Should I take Pre Calc?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I’ve earned As in all of my high school math classes so far (common core versions of Algebra 1 and 2 and Geometry), so I feel as if I don’t have an excuse to not take the highest math class available to me next year, which is Pre Calc.

However, math is not my strong suit and definitely my least preferred subject. A part of me feels my As in my other math classes have been flukes, though I had consistent low to high As on most tests and quizzes. One thing that sways me is my aversion to trig. That was my worst unit, so I’m worried I wouldn’t be successful in Pre Calc.

The other option is to take Advanced Functions and Models (no honors offered), which I feel looks relatively terrible on a transcript. People suffer in Pre Calc, and only very math-oriented people take it.

What are your thoughts?

Here are the paths I could go on.

A: Pre Calc Honors, AP Calculus AB
B: Pre-Calc Honors, AP Stat
C: Advanced Functions and Models, AP Stat
D: Advanced Functions and Models, Intro to College Algebra
E: Advanced Functions and Models, Discrete Math

***FYI, I’m a sophomore.

2

It is generally a good idea to take pre-calculus. I would advise taking so-called “college algebra” (it is mostly just HS algebra), since you probably won’t gain anything, and it doesn’t look great when applying to colleges.

Trig can sometimes be tricky, but a lot of the basic trigonometry topics shouldn’t be too hard if you learn them well.

3

If you have an A in Precalc, take Calc AB; if not, take AP stats and/or Discrete Math. (Discrete Math is useful for CS, so it’s got college uses).

4

I’d start with pre calc for next year, and depending on how that goes, you can later decide whether to do calc of stats the following year.