@MannyG1 take a look at the College of Wooster. The students there do serious research and a major capstone project.
Also you may not be aware that you can major in anything as long as you fulfill the premed sequence. If you want to major in English or history or whatever- ok.
Yeah I knew that was a thing just wasn’t sure how big of an impact it could have, and I’ll definitely take a look at Wooster.
@MannyG1 Our school’s math teacher recommends BYU Online (Brigham Young University) online course to satisfy the precalculus requirement over the summer for students who want to take Calculus as a Junior or Senior (it is considered to be fairly challenging and a number of students have pursued it so they can take Calc2 or higher). There are two courses Pre-Calc 1&2, cost about $150-170 each (plus textbook fees). It was explained to me that the grade does not appear on the transcript at our school (but please double check with your school) but it would allow a student to enroll in Calculus (they still require a placement exam at our private school, which is in the SW btw, to confirm the student was sufficiently prepared). The fees may make it prohibitive. Maybe someone on CC has taken this course and can speak to it from personal experience. Just a suggestion to consider.
@cafe9999 Thank you for the suggestion I will definitely look into it.
^Since your high school is low-performing (aka average ACT 18) AND some of the precalculus students got a horrible background due to the teacher, I assume the AP Calculus class will start slowly and will review some precalculus, so I think you could get away with just Part 1 of a very rigorous precalc1+2 sequence. Even if you don’t have precalc on your transcript, being enrolled in calculus and getting grades of B or higher would definitely demonstrate that D in precalc was a fluke and not representative of your work ethics or your ability.
(I’m also guessing there aren’t too many students enrolled in calculus, so that having one more student willing to enroll is likely to be welcomed.)
Also, I’m wondering if you could borrow the calculus textbook from the school library over the summer, if they have one, to decrease costs.
I’ll definitely try to take AP Calculus I doubt they can say no since technically I took pre calculus, even if it was just a semester (School is pretty adamant about taking pre requisites for AP bio,chem, and calc). I’m sure I’ll be able to self teach myself some basics over the summer. My only concern is that my course load will be pretty heavy.
So for clarity, by taking AP calculus and doing well in it , it shows colleges that the pre calculus grade is an outlier and not a representation of my ability, correct?
^exactly.
Good news, I was able to drop AP Environmental for AP calculus. Sadly I can’t take that AP class now.
Is it offered in the time period that stats is? I know you like science and it must have been hard to lose it.
Have you mentally chosen which teachers you would like to write recommendation letters for you? By the time school get out for the summer, approach them and ask if they would feel comfortable with that. Start by scheduling a long chat (if school bus schedules allow) about what you are looking for in a college, where you want to go in life, your volunteer work, your job, your determination to go to college, first in family to go to college, etc.
If they say yes, follow up with an email that reemphasizes what you want them to know.
Then in the fall stop in and talk about how the summer went giving them an anecdote or two from your volunteering.
I am brainstorming - I wonder if that synapsis could become the basis for a form letter you could send to admissions representatives, adding in college specific information at the end. For example closing an email to the Wooster rep with " I am very interested in the research capstone that every student at Wooster completes. Do you think I am the right type of student for Wooster? Do you have any additional advice for me?"
One of my life’s maxim’s I passed on to my kids is “Everyone likes to give advice.”
Sadly no, so I’m taking stats and AP calculus next year.
I have 3 teachers who will right me meaningful letters. They are in different subjects too, English, Science, and History. I already asked them in preparation for next year.
more things to put in a folder until Thanksgiving of freshman year:
https://people.rit.edu/gtfsbi/Symp/mcoop.htm
https://people.rit.edu/~gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm
https://people.rit.edu/~gtfsbi/Symp/firstyear.htm
https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5047
http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/Programs.aspx
https://cbs.umn.edu/lssurp/home My daughter did this
Applications generally close Jan- Feb.
If you are more interested in having internships during college, I can recommend INROADS.
From my post in the Hispanic students sub forum:
My husband was a member of INROADS which matches college students with businesses for paid scholarships. For him they did a terrific job of exposing him to interesting workplaces, quality internship work, and having a job offer as he graduated from college. He ended up taking a job in a different city but INROADS experiences had given him the skills he needed. Recently I know of a student from our rural area who was able to join INROADS in the city where his college was located. He is now working for the company where he interned. I am pretty sure this student was DACA but not 100%.
COLLEGE PROGRAM
The college program is for students interested in the fields of Business, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering (STEM), Supply Chain Management, Computer Science/MIS, Healthcare, Retail Management and Liberal Arts
You do not need to start with them your freshmen year. It is ok to start during your junior year of college and have just one summer with them.
Links:
https://inroads.org
https://inroads.org/for-current-interns/find-your-regional-office/
https://inroads.org/internships/apply/
Your current region is this one but you can also join where ever attend college.
South Central Region
serving Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas
Robert Dunlap
Interim Regional Director
Dallas / Ft. Worth
1333 Corporate Drive, Suite 207
Irving, TX 75038
Telephone(888) 520-8691
Fax (888) 520-8691
Okay thanks, I’ll definitely keep all of this in a folder.
I’m wondering if it’s gonna be worth it to go out of state. I figured out today that going to my state flagships honors program will cost me nothing and I already qualify as is.
There is no reason that you have to make that decision now. Choices and options are good.
Because things aren’t complicated enough - head over to the financial aid forum. If your room and board is covered by by merit scholarships it can trigger a tax consequence for you. I don’t understand it so you need to check with those experts.
I don’t think it gets triggered if room and board is covered through need based aid. Again this is not my area of knowledge.
I’ll check In to that, and yeah I’ll leave my options open.
It is only a week since you’ve joined and you have had a ton of information thrown at you. Take your time to digest it all and figure out what is right for you.
It’s okay, I’m generally pretty good at figuring things out. I’m sure everything will turn out just fine. Right now I’m just gonna try to get a 34 on the act in June .
That’s a lot of stuff to digest.
One thing is sure: choice is good. Imagine, if next year you’re choosing between Pomona, Colby, Macalester, and UArkansas… wouldn’t that be GOOD? 
Congratulations for solving the Math issue. I’m sure it was not easy.
AP Calculus is a “core AP”, APES is not (it’s considered an “AP lite”) so your schedule is actually stronger. Now you need to start working on precalculus (khan academy’s good + see the future AP calc teacher, see if s/he would let you borrow precalc and calc textbooks?)