<p>Hi I was wondering which AP tests I should take for my junior year. Im currently in AP Calculus AB, AP Language & Composition, and APUSH. I definitely plan on taking the APUSH test. However, I have concerns on the other 2.</p>
<p>Next year I plan on taking the AP Literature test, and I was wondering if I should bother taking the AP Language and Composition test if I think I’ll do well on the AP Literature test.</p>
<p>The other concern is that I’ll be taking AP Calculus BC as well. The teacher for that course is phenomenal and almost everyone who has him gets a 5, the rest get 4s. I’m good in math and I’m pretty sure I’ll get a 5 on the test, so my concern is if I should bother wasting the time/money taking the AP Calculus AB test. Should I bother taking it if I’m going to do the BC test?</p>
<p>If you could give me an answer to these two issues I have I’d sincerely appreciate it.</p>
<p>Well, if you think you’re going to do well on both tests, I would suggest you do both. The AP Calculus AB can be skipped if you really don’t want to spend the money, but it’s good practice for the BC. Similarly, the AP English Language test is good practice for the AP Literature test, but they are different tests, with different concepts covered. If you want to show colleges your diverse knowledge in English, take both. One can’t replace the other, like in Calculus. </p>
<p>I would definitely say take the AP English Language (if you’re confident you’ll do well), and consider taking the Calculus AB, as a precursor to the BC exam.</p>
<p>Calculus AB is a subset of Calculus BC. If you get a 5 in Calculus BC, your Calculus AB score becomes irrelevant for all math placement and credit purposes in university.</p>
<p>It only makes sense to take both if you believe that you will get a lower score in BC than AB, and you will be attending a university that does not give any math placement or credit for the AB subscore of the BC test. I.e. taking AB may be a “safety” in case you do not do well in BC (just as one may apply to “safety” schools when selecting which universities to apply to).</p>
<p>Remember, though, that if you are taking Calculus AB / BC over two years, that is only half the pace of a university math course – Calculus AB is generally seen as equivalent to a semester, while Calculus BC may be credited as up to a year of freshman calculus. When you enter university, do not be surprised if the university math courses move at a pace twice as fast as what you are used to.</p>
<p>(When I was in high school, all students completing precalculus went directly to a one year calculus course – there was only one class at the time, taught to the BC syllabus.)</p>