lovechilipeppers

Hi all, I'm a sophomore and Wharton is my dream school. Since Wharton requires the applicants to take the AP Calc exam, I'm planning to take the BC exam at the end of my junior year. (I'm currently taking Advanced Pre-calculus at my school.) The problem is, I still have not decided if I should take AP or IB in my junior and senior years. I'm currently leaning more toward IB. In this case, will the first year of IB Mathematics HL cover AP Calc BC material?

cooledge

From my own experience, Math HL I won't cover it. Maybe if you get a practice book and study pretty hard on the stuff you miss. You'd need to learn all about series, some stuff with limits, parametric and polar derivatives, arc lengths, and some other theorems without a Calc BC class.
Even HL II didn't really cut it for me though. Most of the new stuff I learned was in stuff that the Calc BC test didn't cover, like statistics and vectors (by the way, if you decide to take the BC test at the end of senior year, ask your IB Math teacher to do the series option, because that's essentially the option that's on the BC test).
So basically, you wouldn't cover everything just in class. However, you'd get the base material, with which you would need some self study to do well on the BC test.
Good luck!

spiralcloud

I would go with IB, overall its considered to be a better option because it will help you work on other parts of your application (including an IB diploma)

Do you know that Wharton requires an AP exam for sure? I'm going to take three semesters of calculus, but we don't have an AP curriculum at my school...so how can they "require" me to take the AP exam?

Good Luck!

cooledge

I agree with spiralcloud, you'll be a lot more ready for college with IB. But specifically for the Calc BC test, you'll just need to study a bit more.
But heads up, most other corresponding AP tests are prepped for nicely by IB HL I classes (English, Chemistry, Psychology, Comp Sci from especially, from my own experience).

wharton4life

What are you guys talking about? Wharton does NOT require you to take the AP Calc Exam. They DO, however, highly suggest taking an AP Calculus course and the SATII in Math.

theoneo

Wharton only strongly recommends that you take Calculus by senior year to prove your mathematical competency. There's no preference between AP and IB. I've heard that Math HL isn't as comprehensive as the AP program so I would recommend the latter unless it gets in the way of completing your IB diploma.

Btw this is a question that would be better answered by someone in Wharton itself. Like a dean. Or the website.

cooledge

Heads up, my impression of IB and AP Math is that IB is broader, while AP is deeper.
Also, IB Math gets more into statistics, which I'd imagine would be helpful for your business classes.

spiralcloud

But if it "requires" you to take an AP class too, then that's not fair for the people that don't have AP classes at their schools, right? That doesn't seem right...

theoneo

The requirement you refer to is in fact a myth.

mattwonder

Theoneo's correct. They strongly recommend you take Calculus in high school. It's not a requirement, and a specific AP class or AP test is certainly not required either. If calculus was available to you to take, you are expected to have taken it, but nothing beyond that.

lovechilipeppers

Thanks so much.

So which schedule do you think would be better?

THE AP ROUTE

10th grade:
AP Lang
AP Calc
General Chem
AP Euro
AP Econ
Chinese 7
Orchestra

11th grade:
AP Lit
AP Stat
AP Chem
AP Psych
AP Comp Sci
Chinese 8
Orchestra

THE IB ROUTE

IB English HL
IB Math HL
IB Chem SL
IB Econ HL
IB History HL
IB Chinese SL (but I would be repeating 10th grade material)
TOK (cannot take orchestra)
+ AP CALC BC by self studying

The AP route: I can take orchestra and more variety of the courses, and get more college credits. It might be easier to get good grades than taking the IB route. I wouldn't have to self-study AP Calc. I would be able to interact with more students as well.

The IB route: I like it because APUSH gave me an impression that AP was mostly memorizing and regurgitating information. I think IB would enable me to actually learn and write a lot as well. I would be able to get close with the teachers. I've also heard that Ivy League schools somewhat prefer IB. However, I would be repeating one year of Chinese, and the advantages of AP I listed above do not apply.

This is probably the biggest dilemma I have faced in my life. Please help me out!

Catalysis

Does it matter if you take AP Calc AB or AP Calc BC?

tenebrousfire

take bc, not ab

andy_g

"This is probably the biggest dilemma I have faced in my life. Please help me out!"

-wait till you have to choose a college

(unless you have a clear favorite )

lovechilipeppers

Thanks, everyone.
I think I'm going with the IB program.