Welcome to College Confidential!

The leading college-bound community on the web

Sign Up For Free

Join for FREE, and start talking with other members, weighing in on community discussions, and more.

Also, by registering and logging in you'll see fewer ads and pesky welcome messages (like this one!)

As a CC member, you can:

  • Reply to threads, and start your own.
  • Post reviews of your campus visits.
  • Find hundreds of pages of informative articles.
  • Search from over 3 million scholarships.
Home / / /
New Discussion

AP CALC BC: Skipping PreCalc?

kaitmtn8kaitmtn8 Registered User Posts: 4 New Member
in AP Tests Preparation
I am a sophomore and I can take precalc or AP Calc BC next year because I am doing very well in Algebra 2/ Trig.
I heard about skipping precalculus and taking AP Calc B/C. I was wondering, is there any precalc on the Math SAT II? Is AP Calc BC hard without precalc? I'm not sure how to go about this. If I do choose to skip it, can I learn precalc over the summer? Thank you!
· Reply · Share on Facebook

Replies to: AP CALC BC: Skipping PreCalc?

  • NASA2014NASA2014 Registered User Posts: 2,377 Senior Member
    Ask yourself this question, Why do you want to skip PreCalc? I wouldn't skip it if I were you. PreCalc prepares you for calculus. Precalculus is algebra 2/trig but in more depth. Are you really good at Algebra? The only reason why people fail calculus is Algebra. Calculus is easy.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • happy1happy1 Forum Champion Parents, Forum Champion Admissions Posts: 23,929 Forum Champion
    You are on a very good track in math. I see no reason to skip precalc and which could potentially put you at a disadvantage in Calc BC. I'd go with precalc junior year and Calc BC senior year.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • sunnyschoolsunnyschool Registered User Posts: 1,209 Senior Member
    SAT Math 2 has a lot of Precalc. I agree with happy1 above, take Precalc this year and Calc BC Senior year.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • ucbalumnusucbalumnus Registered User Posts: 75,308 Senior Member
    You may want to try these placement tests to check your readiness for calculus:

    http://www.math.buffalo.edu/rur/rurci3.cgi
    http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/
    https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • AnthonyZAnthonyZ Registered User Posts: 158 Junior Member
    edited January 2018
    The secret that I found was that Precalc doesn't prepare your for Calc AB, instead Precalc prepares you for calc BC. Everything that I learned in Precalc is coming back around to be used with calculus in calc BC. Don't skip Precalc, you won't pass Calc BC.

    As far as the SAT 2, I wish I took it immediately after Precalc. But do a few practice questions on the college board's website and see how you feel. You may get by with knowledge from just algebra 2.

    Does your school offer calc AB? I know at some schools AB is not a prerequisite to BC, but at my school it is and I think it would be impossible to skip calc AB (calc BC is one of the hardest classes at my school, and AB is a requirement)
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • sunnyschoolsunnyschool Registered User Posts: 1,209 Senior Member
    edited January 2018
    Algebra 2 to Calc BC is a big jump. That is why many schools offer Calc AB or a regular Calculus course. If you really want to jump ahead to Calc BC, find a place to take Precalculus in the summer.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • kaitmtn8kaitmtn8 Registered User Posts: 4 New Member
    Okay, thanks everyone for the advice! I'm going to stick with preclalc
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
This discussion has been closed.