Add me to the choir that says…don’t do any of this because it’s your intention to be pre-med. Fact is…you can major in anything in undergrad school and apply to medical school…as long as you take the required courses for medical school applicants.
What is your plan B if you do not end up in medical school. That would be a very good thing for you to think about.
Would you be applying to UCR’s Pathway programs?
https://pathwayprograms.ucr.edu/
In any case, before you settle on a Biology major, make sure to explore all possibilities: Bioinformatics, Biochemistry, Biological Anthropology…
Do keep up with Spanish, perhaps think of a minor (or Medical Spanish).
Finally, explore various health professions : NP, PA, OT… that are as important as medical doctor.
With the classes you already have and will take, this is more than enough for admission into UCR. If you are planning on majoring in biology(which you are) then you should take AP bio since you say you are interested in bio and since this will give you a breakthrough of what you will be studying in college for 4 years. Another reason why to take it is because
you might find that you aren’t interested in biology or don’t want to be a doctor. You are just a freshman, what you think you are interested in might change when you go to college. Maybe when you go to college, you might not want to be a doctor, you must have a plan B because most likely you will change what you want to do when you go to college. Take rigorous courses in classes that interest you. Do ECs that YOU enjoy and want to possibly pursue in college (for instance swimming, as you mentioned). Sooo many people think that they have to do ECs that they think will get them into the college that they want (this is especially seen in applicants to more selective colleges). This is the hugest mistake that people make. Do things that make YOU happy, do what you want to do. NO one else makes your decisions but YOU. As long as you have that mindset, you will succeed in the future 
Premed freshmen need a plan B because almost none make it from college to med school. Premed classes are not medical in any way: you’ll just be taking Biology classes with Bio majors except you must rank in the top 20%, take Chem classes with Chem majors and rank in the top 20%, take Physics for non Engineers STEM majors and rank in the top 20%, get As in English, Sociology, Psychology … you get the idea. All this in parrallel to volunteering and/or being an EMT, often doing research, and being involved in activities that show you know what it’s like to be of service. It’s a marathon (a very long race) with very high attrition over 4 semesters, and the last 2 years aren’t a picnic either but at least stusents aren’t cut after seeing each grade. And even among those that do survive that gauntlet… only 40% get into any med school, most after a “glide” year. So all premeds need a plan B, what they’ll do if, like most, they won’t get into med school.
Add to this that many students who want to become doctors choose biology for a major and some choose it because they find it inherently interesting, meaning there are a lot more bio majors who graduate than, say, chem or physics majors. And not only are there way more majors, there aren’t many jobs they can do because a lot of biology work requires an advanced degree. To prevent being a jobless bio graduate you can have a statistics or informatics/computing minor, look into policy or health management, spend a lot of time in a lab and show you’re essential to your PI, pivot to PA if you have hundreds of hours of patient-facing work… but it all requires planning. And not only are outcomes not great unless you’ve planned well, but thousands want that major, which is one of the most competitive majors to get into at UCs along with CS and Engineering (both of which have solid job prospects though).
@thumper1 @worriedmomucb @tamagotchi @MYOS1634
Hello, guys I am seriously feeling down on myself and feel like a failure.
The reason for this is that I am on a math track that will only lead me to take pre-calculus by the end of high school, as you know I am planning to major in a very-competitive major (CS) in college and am scared that only taking up to pre-calculus will hurt my chances of admission.
However all of my hope is not lost luckily, I don’t know how this will work exactly but I am planning to take a dual enrollment course called “college algebra”, would this class make me be able to take calculus by the end of high school, what are your insights on this class? I am currently finishing Integrated Math 1 and am nervous if this jump would be even doable.
Are you getting As in IM1?
What if you took Integrated Math 2 Honors and Integrated Math 3 Honors ? Doesn’t Integrated Math 3H lead directly to Calculus senior year?
College Algebra is a class you could take after Integrated Math 3 or IM3H.
I got a 102 percent in the class last trimester, right now I have higher than a 99.
Would your math teacher approve your going into IM2H ie., the Honors track? Ask him/her. Also ask whether IM3H allows students to go straight to Calculus. (Remember to preface with greetings etc - some freshmen tend to blurt out what they want to ask 
)
I have already registered and am going to im2 honors next year, however our school requires us to complete precalculus and im3 before going to calculus which means I will not get past pre-calculus in high school.
Congratulations on getting from IM1 to IM2H!
If you can dual enroll, a way for you to handle this would be to do as well as you can in IM3H junior year then senior year dual enroll in College Algebra in the Fall and Calculus 1 in the Spring. This way you’d be able to reach Calculus before you start college and show you did your utmost to study Calculus.
Do ask your math teacher whether there’s a way for you to take Calculus in HS based on your current placements. (If s/he says there isn’t, look into the DE Math classes I listed for senior year.)
Thank you!
Was thinking of doing just that but problem is their is no calculus course in dual enrollment.
“College algebra” is typically precalculus without the trigonometry, so it would not be sufficient as a prerequisite for calculus (although it may be accepted as a prerequisite for calculus-for-business-majors).
Contrary to popular belief, calculus in high school is not required for the vast majority of colleges and majors.
Because you’re lucky to live in Ca, your neaby CC is sure to offer Calculus; they may offer precalculus too. You could take them in a sequence.
If it doesn’t “count” for your HS, talk to the GC : you’d be taking Calculus to prepare for a CS major at a UC or a cal poly, I assume, so even if it doesn’t count for HS graduation you’d still get the benefits of learning the material.
And it could just be that so few students from your school want to take DE Calc that they haven’t included it in the info about DE but it may nevertheless be totally doable.
Yeah, unfortunately my nearby cc does not offer and math courses that are available for dual enrollment, they are only available to community college students, the only math course available to dual enrollment is college algebra.
Can’t a high school student also be a community college student and sign up for regular classes through the CC?
In our city, this is called “concurrent enrollment” and it’s available at our 4 year university as well as at our community colleges.
We only have dual enrollment unfortunately.
Look into it. It may not be through your HS but it’d be really strange if the calculus classes weren’t open to students who completed the pre-reqs.
(You need to know what these are at your specific cc).
How old will you be Spring senior year?
If you don’t take the class theough your HS, will you be able to cashflow it?
(And in the meantime, continue doing great in math)
I will be 17
Will you recommend to take an online course, I found silicon valley high school as a certified provider that I can use, I plan to take im2 over the coming summer and take im3 honors next year.
Whzt does your math teacher think?
If you get an A in IM2 over thr summer ane complete IM3H sophomore year, you could simply take Precalculus junior year and Calculus senior year at your HS. No need to take an online or DE class.
You can also check into CC registration as a 17 year old. (Anyone who’s 18 would have a right to register but 17 you’d need to check out).
Yes, that is good but the problem is our school doesn’t over math courses or any courses over the summer for advance credit, it is only for repeated credit.