I’m a sophomore taking AP Calc, and our school is doing scheduling for next year. The school is in walking distance away from Purdue University, so right now I have a choice between taking a Purdue calculus course or taking AP Stat. If I take one course in my junior year, I’ll take the other course in my senior year.
I’ve heard AP Stat is significantly easier than the Purdue calc courses from my upperclassmen, and my junior year schedule is packed. I’m not sure about senior year yet.
Currently, I’ve thought of some pros and cons for both.
Purdue Calc course-
Pro: college course experience, won’t forget calculus I learned this year
Con: more challenging, junior year course load already difficult, costs almost $1500
AP Stat-
Pro: AP credit, easier, colleges see the AP test score
Con: may forget calculus, not as impressive as a college course
Which course do you think would be better for me to take as a junior and why?
Are you taking Calc AB or BC? IMO I would take AP stats junior year. If your schedule is packed, (assuming large number of AP’s?), taking Calc at Purdue could be more difficult than AP courses. You also have SAT/ACT tests to study for. My son is a junior taking AP Calc BC right now. There are 5-6 students in his class that due to scheduling conflicts took a year off from Calc (had to take AP Stats year before Calc BC) and haven’t found it to be a problem. Not sure how it would be taking a year off between AP Calc and college Calc at Purdue.
A few other things to consider. Think about the reasoning to take the class at Purdue. Do you want to attend there? Is it the only option for next level calculus? Will it transfer elsewhere? Can you afford it? If you really want to take the course because you want to major in math/related major and believe you can handle the course load, then I would speak to your current calc teacher or guidance counselor. See if others have been successful and/or they believe you could be with a heavy schedule next year. Good luck!
Purdue calculus will transfer anywhere as all universities know it is a top level STEM school. It WILL be harder but after all you’ve taken calculus in high school so at least the first weeks will be familiar and it’'ll be a good introduction to college level math. Will you take calculus 1 over a year or over Fall semester… Or would you take calculus 1/Fall, 2/Spring?
For a strong math student (taking calculus in 10th grade) it’d make the most sense to continue the calculus sequence, then take discrete math and linear algebra senior year.
What other classes are you taking?
If you plan to study stem in college take calculus somewhere and change around the rest of your schedule to allow for it. Stats does not necessarily translate and you will lose your calc skills.
Since you say that you’re going to take both anyways, I would take calculus first since you are already taking a calculus class therefore you will remember the material better compared to taking it a year later.
@jcmom716 I’m taking Calc BC right now. Regarding what class I’m going to take at Purdue, I’m not quite sure yet, as my guidance counselor and I have yet to figure out which class would work with my schedule time-wise. Possibly Calc 3?
My intended major is something in the realm of Business (finance, accounting, economics), so it’s not directly math related, but math is still important.
Two other sophomores are taking the Purdue class next year and three are taking AP Stat. Most people do well in the Purdue class, but the majority of people take it as a senior.
Thank you for your help so far!
@MYOS1634 I’m not yet sure what Calc course I would take, but probably whatever will work time-wise with my schedule. It might even end up being a Calc course, just some sort of upper level math.
It would be a year long, yes. The Purdue course would be a substitute for a 2 semester high school math course.
Next year I’m also taking English Lit, Debate, AP Micro/Macro, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Spanish, and orchestra.
Thanks for your help so far!
Why dont you look at some colleges you are considering application and view their course requirements before you make a decision.
@scubadive What do you mean? Both AP Stat and other upper level math courses are not required courses.
In some colleges stats and calc are required for business majors. If you don’t need calc then do not take it if you do not like it.
I would avoid it for that reason.
You can’t just take whatever fits your schedule. The class you take has to be part of the math sequence.
If you took BC, I’d advise you take Calc 2 at Purdue, after taking a “retired” Calc1 final and trying to score 90+ on it. (If you score 95+ you could even try and take the Calc2 finaland see if you can score 85+ on it to get to Calc3… beware, these two classes are known to be harder than AP at Purdue).
I wouldn’t stop with the calculus sequence by inserting AP stats, an “AP lite” for kids who can’t/won’t take calculus. At least take Calculus-based statistics at Purdue.
@halcyonheather Haha yeah… that may end up being the determining factor.
@MYOS1634 I see. I want to take the Purdue class, because it sounds more interesting than AP Stat, but with my schedule for next year, I don’t think I will be able to do well. I might save it as a senior year course instead. Plus, taking it senior year will help me review for calculus as a freshman in college ^^.
Thank you to everyone with their help!