Should You Take AP Statistics or AP Calculus?

Trying to decide if you should take AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, or AP Stats? Choosing which AP classes to take is a challenge for many high school students, and deciding which AP math class is best can be especially difficult. It doesn't help that AP Calc and AP Stats focus on two entirely different types of math, one of which is likely to come more naturally to you. (Having two AP Calc classes to choose between doesn't make it easier either!)

So, AP Calculus or AP Stats? How can you make the right decision? We're here to help! This guide breaks down what each math class covers and will help you decide which you may find easier and which may be more useful for your future major and career. Let's get started!

Why Is Choosing the Right AP Math Class Important?

You might be wondering if choosing between AP Calculus or AP Stats is really an important decision. It's just one class, and since they're both math classes, it can't make that big of a difference, right? Actually, as you'll learn in this article, AP Stats and AP Calculus cover hugely different topics. This means that there's one you'll likely find easier than the other. Especially if you're not a huge fan of math, choosing an AP math class that doesn't suit your strengths can make for a frustrating and stressful school year. 

Even after you graduate high school, the right AP math class can set you up for success in college and beyond. If you score well on the AP exam for a math class related to your college major, you may get college credit for it. This can save you money and free up time in your schedule. And if you plan to use calculus or statistics in your career, getting those skills in high school will help you set up a strong foundation of knowledge for the future.

So there are a lot of benefits to being thoughtful about which AP math class to take! In order to make the right choice with AP Stats or Calculus, you'll need to have a good understanding of what each course covers and how that relates to your academic strengths and career goals. We focus on that in the rest of this article.

What Is AP Statistics Like?

Let's dive into AP Stats first. AP Statistics teaches students how to collect, analyze, and interpret data. It emphasizes real-world applications and critical thinking over abstract math concepts. The course applies mathematics to practical problems, such as analyzing survey results, studying population trends, and making business forecasts. Students learn how to interpret numbers in meaningful ways and communicate their findings effectively.

The AP Stats curriculum has nine units:

• Unit 1: Exploring One-Variable Data
• Unit 2: Exploring Two-Variable Data
• Unit 3: Collecting Data
• Unit 4: Probability, Random Variables, and Probability Distributions
• Unit 5: Sampling Distributions
• Unit 6: Inference for Categorical Data: Proportions
• Unit 7: Inference for Quantitative Data: Means
• Unit 8: Inference for Categorical Data: Chi-Square
• Unit 9: Inference for Quantitative Data: Slopes

The AP Stats exam is a total of three hours long and contains two sections: multiple choice and free response. You're allowed a graphing calculator for the entire exam.

What Is AP Calculus Like?

To start, there are two AP Calculus classes, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC.  According to the College Board, students in an AP Calculus course will "cultivate their understanding of differential and integral calculus through engaging with real-world problems represented graphically, numerically, analytically, and verbally and using definitions and theorems to build arguments and justify conclusions as they explore concepts like change, limits, and the analysis of functions." The courses build on skills and knowledge you learned in algebra, geometry, and (especially) precalculus. 

If you decide you want to take an AP Calc course, we have an entire article dedicated to helping you pick the right one. Basically, AP Calculus AB is the equivalent of one semester of a college-level calculus class, while AP Calculus BC is the equivalent of two semesters of college-level calculus. Because of this, the two cover much of the same material, but AP Calc BC moves at a faster pace and includes some topics AP Calc AB doesn't. If you're struggling with which class to choose, you can ask your precalculus teacher and/or guidance counselor for their opinion but, in general, we recommend AP Calculus BC only to students who did well (grade B or higher both semesters) in precalculus and generally felt confident throughout the class. The Calc BC pace and depth will make it hard to excel if you struggled in precalculus.

These are the topics covered in the AP Calc classes; the bold topics are only taught in AP Calc BC (AP Calc BC also includes some additional topics in Units 6-8 that aren't covered in AP Calc AB):

• Unit 1: Limits and Continuity
• Unit 2: Differentiation: Definition and Fundamental Properties
• Unit 3: Differentiation: Composite, Implicit, and Inverse Functions
• Unit 4: Contextual Applications of Differentiation
• Unit 5: Analytical Applications of Differentiation
• Unit 6: Integration and Accumulation of Change
• Unit 7: Differential Equations
• Unit 8: Applications of Integration
• Unit 9: Parametric Equations, Polar Coordinates, and Vector-Valued Functions
• Unit 10: Infinite Sequences and Series

To succeed in either AP Calculus course, the College Board recommends that you've already taken courses in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, and elementary functions.

