I see them every day at my lunch table with endless worksheets, ambiguous concepts and intricate calculations. Calculus BC students often have the same expressions on their faces – the struggle is real.

As a student currently in Calculus AB, I have found out that my BC buddies are always moving at an amazing pace. Merely three months after school started, Calc AB was already left five chapters behind them. Calc BC covers more content than AB does and the textbook is about 30% thicker. As a result, most colleges grant 2 credits to Calc BC but only 1 to Calc AB.

My fear for math, on the other hand, prompted me to ask my friends for their honest opinions on the class.I wanted to gain a more comprehensive view of the class and to relieve my curiosity.

“If you pay attention, you’re good,” senior Thuy-Mi Le said. “But if you, say, fall asleep once, it takes a while to catch up.”

Seniors Lily Li and Alex Yi both refused to talk about the class. Yi made a mind-blowing gesture – shoot me – then resumed working on his worksheet. Li laughed and turned away.

“You are learning new things every day,” senior Felix Tsai said. “Don’t take it.”

Le’s point reflects most people’s opinion – work hard and get good grades, no drama. Senior Claire Gong said not procrastinating is also crucial for succeeding.

“Just don’t put off all your homework to the day before the test,” Gong said. “Also, don’t fall asleep. I fall asleep a lot in that class because I have it right after lunch for fifth, and I just kind of go into my sleep mode. But then I end up having to teach myself everything in the unit all over again before the test.”

Math has never been my thing. Honestly, the reason I didn’t take PreCalculus BC in junior year was because I felt like Calculus BC would fail me in the AP Exam. Wanting my senior year to be relaxing, I chose the easy path. However, quite a few people denied the class’ notorious reputation. Junior Hana Mulliqi, for instance, is one of them.

Some juniors are taking this class for their fourth math credit. Compared to the struggling seniors, they seem to have a better grasp of it.

“I think it’s the most interesting math class that we have,” Mulliqi said. “Math really is the key to figuring out the way that the world works. Like when it comes to construction, calculations are the foundation of everything. And math is in the way we move. I don’t think it’s too hard but you really have to get into the concepts, or it’ll be difficult.”

Junior Jack Xu is planning on completing Calculus BC this year and probably will take Calculus III next year, in Collin County Community College.

“Just do the work,” Xu said. “Just do the work.”

  Current students’ tips