As a junior, I took the Calculus AB class offered at my school, but figured that it would be worth it to self-study the BC content and take the BC test. This would allow me to take Multivariable Calculus at a local university.
I ended up getting a 5 on the BC test. However, my school won’t allow me to go to MVC unless I take an “official” class and take a “placement” exam.
I would go on that route if I wasn’t already busy this summer (I am in Governor School). Almost everybody else in the Governor’s School will be taking MVC next year, but I won’t be able to because I wouldn’t be allowed to.
So I am forced to take calculus BC next year. (Our school makes you take Calculus AB before BC, bad idea, I know)
How much do you think it would hurt if I am in BC next year, instead of MVC (increasingly becoming more popular class for high school seniors)? I will be in all AP classes.
By CAGR, perhaps. However, the number of seniors taking MVC is still quite small.
Anyway, colleges are certainly not going to hold it against you if you are being constrained by the policies of your HS (and unless I’m missing something, that’s one dumb policy)
They have that policy at my high school, too. It’s common practice at many schools, especially the more competitive ones where they don’t allow skipping of courses under any circumstances.
I doubt it’ll affect your application much, though. If you really want, you can take the class concurrently during the fall at your local CC.
It doesn’t make sense to be in a class you’ve already passed the AP test for, and not just passed but earned a 5 on. Colleges won’t care you’re taking BC, but if you don’t want to waste your time in a class you already know, definitely take it to the district. You’ve got a valid case.
It would be a waste of time for you to sit in a class and learn about topics that you already reviewed and mastered on your own. I would try explaining your situation to the school district, and ask them if your situation could be an exception. If you received a 5 on the AP exam, then it’s completely unnecessary for you to be stuck in that class this year. Is it possible for you to take the class next summer (though I don’t know if this is a good idea, as you’ll be preparing for college)?
^ Some schools are very particular about these policies. At my school, the only thing you can hope to achieve with having taken the AP Calculus BC test and scoring a 5 is… taking AP Calculus BC. Which isn’t helpful unless you get to skip, say, Precalculus because you took it whilst in Algebra II. Same with Physics (even more stringent, in fact: AP Physics 1 is a prerequisite for AP Physics C, even if you’ve taken the Physics C tests). Same with every other subject my school offers. My school also doesn’t give credit for courses taken outside of school–no matter what–unless there are extreme circumstances (e.g. one girl had to drop two classes because she missed two months of school due to a medical problem and the teachers wouldn’t let her stay in the class because she had missed too much).