Both AP Calculus exams have the same format. The entire exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long. The first section contains 45 multiple-choice questions and accounts for 50% of your total AP score. The second section contains six free-response questions and makes up the other 50% of your total score. Both sections are further divided into a section that requires a graphing calculator and a section that doesn't allow calculators.

Should I Take AP Stats or AP Calculus? 5 Factors to Consider and 1 to Ignore

Choosing the right math classes in high school can be a difficult decision. If you're struggling to decide between AP Calculus or AP Stats, there are five important factors to take into consideration, as well as one factor you absolutely don't need to worry about.

#1: What Are Your Career Goals?

For most people, the most important consideration in deciding between AP Calculus or AP Stats is which course better matches your academic/career goals. For students who plan on majoring in a STEM field, AP Calculus may be the better choice. Most STEM majors require at least one calculus course to graduate, so you could fulfill part or all of this requirement before you even start college. However, some STEM majors need to take statistics in college as well, so you may want to take AP Stats to feel better prepared for that course. If you have a good idea of what college(s) you're most interested in and what you want to major in, you can look into the degree requirements for those majors and what AP credits those schools accept. Then you'll be able to see if taking one class over the other could give you college credit and/or help fulfill your graduation requirements.

If you plan on majoring in a non-STEM field, like business, humanities, social sciences, etc. AP Stats is often the better class to take. Many social science and business degrees require one or more statistics classes as part of their graduation requirements. AP Statistics can give you a head start, either by fulfilling part or all of this requirement or helping prepare you for the statistics courses you'll take in college. AP Stats is also more relevant for these fields. Social science and business careers frequently require data analysis, survey interpretation, or other statistical skills. The material you cover in AP Statistics will provide practical skills that will help you excel in these fields.

What if you aren't sure what you want to major in? AP Statistics and the skills it teaches are more relevant to a larger number of majors and career fields, so that may be your better option.

Note that, if you're, say, planning on majoring in political science but really want to take AP Calculus, that's totally fine. These aren't hard and fast rules; they're just suggestions if you're struggling to decide which class to take. No class will be a "waste" regardless of what you end up studying. Keep reading for other factors to consider. 

#2: Which Class Will You Do Better In?

As we mentioned earlier, AP Stats and AP Calculus cover very different types of math, and one will often play to your own individual academic strengths more than the other.

AP Stats teaches students how to apply math to practical problems, such as analyzing survey results, studying population trends, or making business forecasts. The course focuses on understanding and interpreting patterns in data, and you'll spend a lot of time analyzing trends, reviewing experiments, and drawing conclusions based on evidence. If you like logical reasoning and working with real-world problems, you may especially enjoy AP Stats. Additionally, if you struggled with algebra, geometry, and/or precalculus classes, especially how abstract they felt, you may feel much more comfortable with AP Stats because so much of it is tied to problems relevant to everyday life.

Students who have struggled with math classes in general also often find statistics more enjoyable and manageable because it's quite different from the pre-algebra→algebra→geometry/trignometry track they've been on up until then. While the course does require critical thinking, it emphasizes applied mathematics rather than heavy computations. On another note, you're allowed to use a calculator for the entire AP Statistics exam, while you can only use it for half of the AP Calculus exams, so that may be another factor to consider.

AP Calculus covers topics that are much more abstract than AP Stats. Both AP Calc courses are designed to deepen your understanding of mathematical functions. They focus heavily on problem-solving and analytical thinking, and they build on knowledge you've learned in your algebra, geometry, and precalculus classes. If you like theoretical math like functions, limits, and sequences, and/or you did well in your other high school math classes, AP Calculus may be the better choice for you.

#3: Do You Have the Prerequisites Needed for Calculus?

One significant difference between AP Statistics and AP Calculus (both courses) is that, generally, you only need to have taken algebra before taking AP Stats (some high schools require Algebra 1 and 2, some only require Algebra 1). However, you'll need to have taken multiple prerequisites to do well in AP Calculus. It's generally recommended to have taken algebra (both Algebra 1 and Algebra 2), geometry, and precalculus before calculus. If you haven't taken/don't plan on taking those classes, you likely won't even be able to enroll in an AP Calculus class. Also, if you've taken those classes and hated them or really struggled with them, AP Stats may be the better option, as an AP Calculus course will only build on the knowledge of those previous classes while being more difficult and faster-paced.

