Did I make the right choice?

[Guy]

Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place to post it, but I'm dying to know the answer to this (well, technically, it's an opinion, but w/e).

I'm not the best math person on earth, and next year, I had the option to choose AP Calc 2, AP Stats, or both. Well, I don't want too much pressure in senior year, so I decided to take only one math class. I heard many people said they hear statistics was easy... and I believed them. Well, after turning in my class selection sheet, I talked with my current AP Calc teacher. She said only the blabbering fools who had never taken AP Statistics say stats is easy! In fact, she thinks stats is the hardest math class on the campus, way harder than AP Calc 2!

I went back to my friends and told them about this. Sure enough, none of them had taken stats; they said it was easy only because they knew other people who had taken it and said it was easy.

So... my question is, for those of you who have taken AP Calc 2 and AP Stats, which class is easier? And if Stats is harder, is it much harder? Thanks for all the help in advance.

[Twinky]

i can say its a wrong choice, it all depends on your personal effect, i took AP stats and its ok compare to calculus, in my opinion calc will rape you up the ass, but stats are actually easier for me.

[Shinomori]

AP stats was way easier for me.

But my teacher's a dumbass who couldn't tell her own ass from a hole in the ground, so she probably taught it wrong.

Although, she's also the calc teacher...

Ah well, I'm sure they're both harder than they've been made out to be. :)

[II Xion II]

AP Stats was way worse than any Calculus class I ever took.

I still got A's and such, but the teacher was dumbass and the material was a lot more complicated than I had anticipated. It is VERY different from other stuff you'll likely do in school.

I've never heard of AP Calc 2 though! Is that for the AB or BC exam?

Both, I heard, were very hard even with the class, and the AP Stats exam is also supposed to be hard. One of our class' top students drew a pirate ship as the answer to a FRQ on it. :)

Sorry if I scared you.

[Guy]

@Xion: AP Calc 2 is BC. That's what we call it at my high school. Lol @ the student who drew a pirate ship. And don't worry about scarying me, I'm already scared.

Hmm... it seems like even here on Club Bleach the opinion is divided. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to see for myself.

[Jedi Taicho]

Well i would say that AP stats class is easier at my school.
However the AP test was rediculously harder than the class. So if you don't take the AP test then AP stats is the way to go, but if you want to take the AP test then take AP Cal.

[davidn15]

let me tell you something. stats is unbelievably boring. I'm finishing up an intro course in it right now. it's like hell on earth. i swear to god. it isn't hard in the beginning, except a few things here and there. me personally i would take the more challengin course that a college would notice more.

[Rhea]

Yeah stats is damn boring!!! Although in terms of college it really depends on what you wish to study. If your interested in any of the social sciences including psychology, economics etc then stats is a definite. You have to study stats i these courses. Even sociology will require you to have some level of understanding of stats.

Also any business courses require stats so its usefulness is boundless. If you want to persue a scientific career calculus is importan, especially in the area of maths (DUH! I know), chemistry, engineering and all that jazz. It's used in stats anyways with differentiation and regression etc so it should to some extent be covered in your stats course.

I can tell you from experience that stats is a bit of a %&@$ but you either love it or hate it. I really liked calculus when I was in school (not that we had a choice- for our school finals we have to do all areas in maths :()

[Guy]

OK, yeah, I'm probably gonna be a business major. Therefore, regardless of stats being hard or easy, I have to take it, right? So it's more boring than hard?

[Rhea]

Well I know that it was painful to sit through...

It's not that you have to take it but it would certainly be beneficial for you to take it. What area of business?

[Guy]

I'm not sure what area of business yet... probably banking or management of some sort (CEO.... lol, nah, who am I kidding?) OK, so stats will probably help me more in life than calculus, is that what you're saying?

[Rhea]

Yeah I'm looking at my stats book now it's called stats for management and economics lol. I think it will be the more helpful one for your choice. Besides any area of calculus relevant to stats like differentiation and jazz will be covered in the course I assume.

All and all it will be more beneficial for the area you want to go into. Take for example my course- stats was a compulsory aspect of my course (being economics). I know that alot of my friends who did commerce and courses similar had to study it at some stage so yeah in the long run it's more beneficial.

Gosh I babble so much..

[Guy]

Nah, that's ok allcreation. You helped a lot. OK, so in the end, it doens't matter if it's hard or not; for the road I'm taking in life, I HAVE to take it, so I did not make the wrong choice. Thanks.

[Kenta]

In my course at uni, you have to take stats in business for your first year but then you have the option to not ever touch it again. The first ever stats subject is durable but if you're like me (who's ok in math, but don't really like it), don't bother with it. The subsequent stats subjects multiply in difficulty as they infuse more theories and derivations into it that will make your drive you nuts unless you have a passion for that sort of thing. It can easily drag your average down.

[db]

If Calc 2 = Single Variable, its not that hard. I never took stats though. If Calc 2 = Multi Variable which I highly doubt since its pretty much a college/university level (AP doesnt really prepare you for college/university IMO), AVOID! :P

[Guy]

AP Calc 2 is Calc BC. I think AB left off at integration by parts... I don't remember clearly, because by late April, all we did was review for the AP Calc test. I'm assuming BC picks up from where we left off.