Our teacher gave an AP style midterm and stuff but gave us lots of practice and graded on a curve (the AP test is too). He gave us the option for retakes on learning targets but that only helped us because we ended up learning more. He strctured the class so that we learned about BC concepts that built on AB concepts right after we learned the AB ones. The assumpsion was that everyone came from precalc. What he did to prepare everyone for the AP test was have us so like all the FRQs ever relased starting a month before the AP test. We had to do them, grade them based on the answer key that AP graders actually have and reflect on what we missed. At the begining we were all getting 2-3/9 but by the end we were getting 8-9/9. If we stuck to his schedule for the entire month he waved the final. We also had MC packets.
In my old school they did AB first, but at my school now they only offered BC. So, I jumped from AB first semester to BC second. I’m happy I did that because BC after AB, although it would lead to higher AP scores by far (50% of people who take BC get 5s probably because they took AB first), would be very boring. My friends at my old school tell me the BC class is a snoozefest.
If you go by how the textbook goes though than yea, the beginning of the class would all be review.
@cliffnotes It might be depending on the pace of the teacher, but my school’s first semester of BC is up through integration by substitution, and there are a few more topics in AB after that I think.
@snowfairy137 It sounds a lot easier and a lot more helpful than my class. ))): can i move into your basement and attend your school
it’s not like my teacher isn’t good, it’s just that he cares more about us learning the material than everyone doing well, so it doesn’t bother him at all that hardly anyone is even passing his class with a C. The class is 80/20, so tests are 80% of our grade, and the 20% of homework sucks too because he grades homework for right/wrong. I have an A right now, but that’s going to change by the test next week.
Haha I wish @cliffnotes he switched to another school (actually the poorest school in our district… Idk if its cause he was such a good teacher or what). I got reallly lucky. Idk what the teacher is like now. Shes my robotics coach and i’m sure its fine, but theres no way its as great as last year.
I was thinking about going into Calc BC, but based on how well I’m doing in Pre-Calc, not so sure that’s an option anymore. I just don’t get it. Algebra 2 was so much easier last year and now Pre-Calc is kicking my proverbial arse right now because I’m not studying enough. This is basically Algebra 1 all over again for me. Back in Algebra 1, I never really studied, had a C all year, but had a 84% on the final.
@cliffnotes my school runs a block schedule (a and b day), but Calc is offered as AB with a seminar or AB 1st semester and BC 2nd where both options it’s daily. So we can’t skip to the every other day BC
For us, it is entirely contingent upon which level of Pre-Calculus you took and how well you did.
We have three levels of Pre-Calculus: an incredibly rigorous advanced honors course, a more rudimentary honors course, and a regular course. If you were to do well in the advanced one, or prodigiously well in the rudimentary one, you take BC Calc the next year. If you do badly/decently in the advanced one, or well in the rudimentary one, you take AB Calc. If you take the regular one, you take Honors Calculus.
I’m currently maintaining a B+ average in the advanced class, and I’m on the up and up, so there’s a solid chance I could get recommended for BC. I’m sure that’ll drive my senior year grades into the ground, but we’ll see how it goes.
@sciencenerd123 My school is 2-time regional champions for Science Bowl. We’re working hard to three peat this year. My school always does well overall at the Science Fair. Last year I was one of the recipients of the Navy Office of Naval Research medal and this year I’m hoping to get first in the Physics, Math, and Astronomy category. The highlight of the fair last year, however, was when Irwin Gratz mentioned my project at the beginning of the awards ceremony. 
I’ll see you at the Science Bowl competition and MSSF this year, then! We should look out for one another! My project’s title is going to be something like “Observing Groombridge 1618 for a planetary system: Phase II.”
I want to study astrophysics or planetary astronomy. Engineering isn’t my forte. I’m OBSESSED with space - hence my profile picture (it’s the observatory I do research at).
@cliffnotes My school has practice every week in which we do buzzer practice using hard round questions (this week we did rounds 10 and 16 out of 17 possible rounds) and every other week we also have practice in which we learn about a particular subject that’s covered in Science Bowl (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Energy, Earth and Space Science, Math).
At my school, we only have AP Calc AB. We don’t even offer BC. Which sucks for my really smart friend, because she’s going to finish AB this year and she doesn’t want to forget everything by college, but the counselors aren’t even considering her idea of having an every day free period and using that time to take an online Calc class at my local community college. She’s thinking of going above their heads to the principal (they’re pretty tight), who is super supportive of learning however possible.
I’m watching parts of The Birth of a Nation in APUSH. Its about the South and Reconstruction after the Civil War. The KKK Is idolized and black people are portrayed as children who need to be kept under control… Its just so bizarre to watch now.
The original or the recent remake? @LeopardFire
Also, I don’t know why I feel this way but I’m super nervous for the seniors’ college decisions. My one really good friend and my other somewhat-friend are both finding out from Johns Hopkins in like 5 mins and I really hope they get in because they’re so so sooooo smart.
At your schools, have there been any surprise cases of acceptances yet? Any people who got in who you didn’t expect to get in? It happened at my school with one girl, but she really wanted to get in with a fiery passion. Academically, you wouldn’t expect it really, but I have no doubt that her essays were amazing.
We watched Glory (featuring Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and the guy who played Ferris Buhler in Ferris Buhler’s day off) today in U.S. History and it was kind of hard to watch at times. The movie was about the first African-American military regiment during the Civil War. We get to finish it on Tuesday. Overall, it’s very interesting!
We watched Glory about a month ago! @ak2018 . It tugs on your heart-strings :((
Just finished my multivariable calc final and I’m so happy to be done!!!
We also started Trigonometry in math class and it was pretty easy. I’m definitely like this unit.
@snowfairy137 I took mine on Wednesday after school after 2 other exams. When I got home I literally collapsed :))! I think I did okay but I flipped the epsiolon and delta in the definition of limit and messed up a few other proofs as well. Are you taking a full year or just differential multivariable calc this semester?
@Soccer1235 Haha that sounds tough. My class wasn’t really proof based, we had to do more application I guess (THANK GOD). It was a semester class called Calculus-Analytic Geometry III. Next semester I’m taking Ordinary Differential Equations.
EDIT: This was my 800th post and I decided that was important to note :))
EDIT EDIT: Apparently it adds a post every time you edit a comment. Interesting…
EDIT EDIT EDIT: Actually it just adds a post the first time you edit a comment. Ok, I’m done.