Taking Trigonometry over the summer instead of Pre Calc ?..

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Before I say anything related to the title, let me just start off by letting you guys get to know me a little. If you really don't care, then you can just skip straight down to where I continue on with my trig over pre-calc question :)</p>

<p>Right now, I'm currently a sophomore in high school, 15 years old, and I'm in the process of choosing what my classes will be for my junior year. As of this school year, I am currently taking : Spanish 1-2, AP World History, Honors Chemistry, Acc. English 3-4, and Acc. Intermediate Algebra .
* Just FYI, these are the most rigorous courses offered by my school at this grade level. My school in general is honestly not very competitive when it comes to academics, (barely anyone is involved in clubs/ activities that take place on campus, most don't care about school/ grades/ college, etc.) </p>

<p>Recently, I spoke to my counselor about my current standing w/in my school, in terms of where I rank amongst other sophomores, and it turns out I'm ranked as one of the top 10 students out of 800. So far, my unweighted GPA is a 3.88, and in terms of weighted, I have a 4.20. I'm aiming towards getting accepted into UCLA in the future, and pretty confident in saying that I think have a good chance of getting in when I apply. The reason why I say this is because I always take the most rigorous classes and receive almost always an A in each of them, and I've been playing on the Girls' Tennis Team since I was a freshman, which I plan to do all 4 years (I also plan on maybe joining my school's badminton team next year, but I'm not so sure yet) . Also, since I haven't really gotten into any volunteer work yet, I'm trying to get started on regularly volunteering at my church and old elementary. I'm also trying to apply for some summer work jobs, just so I can gain some work experience ....</p>

<p>BUT ON WITH THE QUESTION ! Basically, the only prerequisite for jumping into AP Calculus at my school is taking Algebra 2, w/ trigonometry. With this said, I'm being given the option to take a trig class over the summer at my local community college, and afterwards, taking AP Calc as a junior, and maybe AP Statistics, senior year. I've heard many things about Pre-Calc, like how it is somewhat slightly more difficult, or complex, than actual Calculus itself, and that it's not actually "necessary" ... I really don't know if this is true or not, but for now, I somewhat believe it. I've already chosen my classes for my junior year, and I chose: AP English Lang/ Comp, Honors Pre-Calc ( just in case) , Honors US History, Anatomy/ Physiology, and Spanish 3-4. I was hesitant to choose Honors US History over APUSH, but truthfully speaking, history is my weakest subject, but I am strong in Math and English courses. I also chose a regular science course over APES, just because it really doesn't interest me, and I don't feel like forcing myself to take it just to "look good". </p>

<p>ANYWAYS, all I want to know, is your thoughts on the competitiveness and difficulty of the classes I chose for my junior year, whether or not I should just skip Pre-Calculus and take trigonometry over the summer instead to take AP Calc as a junior, and also if I should take 3 years of Spanish ( don't really want to, but is recommended for the UCs..) . THANK YOU ! :)</p>

<p>*ALSO, I know SAT/ ACT scores are pretty important too, but I'm already preparing for both now, I plan on scoring a 2000+ on the SAT, and at least a 34 on the ACT ...</p>

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<p>I love your attitude by the way. Also Pre-Calculus is an advanced math class that teaches the students the math and the way of thinking to manipulate in an actual Calculus class. There’s no Calculus in Pre-Calculus at all, maybe limits, but that’s only scratching the surface. In my school you have to take Pre-Calculus in order to take any Calculus class. In my Junior year, I plan on taking Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus IA & IB Senior year. It’s just like Pre-Algebra. Pre-Algebra enables you to learn the math and create a way of thinking to get ready of Algebra I. </p>

<p>In some schools Pre-Calculus is sometimes called Algebra III, or Algebra & Trigonometry. At my school we have a Algebra III class that prepares students for Pre-Calculus. Pre-Calculus is indeed a hard class and maybe harder than the actual Calculus class. You can take Trigonometry and skip Pre-Calculus but I wouldn’t know how that will affect your learning in a Calculus class. If your school recommends you take Algebra II to take Calculus then go ahead and take Trig. In my opinion, Pre-Calculus would be ideal.</p>

<p>Overall, I like your schedule and remember it’s not always about competitiveness. It’s about taking the hardest classes YOU can and get good grades in them. Having all A’s is really great, and having A’s and B’s here and there is also good. Also if the college you want to go recommends you do something, go ahead to and do it.</p>