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AP Calculus vs Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University from Distance Calculus


Video: Skip (or Not Pass) The AP® Calculus Exam?

Are you thinking about skipping the AP® Calculus exam? Or perhaps you took the AP® Calculus exam AB or BC, but you did not score a high enough grade to earn college credits at your new college or university? Distance Calculus is an excellent option to consider for taking the next set of classes - Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and/or Probability Theory (Calculus-Based Statistics), and skipping over the AP® Calculus AB (Calculus I) and BC (Calculus II) course structures.

Video: Distance Calculus - After AP® Calculus

Have you completed the AP® Calculus AB and/or BC course? Many high school students complete these AP Calculus courses during their junior year, leaving their senior year without any math courses. One idea to consider is taking the second-year Distance Calculus courses during your high school senior year, to further your math requirement completions. Many high school seniors take Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and/or Probability Theory (Calculus-Based Statistics), with some students finishing all of their calculus requirements before they start at their new college/university as freshman!

What About AP® Calculus?

If you are a high school student, you may be faced with the challenge of the AP - Advanced Placement - Calculus Exam administered by The College Board.

After taking your high school calculus course, you are able to earn college credit by passing the AB Calculus and/or BC Calculus exams.

Distance Calculus is a calculus course, and is roughly equivalent - in terms of the calculus topics covered - to your high school calculus course, much the same way any Calculus I course at any college or university is roughly equivalent to your high school calculus course.

Unlike your high school calculus course, when you complete a Distance Calculus course, you do not have to take an additional examination to receive college credit - you EARN college credit by completing the Distance Calculus course!

So, in this big huge regard, completing a Distance Calculus course is better than completing your high school calculus course, because upon completion, you get real university credits for a real university course rather than having to take an extra (high pressure, high stakes) examination.

Are There Advantages To Taking the AP Exam Over Distance Calculus?

Many high schools reward students for taking AP Calculus and passing the AP Calculus exam via "extra grade points", thus potentially inflating your G.P.A. beyond a "4.0". Your high school may allow for this, others do not. You should check with your high school counselor to see if such "rewards" apply.

Students who are seeking academic-based scholarships are keen to maximize their G.P.A. in all ways possible. If your high school provides for increasing your G.P.A. via taking AP-level courses and passing the AP exams, and you need to maximize your G.P.A. in this way, then it is obvious that you need to follow the AP course and exam path, rather than Distance Calculus.

Will Distance Calculus Prepare Me For the AP Calculus Exam?

In some ways: Yes. In other ways: No.

Distance Calculus will teach you the academic content in Calculus I, II, etc. In this way, Distance Calculus will prepare you for the AP Calculus exam by teaching you the topics in calculus that will be on these exams.

Commonly, AP Calculus courses in high schools have a significant component - usually the last 2 months of the course - where the focus is on exam prep. Distance Calculus does not have an "exam prep" component to aid those students wishing to take the AP Calculus Exam.

There are many great "exam prep" services out there, including HyperLearning, Kaplan, and The Princeton Review. These services can be "pricey", but these companies are experts in coaching students on preparing for these exams.

Distance Calculus does not offer these services. If you need AP Calculus exam prep, we recommend hiring the services of one of these companies.

Of course, if you complete your calculus coursework via Distance Calculus in high school, and you do not need (or are not allowed) to amplify your G.P.A. with AP courses and exams, you do not NEED to take the AP Calculus exam, because you will (upon successful completion of a Distance Calculus course) earn real university credits without the AP exam.




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Distance Calculus - Student Reviews

