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AP Calc BC Thoughts


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OK so it seems time is flying by and it's time to start signing up for next year's classes. I can't believe it!

So... DS (16) is taking AP Calc AB currently with Derek Owens. What should he do for 12th grade? He likes math a lot - so AP Calc BC?

I think there's not much to choose from... who have you used, did you like it and did anyone also take AP Calc BC (separately from AB)?

TIA!

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BC, dual enrollment, or alternatively something outside the mainstream that will show him whether he likes pure math or applied math in time to pick a college major -- something a bit proofier and more in the discrete math realm, or maybe group theory. 

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12 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

If you are not worried about him getting college credit for it, I highly recommend John Rosasco http://mathandmusicstudio.com/Home_Page.html

My son spent 2 years studying with him after completing Calc BC (he has lower level classes than calc but I didn't know about him before that).  Fabulous teacher!

Does he only offer private lessons? 

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1 hour ago, crazyforlatin said:

Does he only offer private lessons? 

No he has group lessons too.  What he offers depends on what people need.  I called him after my son had done Calc BC because my son wasn't emotionally ready to do duel enrollment but neither could he spend the next two years of high school without any math (and he was so far beyond me that I couldn't teach it).  He had a group of 3-5 other kids who were working at that level and so my son joined them for the next 2 years.  The class he took senior year, John hadn't offered as a class before (only tutoring) because he never had a group at that level at one time.  But before we signed up, John spent almost an hour with DS assessing his level to make sure he placed DS in the correct class.  John very clearly has a passion for math and working with strong math students and DS not only really enjoyed his time with him, it set DS in very good position for taking his college classes.  

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 There is a surprisingly small amount of new material in calculus BC beyond what is covered in calculus AB.  My daughter did calculus AB with Derek Owens last year. This year, she took a statistics class at the community college and covered the BC material through Khan Academy.  It is only the last two or three modules of Khan Academy BC that she needed to cover.  She’s prepping for the BC and statistics exams now.  So, that is one option.

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2 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

No he has group lessons too.  What he offers depends on what people need.  I called him after my son had done Calc BC because my son wasn't emotionally ready to do duel enrollment but neither could he spend the next two years of high school without any math (and he was so far beyond me that I couldn't teach it).  He had a group of 3-5 other kids who were working at that level and so my son joined them for the next 2 years.  The class he took senior year, John hadn't offered as a class before (only tutoring) because he never had a group at that level at one time.  But before we signed up, John spent almost an hour with DS assessing his level to make sure he placed DS in the correct class.  John very clearly has a passion for math and working with strong math students and DS not only really enjoyed his time with him, it set DS in very good position for taking his college classes.  

What does he charge for his classes?

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43 minutes ago, Mom0012 said:

What does he charge for his classes?

I don't remember for sure anymore.  DS has been out for 3 years already.  I'm wanting to say it was around the cost of a semester of math class at our local CC.  I do know looking at his course page he has Education Service amounts with different options.  So I'm guessing ours were the equivalent of the $450 or $600 option(and that is per semester).  They weren't cheap but they were the absolute best option we had available to us and I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure the lower level subjects were cheaper but the class DS took his senior of high school was a Graduate level class (there is no cheap option for that level of teaching especially considering the small class size and the personalized feedback and help available.)

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8 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I don't remember for sure anymore.  DS has been out for 3 years already.  I'm wanting to say it was around the cost of a semester of math class at our local CC.  I do know looking at his course page he has Education Service amounts with different options.  So I'm guessing ours were the equivalent of the $450 or $600 option(and that is per semester).  They weren't cheap but they were the absolute best option we had available to us and I would do it over again in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure the lower level subjects were cheaper but the class DS took his senior of high school was a Graduate level class (there is no cheap option for that level of teaching especially considering the small class size and the personalized feedback and help available.)

Thanks.  It may not be cheap, but it sounds very reasonable.  

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On 3/3/2019 at 2:11 PM, Mom0012 said:

 There is a surprisingly small amount of new material in calculus BC beyond what is covered in calculus AB.  My daughter did calculus AB with Derek Owens last year. This year, she took a statistics class at the community college and covered the BC material through Khan Academy.  It is only the last two or three modules of Khan Academy BC that she needed to cover.  She’s prepping for the BC and statistics exams now.  So, that is one option.

 

Thank you so much for this. I had never realized Khan Academy offered so many free offerings (besides SAT prep) - AP classes too. I think we might go this route - saves me a bundle load of money, and from what I understand the PAH BC class is very text-learning oriented? (Correct me if I"m wrong)

In answer to another question, no he's never done AOPs. (Well he did early on in Pre-A and didn't like it)

 

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1 hour ago, mirabillis said:

 

Thank you so much for this. I had never realized Khan Academy offered so many free offerings (besides SAT prep) - AP classes too. I think we might go this route - saves me a bundle load of money, and from what I understand the PAH BC class is very text-learning oriented? (Correct me if I"m wrong)

In answer to another question, no he's never done AOPs. (Well he did early on in Pre-A and didn't like it)

 

Yes, I’ve been surprised at all Khan has to offer now as well.  I discovered all of his wonderful material when I was looking for a way to help my ds prep for the calculus CLEP.  I am planning on having my dd use it to prep for the AP US Govt exam year.  Free is nice!

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  • 3 years later...

Hi All...

For those whose kids have taken classes with John Rosaco...how have you handled listing those classes on their high school transcripts or on the Common App? He doesn't give grades and I'm not sure how to handle this? Did you enter a grade or just leave it blank?

Thanks much!

Amy

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