what math should you start in college

Taking one calculus course in high school is preferred, especially for science and engineering majors. However, many scientists and engineers--myself included--did not take calculus until college. Personally, I think my overall education benefitted from this, as in my experience calculus is taught better in college. However, I would expect taking calculus would help with college admissions, even if you end up taking calculus again in college. I would recommend trying to finish high school having taken 4 years of math, ideally finishing with pre-calculus.

Most high schools require students to take 3 years of math in order to graduate and recommend taking 4 years. These requirements often also include completing an algebra class and a geometry class.