I’m a rising sophomore and my math class for this year is going to be geometry. I know kids in my grade who are going to be taking precalculus and a few are even going to be in AP calculus. Most of the kids taking geometry are freshmen and I feel really stupid compared to my peers. In general, I’m not the best at math and I’m more interested in subjects such as Spanish, English, and history. With my current math track, I can only get to precalculus honors in senior year. I really want to become a doctor and I heard that to be a doctor, you have to be strong at biology and physics(which requires knowledge of calculus.) I live in California so is it better just to apply to a UC or CSU?
Is it absolutely necessary? No. Will the vast majority of applicants have at least Calc AB? Yes. And you will have had to take calculus as a prerequisite for med school.
" I live in California so is it better just to apply to a UC or CSU? "
probably.
Not having a great SAT math score
[700+], which may result from not taking a hi level math course before you graduate means your chances , realistically, of getting into a tip top college that rejects 90%+ of all applicants are minimal at best.
Best to concentrate on doing the best you can GPA wise over the next 2 years and make sure that you take ALL the A-G level classes required by the UC’s/ SCU’s.
The OP may not have much choice, due to his/her math placement in middle school. It would probably look worse if the OP were a year advanced in math and on track to take calculus in 12th grade, but chose not to do so after taking precalculus in 11th grade.