mathy types who are seriously considering an engineering field is to repeat those upper math classes. He purposely did that, because he knew he was going to want to know them like the back of his hand in his major(astronautical engineering). It positioned him really well to move into upper level math classes at USAFA as a freshman, which resulted in lots of other (and some unexpected) opportunities to take advanced courses and pursue things like academic research opportunities that he wouldn't have the slots for otherwise. 

 

He recently told me it was one of the best decisions he made :)

 

HTH

 

[OnMyOwn]

My dd is going to take Calculus AB next year. I've gone back and forth on that decision, but having done a lot of math with my kids over the years, I've really noticed that, even for myself, more than one exposure to the material leads to a much greater understanding. So, we are going to do AB next year and then BC in 11th.

[Julie of KY]

My mathy boy took BC (instead of AB) because he likes to live and breathe math. Thought the AP exam was easy and made a 5. He did multivariable calc along with AoPS Int. Counting and Probability for his senior year. He'll start with an integrated linear algebra/multivariable calculus class next year at college.

 

My second son would not like the schedule of BC on top of other AP classes. He's very good at math (perfect math ACT score), but would be inclined to crank out answers to problems rather than to take any time to understand the theory. I've struggled with what is the best math route for him. He will do Calculus AB next year with me poking at some of his precalc skills with AoPS Precalc. He has already done Derek Owens Precalc, but the AoPS Precalc "feels" so much like a lot of my engineering classes. I am somewhat undecided on what he will do for his senior year math, but it will be a progression in the calculus - either Calc BC at home with me or possibly dual enrolled Calculus 2. 

 

If you start the calculus series early, then have a plan on where you are going as it is not good to take a year off from calculus.

[MarkT]

my DS (strong in Math but does not like extra fast paced learning):

Calculus AB  this year

Calculus BC  next year 

 

 

 

 

[mirabillis]

Is there any intrinsic value in skipping to AP Calc BC for college admissions purposes? Or does AP Calc AB look sufficiently competitive for 11th grade on a transcript?

 

While math is his strength, he probably is headed toward a business or economics degree as he wants to be a lawyer...

 

 

[Julie of KY]

I would say Calc BC with a good score will certainly look stronger, but I see no problem with taking AB. I would guess that vast majority of students will only have AB and many of those will have it as 12th grade.

 

Especially if he's headed toward economics/business, I see no reason to push for BC unless you think it will make him more competitive for something specific.

[Penelope]

I thought I read somewhere (maybe here?) that if you decide on the AB then BC sequence, it's important to note how the courses are structured. Some schools are set up assuming that students take AB first, so the BC course will quickly review the AB topics and spend more of the time on the Calculus 2 topics. But a BC course that is assumed to be the first exposure will maybe spend the teaching time more equally among the topics.

 

Any insight into this? Would any of the particular courses for homeschoolers fit into one category or the other?

[wapiti]

Is there any intrinsic value in skipping to AP Calc BC for college admissions purposes? Or does AP Calc AB look sufficiently competitive for 11th grade on a transcript?

 

While math is his strength, he probably is headed toward a business or economics degree as he wants to be a lawyer...

Admissions: if the student is aiming for tippy-top colleges, BC might be preferable. If he isn't, then it doesn't matter. I have no idea whether it matters for selective, but not tippy-top, colleges.

 

Econ: bear in mind that if he chooses AB, he probably would want another semester of calc in college. Calc is a prerequisite for calc-based statistics and for econometrics.

 

Lawyer: it doesn't matter what he majors in.

 

ETA, I missed the part about this being for 11th grade, which isn't the same question I was answering. As long as he continues calc in 12th, it doesn't really matter whether he takes AB vs BC in 11th, with the caveat that of course BC would be more rigorous and at certain very selective schools there may be competition that chose the more advanced path. I would go with whatever makes the most sense for him as a student.

Edited March 18, 2017 by wapiti

[learners4life]

 

 

His strong and heartfelt advice to any mathy types who are seriously considering an engineering field is to repeat those upper math classes. He purposely did that, because he knew he was going to want to know them like the back of his hand in his major(astronautical engineering). It positioned him really well to move into upper level math classes at USAFA as a freshman, which resulted in lots of other (and some unexpected) opportunities to take advanced courses and pursue things like academic research opportunities that he wouldn't have the slots for otherwise. 

