Can AP Calculus BC be mastered by brute force, or do you have to be a math wiz?

Pre-College Topics High School Cafe
1

I signed up for this class for my junior year. Schedules came out last week, and I am regretting my decision. I’m not AMAZING at math, I’m just ok.

So what do you guys think about the question (as titled)? Feel free to share your own experiences with AP Calc BC

2

I sure hope so because that’s what I plan on doing!

3

I’m (hopefully) taking the AB variant next year. Is BC double blocked at your school(s)?

I think it’s a mix of both. I’m sure you can master it by brute force but many people have gotten A’s and 5s by not doing much at all. Of course, this is true for all subjects and classes.

Good luck to the both of you! :slight_smile:

4

You do not have to be a math whiz to perform well in the class or on the test, although obviously there will likely be math whizzes in your class.

5

Definitely possible to master BC just by studying a lot - which is what I did this school year. I’m not bad at math by any means, but I struggled with calc and ended up having to spend an entire afternoon intensely studying the day before all of my calc tests. Granted, the class is notorious in my school for being super difficult & very accelerated, but brute force can definitely work.

Plus, the BC exam turned out to be curved quite nicely. I guessed/ran out of time on a lot of the multiple choice, but aced the free-response and managed to get a 5. Good luck to all of you!!

6

In my junior year, I self-studied AP Calculus BC and got a 4. I failed to get a 5 because my study materials were suboptimal, and also because I procrastinated. :stuck_out_tongue: I felt bad about it for a while because my career goal is to get a Ph.D. in math and become, in some way or another, a professional mathematician.

After I started taking college math classes, I realized that I’m smart enough to do well in my classes if I work hard. There’s nothing magical about it, and it’s not the end of the world if I’m slower than a couple of kids (or a lot of kids, or whatever) at my school. Math is just like any other skill, and it’s weird to me that I could get a 4 on the AP test and end up with more confidence in my abilities than people on here getting 5s.