I am new to this site, hopefully I am doing this correctly.
So I am currently a high school sophomore deciding on courses for junior year. I go to a moderately competitive high school in the Bay Area in CA, and I am interested in the biotechnology/ research science/ biomedical engineering fields as a future career ( I love science ).
My main problem is math. I took algebra 1 in freshman year and completely aced that class, so I qualified and felt comfortable entering geometry/algebra 2- Trig Accelerated for my sophomore year. But I don’t know if it’s the fast pace, or my terrible teacher, or maybe I just naturally suck at math, but I’m not doing that well in this course. I study so hard, practice so much, but I get like c’s on my tests.
For math junior year, I have 2 options: algebra 2- Trig/ precalculus Accelerated, or I can take it easy by taking regular algebra 2 Trig. I really want to drop into regular, but that comes with a catch: I can’t take ap calculus or even regular calculus in high school, because I can make it only to precalculus in senior year. If I do take Accelerated, then I can make it to calculus senior year.
But the Accelerated course is really hard, and I don’t know if I will be able to pass the class, but I do want to take calculus in high school, so ugh I am super conflicted.
What do you guys recommend I do? How important is it to take calculus for a STEM major in biology or biomedical engineering? I am definitely taking APUSH, AP Biology, and AP Physics 1 already for junior year, and I want to get into a UC, especially UC Davis or UCLA.
Thanks so much for reading this. I appreciate any response.
Yes, you will almost surely need to take the more demanding math sequence to have a reasonable chance for UC Davis or UCLA. Seek outside tutoring and use web-based resources like Khan Academy, e.g. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/precalculus
Colleges in general expect you to get through Pre-calc in HS. The curriculums start with Calc 1 in college.
However, if you want to go into engineering, most students who apply to top colleges have taken Calc 1.
But there are 2500+ 4 year colleges in the USA, there is one for you.
But for now: get at tutor. Go to your teacher’s office hours. Do extra practice on Khan academy.
Thanks for your advice. However, my main issue is that I literally study for hours before a test, which is worth 80% of the grade. But somehow I screw up in the test, and I don’t know what to do about that. For my last test I studied and practiced every single problem in the textbook, for several days before the test. I also used YouTube and khan academy. But I got a C. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, I have a tutor. my math teacher doesn’t know math and sucks at teaching, so I can’t ask her for help. I always feel like I get the concepts and feel great going into the test. Then I get my results and mentally die. If I am failing this Accelerated course, then I will do much worse in the next Accelerated course, because I know people who have literally failed that course and have to go to summer school. What can I do to improve in math?
Sorry about this long rant, and I’m very conflicted at this moment.
I would not do accelerated then. I would buy a book such as trigonometry for dummies or a similar condensed book with the rules spelled out in a condensed format. You have to memorize the trig functions backwards and forwards. You have to know them cold like multiplication and division. You need a solid handle on this for the next level of math.
It is not unreasonable to do Alg 2/Trig over the summer. Does your school offer credit by exam? Would you possibly be able to test into Pre-calc next year if you completed Alg 2 on your own time? Sounds like you would be fine doing some self study as you are willing to put in hard work.
This is the problem. You need to figure this out. Is it test anxiety? is it because you don’t really understand the subject? is it because you’re working too slowly? You tutor should be able to help answer this question. If not, look for another tutor.
Thank you all for your helpful and considerate responses. I am really sorry for this 2 month late reply as I wasn’t able to get on collegeconfidential due to school (yay it’s finally summer). So yes I decided to drop out of Accelerated math, and I am also considering against engineering due to it possibly not being my passion. Thank you all for taking the time to help me!