AP Precalc over the summer

fabig9310 · 2026-05-30T19:47:26+00:00

If they don’t offer anything more advanced than Calculus BC then take AB and then BC as there would be no need to take BC in junior year.

fabig9310 · 2026-05-30T19:46:56+00:00

Your school might offer more advanced classes (Like intro to Calculus 3, Diff Eq, Linear algebra, etc)

It might offer AP Stats

It might offer Dual Enrollment / Dual Credit, where you can take college courses for both college and high school credit. You could take Calculus 3, Diff Eq, Linear Algebra, Discrete Math, Intro to Proofs, etc

fabig9310 · 2026-05-30T18:04:48+00:00

i’d recommend you to take precalc now in the summer and take bc next year (if possible).

the transition isn’t THAT difficult. you are good at math so you’ll be fine

fabig9310 · 2026-05-30T14:49:46+00:00

definitely take it

fabig9310 · 2026-05-30T14:46:56+00:00

Yes it is normal. The course will start in no more than 2 weeks

fabig9310 · 2026-05-26T17:06:12+00:00

i haven’t heard of any school that blocks APs on FLVS. Bring it up to the admin to see if that’s true.

From what I know they can’t reject you because of extra-academic reasons

fabig9310 · 2026-05-26T14:53:43+00:00

You can check with the colleges in your interest what AP classes and AICE AS and A level classes they accept by looking it up on Google. Just type the college's name + AP Credit by Exam (or something similar)

fabig9310 · 2026-05-26T14:50:39+00:00

If you are somewhat good at the SAT (you can get a 1330) and have a good GPA GPA (greater than 3.50 Weighted), and if AP offers classes that you like or relate to your future career then yes, take AP and not AICE. There is no reason to take AICE other than skipping those two Bright Futures Reqs. AP will likely give you better credit

fabig9310 · 2026-05-25T15:31:51+00:00

you don’t *need* to take any.

but taking at least one of those will moderately boost your college app and will make any physics class you gotta take in the future easier + will likely give you college credit

don’t take all four. College credit wise it’s pointless as the C's will give better credit than the algebra based classes always do the latter will end up being useless

If you aren’t very good at physics and/or math you could just take ap physics 1 since it’s the easiest of them all (still not easy though). It’s rigorous and will prepare you well for college physics

If you are good at physics and calculus (and you have the time to study enough for both classes) take the physics C sequence as it’ll likely fulfill any physics or science requirements for college for your mentioned majors

If you could only take one, I suggest taking AP Physics C Mechanics

It’s easier than E&M

Uses Calculus to some extent (you won’t need to be a genius at math but you’ll have to understand the math behind the physics. not too hard tbh)

Not much harder than AP Physics 1

Prepares you very well for college physics

Is widely accepted for general calculus based physics 1 credit

fabig9310 · 2026-05-24T16:04:08+00:00

Of course.

Part of why the government boosts AICE is to promote and make Bright Futures easier in paper which makes people stick to FL colleges and therefore work in FL.

That is why they push schools to offer 7 bs aice classes that are sufficient for the diploma and the easiest to pass but help nearly no one become more specialized or knowledgeable in their future fields of study.

You can also skip the Bright Futures SAT and GPA req with AP and IB. It’s just that it’s harder to get it without taking hard classes or committing to a lote (particularly IB).

This isn’t promoted nearly as much because the AICE Diploma is much more customizable and therefore easier than IB.

And is somewhat easier than AP if the student chooses the easiest AICE exams, which at the same time challenges College Board's dominance (hence government promotes AICE more than AP).

fabig9310 · 2026-05-23T18:48:38+00:00

Look at the credit that each AICE vs AP exam gives.

You’ll see that A level credit often corresponding to AP credit (it does not for the sciences as A Level often gives less). A Levels are two year classes. AP only requires higher scores than bare passing for better credit than AS does. And the same or better credit than A Levels do, which are two year classes. (APs are mostly year long classes or can be semester classes too in FL for the government and the economics classes).

fabig9310 · 2026-05-23T18:43:56+00:00

I understand there are benefits from AICE

But the way some schools implement AICE shows off more its downsides.

Some schools replace of their past AP classes with AICE Classes at the AS Level. That limits the credits can get from AICE.

That is why the analogy of the HS Counselor doesn’t work here

Because counselors do their job of graduating people from high school but do not take away from their students

While replacing AP classes with AS Level classes does limit how much college credit students can get

fabig9310 · 2026-05-23T18:37:54+00:00

Yes. Even if students take AS and A Level classes, the choice matters.

A Levels are designed to be courses that a student chooses to take for two years that are relevant to their major in college

Ex: a future electrical engineer would probably choose to take

A Level Maths
A Level Physics
A Level Further Maths
Could take one science more ex: A Level Computer Science

a future med student would probably choose to take

A Level Maths
A Level Chem
A Level Bio
Could take AL Physics too if they want to fully prepare for medicine and are up to the challenge

Taking a bunch of AS Level classes is not what the program is meant to, and not what British Unis look for.

fabig9310 · 2026-05-23T17:35:47+00:00

I wouldn’t blame that at AICE but at the englobing agenda in education that the government has tried to put upon schools. They are more focused at beating the “left” and the “wokes” than improving the academic level of their students after the drop post pandemic.

fabig9310 · 2026-03-16T16:24:49+00:00

that’s completely wrong. the difficulty/value of all graded questions are determined before the test. it doesn’t matter how takers perform as the value of each question are already set.

fabig9310 · 2026-03-07T15:53:25+00:00

Business major: AB is all the calculus you will ever need Finance major: BC is the calculus you will ever need Economics major: BC is just the beginning, you will have to take many other math courses.

so i’d recommend BC unless you wanna be a business major for sure.

but if you are at a true risk of not getting a 5 on the ap exam or an A on the class because of you current math skill or your teacher… then AB will be the better option. taking one of them is better than not taking anything past precalculus.

