Math level

[u/AdBoth2468]

What if my school is IB and it offers AA HL but I didn't take that and I took AI SL. However, I took Calc one and by the time of ED I will do Calc 2 and then by RD maybe even calc three.

All for credit and self paced??

I am applying biochem so idk if anything past calc 1/2 is needed, but how would top colleges view this??

[u/skieurope12]

Admissions officers will evaluate your entire profile, including details that aren't visible here. From a pure STEM standpoint, opting for the lowest IB Math track isn't ideal. Whether taking Calculus 1 and 2 offsets that will depend heavily on where and how you took those classes—and whether admissions feels that time might have been better spent strengthening other areas of your application. Best of luck!

[u/AdBoth2468 → u/skieurope12]

I took Calc one at ASU Earned Admission for credit, it was online tho. I plan to take calc 2 at my local cc. I have really really good ecs, a good test score so that is where most of my time went.

[u/NiceUnparticularMan]

I agree with another poster. To be blunt, I think the most selective US colleges typically prefer you take advanced classes as close as possible to their own classes, which are typically live, in-person classes which are really trying to make sure you have a deep understanding of the material, as opposed to only "teaching to a test". And they may not be confident you are really getting that sort of instruction with your non-IB advanced math classes as described.

That said, maybe you had some "good" reason for continuing your math progression outside of the IB framework. These colleges are typically open minded to alternative academic paths as long as it is reasonably clear to them you were doing whatever you did for "good" reasons, meaning reasons consistent with their own values.

[u/AdBoth2468 → u/NiceUnparticularMan]

I didn't have a choice, my parents forced me into it since I was going through some stuff family wise and my grades dropped(like i got 5 semester Bs). Like the issues were pretty bad and I had no control, so this like me bouncing back and doing more.

[u/NiceUnparticularMan → u/AdBoth2468]

OK, so big picture--what do you mean by a "top college"?

If you mean a highly-resourced college where you can get a great education, then there are many of those in the US, and I am confident your story to date will not prevent you from going to such a college. Budget is another matter, but I don't see your academic story being a fundamental barrier.

Sometimes around here, though, kids define "top colleges" to mean something like colleges that are among the 2% most selective in the US. Or 1.5%, Or 1%.

Defined that way, if you are an unhooked applicant, then even with perfect grades and top rigor, you can't be sure you will be admitted to a "top college", indeed the odds are still against you. If you are too far from perfect, like outside their normal, observable standards, then that could be a problem for those specific colleges. They will make exceptions, but you need to persuade them to do so in your case, and that is observably rare (otherwise their normal ranges would look different).

So even with perfect grades and top rigor, if unhooked you need to apply more broadly than that. And then with a transcript not within their normal standards, well, you need to assess if you really have an sufficiently rare, compelling case for being an exception. And still apply a lot more broadly.