Louisa A.★★★★★
Posted: Dec 9, 2019
Courses Completed: Calculus I
My microeconomics class required college-level calculus as a prerequisite, and I didn't want to wait until next year to take the class. So, I took DC's Calculus I class over the summer, so I could register for econ when I got back to school this fall. I actually think I got more help taking the class online than I would have in the huge lecture classes here. Prof. Curtis was really clear in explaining concepts and talking me through the topics that I was having trouble with. It took me about 10 weeks to finish the class, which didn't seem too long and didn't feel rushed. My friends who are in calculus now, trying to finish the prereq, are pretty jealous!
Aiden B.★★★★☆
Posted: May 6, 2025
Courses Completed: Calculus II, Multivariable Calculus
Is the course perfect? No. However, it was by far the best option available. I have learned quite a few things not normally taught in a Calculus course. However, the course lacks a lot of paper solving and integrating, which is to be expected in an online course.
Karen N.★★★★★
Posted: Feb 28, 2020
Courses Completed: Calculus I, Calculus II
Awesome classes! I was really weak with Calculus, so I retook Calc 1 and kept going into Calc 2. I feel like I finally understood Calculus. The finals were pretty thorough, but not nearly as stressful as the blue book exams. I highly recommend these courses!
Transferred Credits To: Various
Ryan★★★★★
Posted: Aug 28, 2026
Courses Completed: Finite Math
I will preface this review by saying that if you are looking to take the easiest course possible, cheat through it, and learn as little as possible, this is not the course for you. Below, I will provide my uncensored opinions to this course:

First, this course uses software called LiveMath. This software can be a little bit challenging to get the hang of, but once you do get the hang of it, it's super easy. Remember that for all new things, it takes a bit to get used to it. Overall, I was highly satisfied with this course. I thought that the instructions were extremely detailed, including a video and a textbook explaining every different concept. In addition, this course offered exposure to a lot of different aspects of finite math. I think that many would agree with me on the following, that, you know, when a teacher is passionate about what they are teaching, it is so much more enjoyable, and you can definitely see that in this course. This course can be challenging at times. Maybe it'll be easy for you, maybe it'll be hard, but I think it's important to remember that the things that challenge us are, you know, the things that make us learn and the things that make us better. There's also a math chat option for if you need help or if you have any questions. Overall, I would recommend this course. I actually initially went into this course looking for an easy course to just help me get the credit requirements, but it ended up being an amazing learning experience and completely shifted my perspective on math overall. And another thing that I thought was great in this course is throughout so many different lectures, the professor would explain how each different thing can be applicable in life. And I think that, you know, that is a lot of what people think about when they are learning something. They're like, will I ever use this? Do I need to learn this? And a lot of this actually is really applicable. And I think that even if, you know, you may not be doing these math equations in your future, I think that, you know, the psychology behind these and the rules can be applied to so many different fuacets of life.
Transferred Credits To: GWU
Aiden B.★★★★★
Posted: Jul 29, 2026
Courses Completed: Calculus II, Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra
After completing all the math offered by my highschool, I switched over to Roger Williams for Calculus II and onward. Overall, it has been a pretty great way to understand the topics online, with transferrable college credits. The exams are not terrible, and the courses cover the vast majority (if not all) of topics covered by traditional courses, with some unique ones added to. So far, I have taken four courses, with another one or two before I graduate.

The only problem with the course is the lack of pen and paper work. This shouldn't come as a crazy surprise with an online course, but there is not much emphasis on symbolic computation. Mathematica or other software does most of the heavy computation for you. The lectures usually show how to solve the problems through paper, but those skills are rarely put into practice. Literacy Sheets act as a way to do some of that (especially with the Calculus II & III course).

All in all, this isn't a huge issue. I just memorize and practice things like double integration, Laplace, ODE solving, matrix diagonalized form, row operations, etc. With a little outside work, this resolves itself. Without Roger WIlliams, I probably would not have been able to take any of these math courses in highschool.

So overall, a great choice for highschool advanced math, especially with transferrable credits.
Email: abarger@protonmail.com
Lucas L.★★★★★
Posted: Jun 25, 2026
Courses Completed: Multivariable Calculus
The professor as well as the TAs give great feedback when you need help with problems and the videos are great at explaining concepts. Return time on work is good and the work is not too much to handle.
Transferred Credits To: University of Wisconsin

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Distance Calculus - Freshman Courses
Freshman Mathematics Courses
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Hours
Distance Calculus - Soph Courses
Sophomore Mathematics Courses
Semester
Credit
Hours
Distance Calculus - Lower Courses
General Mathematics Courses
Semester
Credit
Hours
Mathematics Major Courses
Semester
Credit
Hours
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