<p>Hi,
Right now, I’m currently a junior and enrolled in Pre-Calculus H. I want to increase my chances of getting into certain universities (such as U of Mich, UVA, GIT and others) and I’ve been considering taking part in a bridge program where I can complete Calculus A/B over the summer and enroll in B/C as a senior. However, I was wondering if this would be worth the effort in regards to college admissions? Would it make a considerable difference to colleges reviewing my applications, or would it be negligible? What overall impact would completing this extra course have? It seems to me like it would be important, but I know very little about this, and if it doesn’t change much, I suppose I’d rather take the course in college and spend my summer doing other things.
All advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>There may be many reasons to follow this approach, but getting a boost in college admissions is not one of them.</p>
<p>I don’t know the requirements for the specific colleges to which you refer, but colleges generally appreciate students who pursue the most rigorous opportunities available to them. In this sense, I suppose I mildly disagree with the poster above.</p>
<p>The odds of Calc BC getting someone in while Calc AB gets them rejected are very, very narrow - if it even happens at all. In fact, I can see admissions taking a look at the proposed option and saying “Couldn’t he find anything better to do with his summer? What a grind.” Such things almost never impress admissions, which is why it isn’t worth the effort for admission purposes.</p>
<p>^Yes, that was really what I was trying to convey.</p>
<p>It is unlikely that a GC will rate a schedule containing Calc BC as more demanding than one containing Calc AB, all other things being equal, nor will colleges IMO. The risk, however, of being seen as nothing more than an academic grind by taking an class over the summer may offset any negligible gain in course rigor.</p>
<p>Having said that, you can certainly pursue taking Calc AB over the summer and taking Calc BC next year because you want to challenge yourself, or to gain potential additional college credit, or just for your own personal knowledge. The reasons for doing this should be based upon what you want to do, not based upon what a hypothetical AO might think.</p>
<p>I think it’s an excellent idea for the HS to offer such a program and I would encourage you to take advantage of it. </p>
<p>I strongly disagree with those above who think it would reflect badly on you. I can hardly imagine a college penalizing an applicant for taking full advantage of their high school offerings.</p>
<p>What admission directors wouldn’t consider BC more rigorous than AB? Not a huge deal but they do know this.</p>
<p>There is no one year BC course for students who have just completed precalculus?</p>
<p>I can’t speak for the OP, but at our local HS the standard progression is AB and then BC. In fact, my kids tell me they’ve never known of anyone taking BC w/o taking AB first.</p>
<p>If that’s the practice at the OP’s HS, a summer bridge program makes good sense.</p>