<p>Hi- I'm a junior in high school and I'm interested in studying a science (probably physics) in college. I want to take BC calc, AP physics, and AP chemistry next year, but if I do that, my foreign language class (spanish) won't fit in my schedule. I already have already taken three years of spanish. Will only having three years of a language hurt my chances at getting into a good science program?</p>
<p>No, especially if you are replacing the Spanish with tough level courses in your interested field.</p>
<p>4 years of foreign language looks better than any single science course you could add, IMO. If you stop at three years it might be interpreted as you not enjoying foreign languages and being a more lopsided kid than if you took all four years.</p>
<p>That said, it will be a highly rigorous schedule either way. I seriously doubt going either way would be the deciding factor between admission/rejection.</p>
<p>You should verify the requirement at a few of the reach type schools you are considering. In our state, University of Vermont recommends 4 years if you are applying to the College of Arts & Sciences. Other colleges recommend less. Highly selective LAC often require 4 years of foreign language. If you can squeeze it in, I would do it. If you can’t from a schedule perspective, then you can’t. You will be quite swamped with homework with the 3 AP courses you listed, not to mention I assume you are taking Senior English and hopefully some other classes as well.</p>
<p>As long as you’re doing well in Spanish, I highly recommend taking four years of it. Having four years of a foreign language is looked upon favorably by basically all admissions office. While the switch won’t harm your rigor, I feel that the additional science will be less advantageous than having four years of foreign language.</p>
<p>I didn’t take any foreign language classes, and I was able to get into the school I wanted. 3 years is great! I would only take 4 years if you can fit it into your schedule, you enjoy the class, and you won’t be too stressed out over your classes.</p>
<p>^
- The school you wanted is probably not the same school the OP wanted. Therefore, that point is irrelevant.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Generalizations from one person’s experience are a logical fallacy.</p></li>
<li><p>You provide no valid logical support for claims that defy what practically every expert suggests.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Many colleges have a language requirement that you may be able to test out of and taking the fourth year might be helpful. Most students you are competing against for acceptance at tippy top schools will have four years of foreign language. AP Physics or Chemstry may or may not be a class that you will want to use for college credit, depending on what you choose to major in. I agree with the posters above that the language may be more valuable.</p>
<p>Also agree that you should give up one of the AP science classes in favor of Spanish unless you want to attend a moderately selective engineering program. The top tier schools will expect you to take four years of language, some have foreign language requirements, and they are pushing language mastery as a concession to globalism.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don’t think that reply was necessary. I was giving my advice based on my experience and also other people that I know. </p></li>
<li><p>I never said he/she was going to the same school I am.</p></li>
<li><p>Not all colleges require foreign language classes to be taken while in high school. He/she simply needs to figure out what’s best for him/her and find out the college’s requirements.</p></li>
<li><p>Thanks for being rude.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>
I’ve never heard of a school that doesn’t, at least a 4-year school that’s a state school or better. Florida Atlantic University, for example, perhaps Florida’s least prestigious and weakest (academically) school (i.e. the one where all the football players who didn’t get recruited go to get by and party), even require two years of a foreign language: [url=<a href=“http://www.fau.edu/admissions/FreshmanReq.php]-”>http://www.fau.edu/admissions/FreshmanReq.php]-</a> Freshmen Requirements<a href=“to%20understand%20what%20I%20mean%20when%20referring%20to%20it%20as%20not%20prestigious,%20check%20out%20the%20minimum%20SAT%20and%20ACT%20scores%20;”>/url</a> ).</p>
<p>So the colleges that don’t require foreign languages, which according to you exist, are in the minority and therefore serve no benefit being mentioned in this thread.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Technically, UCs and CSUs don’t, but only if you show some level of proficiency in a language other than English some other way. For example, a common way for native or heritage speakers of a language is to take the AP or SAT Subject test in the language and get a sufficiently high score. They also allow immigrants from non-English speaking places to show that they attended a non-English speaking school at a sufficiently high grade level to fulfill the language requirement.</p>
<p>Note that schools may have a foreign language graduation requirement that is greater than their admissions requirement.</p>
<p>One thing to note is that it is often the level of the language that matters. So someone who took three years in high school, but they were levels 2, 3, and 4 because s/he took level 1 in junior high school, would likely be counted as having taken “four years”.</p>
<p>Something to consider is if there is a language proficiency test, many give one no matter how many years of language you have taken. If you take a year off from Spanish, you will not test nearly as high as if you take Spanish 4 as a senior. Taking it next year may be worth it just to avoid having to take it again anyway at college. You should check language requirements for the schools you are interested in.</p>
<p>Agree on checking admissions and proficiency requirements at target schools. However . . . for a prospective science major I would advocate taking AP chem in high school so freshman “weeder” chem is not as much of a shock to the system. Having to take one more semester of language in college or over the summer could inconvenience you, but blowing chem as a freshman could derail your academic plans.
D dropped Spanish senior year in favor of AP chem (also has HL Physics). She complete Spanish 5 and we move the 8th grade Spanish 2 on to her HS transcript to demonstrate the 4 years. Schools are VERY different in terms of testing out of language or not, using AP credits, placement, etc. When researching we found no 2 with the same rules.</p>
<p>It depends on the school. I’m probably going against the majority of previous posters here, but I would drop that 4th year of language and aim for that extra AP science course. For example, MIT only requires two years of a foreign language. I got into a great Engineering school with only 3 years of foreign language.</p>
<p>I think it would depend on your major. I know when I was looking for engineering schools many don’t care too much about the language. They want more math and science. Take Cal Tech for example. Direct from their web page:
4 years of math (including calculus)
1 year of physics
1 year of chemistry
3 years of English (4 years recommended)
1 year of U.S. history/government (waived for international students)</p>
<p>See no mention of language at all</p>
<p>“Recommend” is not a code word for “Require” or even “Preferred.” If you’re taking a rigorous schedule and have taken enough language studies to test out of any required language courses, then you are fine. What you don’t want to do is waste schedule space in freshman year taking language classes you don’t care about to meet some school’s language requirement that you couldn’t test out of.</p>
<p>I also agree that taking the AP level science classes are excellent prep for the intro science weeder classes that you get in many schools. You’ll be glad you aren’t approaching the material for the first time.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State University (where I will be attending) does NOT require foreign language classes to be taken while in high school. I chose to take computer classes instead of a foreign language. I was accepted to OSU in July of 2011 and I will be attending this fall. I know MANY people who have taken computer classes rather than foreign language classes and were accepted into their top choice college.</p>
<p>You are correct,ok stategirl, that many people are accepted and have success in college with three years–or less. However, for the most competitive schools (top 20 in the country), the requirements are different.</p>
<p>Check on the schools admissions website. My son, also into engineering has 2 yrs of a foreign language, and doubled up on math and science and got into a pretty high ranking school. The important thing is to not fill it in with a fluff class.</p>