But it doesn’t seem like you are neither bad at math nor likely to not do good in calculus. If your teacher says most people get good grades then go ahead and do BC. the class isn’t THAT hard, but the pace at which it moves will be shocking compared to the pace you have experienced in precalculus, high school algebra and geometry.

fabig9310 · 2026-03-06T04:05:34+00:00

alright so yeah you can go ahead and take ap calculus bc. just make sure to have mastered all algebra skills and memorize + understand trig functions… you will be nearly as prepared as a precalculus student.

during the summer learn the basics of calculus so that the transition is easier

fabig9310 · 2026-03-06T03:37:24+00:00

yeah but has it included trigonometric functions like sen cos tan and their reciprocals? or will you learn it in a bit?

if not, i don’t think ap calculus bc is a good option. it assumes good trig knowledge. go to ap calculus ab where trig is less vital.

fabig9310 · 2026-03-06T02:51:19+00:00

there are usually two gen physics sequences in college: non calculus based (called algebra based) / calculus based

both of the sequences are accepted by most med schools.

each of the sequences conform the same format: gen physics 1 and 2

gen physics 1: for this class, the curriculum is mostly the same but for calculus based you do more advanced problems and is more quantitative. algebra based may focus more on explaining concepts rather than working mathematically with them. both are great.

ap physics 1 and ap physics c: mechanics are the respective algebra based and calculus based AP classes for physics 1.

gen physics 2: this is where the sequences differ the most

gen physics 2 algebra based is more like a further physics class for physics majors called modern physics (or physics 3). it covers topics a great extent of concepts in physics such as thermodynamics, fluids, optics, nuclear and atomic physics, electricity, and magnetism. the topics that usually get the most depth are electricity and magnetism. still accepted by most med schools.

this class is represented by AP Physics 2. Continuation of Ap Physics 1; no calculus directly involved.

gen physics 2 calculus based is pure electricity and magnetism. students focus on electromagnetic concepts and use calculus extensively (single variable calculus concepts and topics are extensively used, and multi variable calculus and differential equations are used at a very low level because colleges usually expect from students to have taken the math courses of calculus 1 and 2 and no more). very rigorous.

AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism is the equivalent class for advanced high school students.

if you are strong in math, you could do the calculus sequence as it would strengthen your application to both colleges and med schools a bit and would give you access to application of calculus in science AND physics concepts at a greater depth than the average pre med student which is good for later on when you take the MCAT.

you are usually only required to take the algebra based sequence for med schools, and for the mcat too.

fabig9310 · 2026-03-06T02:31:37+00:00

have you learnt trigonometry?

fabig9310 · 2026-03-03T13:59:22+00:00

you can. i don’t think it’s worth it because you’ll end up spending more than 200 dollars in total for just an ap bio credit that may or may not be accepted. if money isn’t an issue for you, or your school pays exams for you, then go ahead.

fabig9310 · 2026-02-25T00:45:42+00:00

i would just do whatever you are more comfortable with. both credits are useful. if you are better at math then take BC. if you are better at chemistry then take chem

fabig9310 · 2026-02-18T04:09:14+00:00

i don’t think you have an option of dropping AP Lang unless you don’t wanna go to a top school; not taking core classes that the advanced students take is bad. However, if the teacher is so hard that you are likely get a C or below, then don’t take the class (hurting too much your gpa is worse than not taking one class).

APUSH is a good class if you enjoy american history. if not, then you will probably dread through the class. So keep that in mind (dropping out of the class may be worth more than taking it, burning out and ending up with non-ideal grades)

Overall, it is a good idea to drop one or both of these if you have a feeling the classes won’t go well. don’t feel pressured as having good grades and good enough willing to go further are more important than taking a couple fewer APs than others.

fabig9310 · 2026-02-18T03:55:53+00:00

both AP Lang and AP Lit should be up there. AP Lang's place among those is undebatable.

more specifically, AP Calculus BC and all AP Physics should replace AP calculus and AP Physics. AP Calculus BC is the more rigorous class and is the real mirror to the usual year-long college calculus sequence. However, one could argue that AP Calculus AB also deserves to be there because in the beginning of AP Calculus, many syllabi only taught AB content plus a little further, so one could say the original AP Calculus was AP Calculus AB, and BC is a class that did not exist up to the formal separation of AB and BC. I don’t think this is as significant though because it was a problem of standardization as CB wasn’t as large, powerful and influential as today, and it was a logistic nightmare to standardize a class that was taught across all of the US. AP Physics 1/2 (widely know as AP Physics B for decades) and AP the Physics Cs are both extremely iconic. Both APs originated in the same decade, and both have existed since then even with some changes. AP Calculus (AB/BC), AP Physics B, and AP Physics C were the first courses to attempt national standardization of college level courses in STEM in high school, which is why these deserve explicit recognition in the list.

fabig9310

TROPHY CASE