<p>Hey, I was wondering how exactly UVA sets out language requirements. I believe there is 5 recommended credits?</p>
<p>So, what if I take 2 years of Spanish and 3 years of German? Does this fulfill the requirement? </p>
<p>Or do I have to take 5 years of just one language to fulfill the requirement?</p>
<p>Any insight would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I think you just have to pass the 202 level for one language.</p>
<p>By “requirement,” do you mean “recommended for admission,” or “required for graduation”?
In order to graduate from UVA’s College of Arts and Sciences, you need to have passed two college years of one language, or the equivalent (generally 4 high school years or more, since hs courses move much more slowly). However, once you come to UVA, no matter how many years you’ve studied the language in the past, you need to take a placement test if you haven’t already taken the SAT Subject Test in “your” language. Many students who’ve taken Spanish or French forever, it seems, still find they need to take one or two semesters in order to fulfill UVA’s requirement. Others start a new language from scratch.</p>
<p>UVA and many other elite schools recommend that students take four years of one language in hs since that sets them up to fulfill their college language requirement either upon matriculation or shortly thereafter. But it doesn’t demand this of all applicants. If you do end up taking 2 years of one language and 3 of another in high school, you just need to realize that you will certainly have to take one or more language classes in college.</p>
<p>Thank you for the thoughtful response, jingle.</p>
<p>I was mostly wondering if there would be… say a ‘disadvantage’ in the admissions process for an applicant with 2 years of Spanish and 3 years of German versus lets say a student with 5 years straight of Spanish or German (including AP). I guess HS would treat both as ‘5 credits’ of foreign language, but how would colleges, especially uva treat that?</p>
<p>college preference is
all years in one language
still 4+ years but split among 2 languages
less than 4 years in one language
less than 4 years in more than one language
the reason being that intro classes are easier than AP or honors level foreign language classes, plus most colleges require some degree of fluency in a language in their college-level general ed requirements which is easier to attain if you do 4+ years of that language in high school</p>