I will be going into 9th grade next year taking AP Calc AB. But I already know all of the material on it, and am pretty sure I can just skip to AP Calc BC if I take a test or two. Skipping AP Calc AB doesn’t seem like a concern, because of AP Calc BC’s AB subscore. However, unfortunately I did not do very well on AP World History which I took last school year in 8th grade. To qualify for the National Scholar award from AP, you have to have an average of at least 4 on all of your APs, and since my 3 from history dropped my average to, well, a 3, I might need to take both of the Calc APs to raise my average, because I probably will not do poorly on them. I will take more History APs through High School, so my average may decrease from those. Should I skip AP Calc AB? And because of the AB subscore in BC, does AP Calc AB even matter if you are going to take BC?
The AB subscore pretty much counts for nothing, particularly if you get a 5 overall. Subscores don’t count for AP awards.
More to the point, even if you took BC as a sophomore, what is the gameplan for math in your junior and senior years?
Post AP classes like multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
AP Scholar doesn’t matter (except to you). Any class or exam taken before 9th grade doesn’t count either. If you have a realistic plan to take post AP math, then there’s no reason why you can’t take Calc BC, but before you do that, check with your guidance counselor whether you’ll be able to drop down to AB if need be (no reason to mess up your HS record and GPA if BC doesn’t agree with you. Even taking BC as a sophomore would be super advanced.
I think all AP scores will count in AP Scholar awards See https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/ap-awards/ap-scholar-awards
Yes but AP Scholar doesn’t matter.
What colleges are interested in is wat a student did in 9-12, unless what they did in 8th grade affected the rest (ie., prodigies, future Olympians…) but what matters still is what they did in 9-12.
I highly disagree with you @MYOS1634 . We are talking about AP CLASSES, not regular classes. I remind you that AP Classes give college credit and therefore are important.
If you’re good at math- which you seem to be- skip AP Calc AB if you can. AP Calc BC has all of those topics and even more. Also, it’s always good to brag about being in AP Calc BC as a freshman!! Good job man!
AP classes aren’t important because they give college credit. In fact the most selective colleges don’t give credit because they consider them the basic foundation all their admitted students should have. They matter because they’re rigorous and have a national curriculum that guarantees all students will have covered the same content with equivalent depth.
And while OP may feel satisfied at impressing other high school freshmen, errm… how shall I put it… this definitely shouldn’t be a criterion of anything 
especially not when it comes to academic choices.
To reiterate what I said earlier, OP is clearly gifted and should take BC, but should ask what the rules are for “dropping down” to AB if need be. Being a gifted at mathematics and getting a needless B- in math because one took BC one year early would be stupid. Always have a plan B.