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Course Selections

ziggy1234ziggy1234 Registered User Posts: 13 New Member
in College Admissions
Would it be better to do pretty poorly in an AP course like AP Calculus AB than to do really well in a regular Calculus course (Contemp. Calc.)? I'm not sure whether I should go for AP Calculus or regular Calculus.
(I have a high B in Honors Precalculus--around 87%-- right now from beginning of yr-end of yr averages)
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Replies to: Course Selections

  • ucbalumnusucbalumnus Registered User Posts: 73,774 Senior Member
    Calculus AB is already slower paced than college calculus. So if your major in college requires calculus, the pace of calculus in college may be faster than you will see in calculus AB or an even less rigorous calculus course in high school.
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  • berms720berms720 Registered User Posts: 53 Junior Member
    Take calc bc... An 87 in precalc is fine for bc, you will be fine if you work hard and stay focused and commited
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  • MYOS1634MYOS1634 Registered User Posts: 39,654 Senior Member
    Ask your precalc teacher: based on your current performance, does s/he think you can get at least a B in either AP Calc AB or "Contemp. Calc"? Note that a grade below a B will NOT be useful to your application :)
    Colleges don't make a difference between Calc AB and Calc BC, except for the super selective ones and only for students who plan to major in a stem field. Even 1/3 of Harvard admits have not taken calculus, although they either have a good reason (like: it's not offered either at their HS or at a nearby institution) OR they doubled up (typically in a foreign language, because many who double up in science also have calculus).
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