 

He recently told me it was one of the best decisions he made :)

 

HTH

I agree with this, not only with math, but things like biology or chemistry for science majors.  

[mirabillis]

This was my ds's math sequence (big mathy type like your ds)--

 

PreCalc/Trig - 10th grade

AP Calc BC - 11th grade (definitely was equal to Calc 1 & 2 at college level) - prepped him very well for AP exam

Calc 2 - DE at a private college, 12th grade first semester (his choice - his AP score got him validated into Calc 3 but wanted to make sure he knew Calc 2 super well)

Calc 3 & Differential Equations (concurrently) - DE at a private college, 12th grade 2nd semester

Tested into Calc 3 at US Air Force Academy(USAFA) - freshman fall

Differential Equations - USAFA - freshman spring

Sophomore year and beyond - lots of super mathy/techy courses like Engineering Math & Dynamics

 

So essentially, he took Calc 2 twice, Calc 3 twice and Diff Eq twice. (He said that Calc 3 & Diff Eq at USAFA were harder and covered more topics than those courses at the private college where he took DE)

 

His strong and heartfelt advice to any mathy types who are seriously considering an engineering field is to repeat those upper math classes. He purposely did that, because he knew he was going to want to know them like the back of his hand in his major(astronautical engineering). It positioned him really well to move into upper level math classes at USAFA as a freshman, which resulted in lots of other (and some unexpected) opportunities to take advanced courses and pursue things like academic research opportunities that he wouldn't have the slots for otherwise. 

 

He recently told me it was one of the best decisions he made :)

 

HTH

 

tampamommy - older thread, but question. did he take AP Calc BC at home or outsourced?

And if he recommended repeating those courses, wouldn't he suggest taking AP Calc AB first then followed by AP Calc BC the following year to solidify Calculus topics?

 

 

[8filltheheart]

This is one of those it completely depends on the student questions. My kids have not opted to repeat courses at their respective colleges bc they felt confident in their mastery of the material.

 

My Dd who is an international business/Econ major. She took cal 1 1st semester jr yr. Looking through all the pre-reqs for both, cal 1 is the only requirement. She took stats and micro/macro this yr and not cal 2.

 

It would probably be worthwhile looking at individual colleges to see their progression sequence to see whether or not cal 2 is required. Fwiw, she was accepted to Rochester with scholarship (ranked 32) and Fordham (ranked 60 something) with full tuition scholarship. So cal 1 was good enough for them. She didn't apply to any higher ranked schools so no help there.

[HTRMom]

I went to a small private high school. The teacher taught all the BC material and the students decided whether they wanted to take the AB or BC test at the end. I did BC and did well, but most of my classmates didn't. I got credit for Calc I and Calc II and went straight into Calc III in college (Notre Dame) which was quite challenging because the high school teacher wasn't very good, but I still got a good grade, and I certainly have all of those basic calculus concepts thoroughly mastered - in an engineering curriculum you keep using them in lots of different classes. I guess you could just start out at the BC pace, and if he gets stuck, slow down, and see which test he's ready for in the Spring? I think getting a 5 on AB Calc would probably look better for admissions than a 3 on BC, but a 5 on BC is better than a 5 on AB.

 

One possible problem is that if he does finish BC this year, and then doesn't go on to do further calculus next year, his skills might atrophy by the time he gets to college. Of course that's only relevant if he will potentially be a STEM major. He could continue to do sporadic review problems throughout the next year.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tampamommy]

He took AP Calc BC online from home. He did not take AP Calc AB first, because math comes quickly to him and he wanted the challenge of BC right away. So it was his choice. But I would think ds would suggest that if you are a student who either is not quite confident in math or who just wants to do AB, then take BC, then by all means go for it! In his case, and for his goals, he wanted to get through Differential Equations by the end of 12th grade, And he found AP Calc BC was sufficient to propel him on the sequence I described in my original post.