Advice on choosing a calculus course

I was looking at other users' questions and their answers to see how others went forward after precalculus.  It would be interesting to hear what path you took and what advice you can share about your experiences.  Our twins are working on precalculus at this time and will soon be in the same situation that you were last year at this time.

From what I gather from about a dozen questions/comments I've reviewed is that it's best to proceed next to AP Calculus AB or BC.  Presumably, as one moved forward in AB percentage credits would also accrue in BC.  I recall that by the time the twins finished Algebra-2 and Trigonometry that there was about some amount of percentage credit already showing in precalculus

I've also read that there are no mastery challenges available in Calculus 01 and 02. However, that comment was over 5 years old, so I'm not certain whether or not that information is still correct.  If that's still accurate, the lack of a mastery challenge within Calculus 01 and 02 would lean heavily in favor of choosing AP Calculus AB or BC.

One of the comments from a KA staff member stated that AP Calculus BC was more "rigorous" than Calculus 01 and 02.  However, on other websites I've often read the opposite view from university students who are taking Calculus 01 and 02.  So, I'm not certain how to interpret the sum of these inapposite comments.  If university Calculus 01 and 02 are only semester-long courses then it could be that university students would find that short time period to be much more demanding of their time. However, that meaning isn't exactly the same as "thorough, exhaustive and complete" which is the dictionary definition of "rigorous".

So we're off to AP Calculus AB next!  If the percentage credit registers simultaneously with AP Calculus BC, then we might just continue on with BC.

I hope that you will revisit your comment and share your story about what you experienced!

Hi John, my situation is a bit different as I am not a student, I'm just using Khan Academy to learn mathematics for fun. From what I heard, the courses titled simply "Differential calculus" and "Integral Calculus" contain everything that Khan Academy has to offer on these topics including whatever is covered in the AB and BC courses. So I proceeded with these courses. I have completed "Differential Calculus" and am almost done with "Integral Calculus". The "Calculus 1 and 2" courses do have mastery levels and the mastery actually carries over to other courses if there is an overlap in topics. I can confirm that when I check the mastery levels in " AP Calculus BC" and the "Calculus 1/2" courses, there is nothing I missed out on and all my mastery from the "Differential/Integral Calculus" are at the same level, meaning the courses that I did are indeed the complete thorough courses that Khan Academy has to offer. If your children are about to head to college soon and are going to be enrolling in a STEM-related course, I would recommend they do either Calculus BC or the courses simply titled "Differential /  Integral Calculus", they are almost exactly the same but the latter probably covers a few things that are not required in the AP Calculus curriculum but will certainly be useful in further education. Hope this was helpful.

Thanks, Aug. I'm doing the same as you. Just finished the precal course and I was looking where to go next. Based on your advice, I'll go with Differential Calculus.