#4: How Much Time Can You Devote to the Class?

Whichever AP math class you end up taking, you'll also be taking a full course load of other classes at the same time, and you'll likely have extracurriculars, friendships, potentially a job, and other demands on your time. Be honest with yourself about how much time you'll be able to spend studying for this one class. AP Calculus (particularly AP Calc BC) generally has more homework and requires more studying than AP Statistics because of the pace and depth of the course. If your schedule is already jam-packed, you may not want to add a particularly challenging AP math to it.

#5: What Do Your Classmates Say About the Courses?

The quality of your AP math teacher can be the difference between acing the AP exam or failing it. If you're unsure of which class to take, a great deciding factor can be the opinions of students at your school who've taken one or both of the classes. Did they find it a lot easier/harder than they expected? What was the homework load like? Did they like the teacher? Did they feel prepared for the AP exam?

Talk to other students about how they like their AP math classes. Older siblings and their friends, as well as older friends from clubs and sports, are a good place to start. Don't trust student word-of-mouth entirely, but if you hear similar comments from multiple people, it's probably true. Also, ask your guidance counselor about the teachers' AP test passing rates if they've been teaching the class for a while. If they have a high passing rate (above the national average) that's a good sign. If one of the teachers has a markedly lower pass rate, you might want to consider taking the other AP math class.

Factor to Ignore: Which Will Impress Colleges More?

Students often worry about choosing the most "impressive" high school classes, especially AP classes. So you might be trying to figure out which class will look better on your transcript. However, the truth is, college admissions teams rarely look at classes in a vacuum. When they see a particular class on your transcript, they'll look at how it fits with your other courses (are you taking a lot of math and science classes, or leaning more on the humanities/social sciences?), what grade you got in the class, and, if you provided your AP scores, how you scored on the AP exam, among other factors. 

AP Calculus is sometimes thought to be one of the more "impressive" AP classes to have on your transcript because both Calc AB and Calc BC teach a lot of challenging material. It's true that, if you plan on majoring in STEM, colleges will like the proof that good grades in AP Calc give that you can excel in higher-level math classes. However, the truth is that an AP class that you do well in (both in terms of grades and the AP exam) will always be an asset on your transcript, regardless of what specific AP class it is. If you feel AP Stats better matches your personal strengths and/or career goals, then it's likely the better class for you to take.

Wait! Can You Take Both Classes?

Of course! There's no rule that you can only take AP Calculus or AP Stats. Most students only take one or the other because taking both would often require them to take two math classes at the same time, which can be difficult to fit in a schedule and create a lot of homework, especially for people who don't particularly enjoy math. However, if you have the room in your schedule and you want to take both, go for it! You'll be able to take AP Calculus after you've completed precalculus, which for most students isn't until their junior or senior year.

AP Statistics typically doesn't have prerequisites, so you may be able to take it earlier, such as sophomore year. You can also take both classes your senior year if that works with your schedule. The types of math they cover are different enough that you won't feel like you're going over the same material in both classes.

Summary: Should I Take AP Stats or Calculus?

AP Statistics and AP Calculus are two courses students have the option of taking in high school. AP Stats emphasizes analyzing data and solving practical problems while AP Calculus focuses more on abstract math concepts like limits, derivatives, integrals, and how functions change over time.

AP Stats may be the better choice for you if:

• You plan on majoring in humanities/business/social sciences or you aren't sure what you want to major in
• You prefer math that's more related to real-world situations
• You didn't feel confident in/enjoy your algebra/geometry/pre-calculus classes
• The class and teacher at your school seem good (no obvious red flags in terms of student word-of-mouth or AP test passing rate)

AP Calculus may be the better choice for you if:

• You plan on majoring in a STEM field
• You enjoyed/did well in your algebra, geometry, and precalculus classes
• The class and teacher at your school seem good
• You have the time/motivation to take an AP math class known for being particularly time-consuming in terms of homework and studying

Whether you choose AP Statistics or AP Calculus, both courses offer valuable skills and knowledge that'll benefit you in high school and beyond. 

What's Next?

Have you decided to take AP Calculus? You'll need to know what the test is like! Check out our in-depth guides to the AP Calculus AB and the AP Calculus BC exams.

Is AP Statistics hard? It depends on a lot of factors, but after reading our guide, you'll have an accurate answer on how difficult you can expect AP Stats to be!

Wondering how challenging other AP classes will be? Learn what the easiest AP classes are and what the hardest AP classes are so that you're prepared!