<p>I am currently a Junior at a college preparatory private high school with a UW GPA of 3.56 with an upward trend (so far) and in an advanced mathematics course (pre-calculus). My grade in spanish for the recently passed semester was 81% and my grade for Pre-calc was a 78%. The rest of my classes are over 88%, but I was wondering if it would be a good decision or a bad decision to drop Spanish II mid-year to focus more on improving my math grade and raising my GPA. How bad will this look if bad at all and will it affect my chances of getting into a school like U of Maryland and Penn State. </p>
<p>PS: I have not taken the SAT yet.</p>
<p>So you’re in your second year of Spanish? Most colleges like to see applicants with at least two full years of a foreign language (plus a lot of high schools require two years - does yours?).</p>
<p>Ultimately the decision is yours but personally I would keep going with Spanish, at least for the rest of this year. In the long run I think that would be more beneficial to you and I’m sure you’ll find a way to strike a balance between that and precalc. Believe me, I understand it’s a lot of work, but it’s not impossible to do. </p>
<p>Either way, good luck! :)</p>
<p>Years of foreign language, math, and science are all enormous indicators of schedule rigor. You should try to have four years of all three if you want to improve your chances at admission.</p>
<p>Doesn’t your high school require at least three years of a foreign language? It sounds like you will have 1.5 years of a foreign language by the end of junior year…that is a problem.</p>
<p>Sorry, I’m in Span III not II, and we require only 2 years and you must take at least one elective Junior year. I decided I would go a little bit above and beyond if I took Business Management along with Spanish III as two electives. I just don’t know if this will even pay off in the end or if I should focus on improving GPA.</p>
<p>Check the colleges you are interested in for admission and graduation requirements in foreign language.</p>
<p>You should take at least 3 years of Spanish … you need to show that you can do well in Spanish and Math, so dropping 1 to save the other will make your class rigor go way down, so your GPA will be meaningless. Some schools even require 4 years, but those are usually the most selective. Look at class requirements for those two schools; if it says recommend 3 years, take that as a requirement.</p>
<p>You’re better off re-evaluating your studying strategies and test taking skills. Spanish III is difficult, but once you get past a certain point of knowledge, it starts to make better sense. Don’t give up.</p>
<p>You might want to check your summer school options for Spanish. Sometimes with a language it’s easier to tackle it as a one subject immersion. You might even be able to take just the second semester during summer, but you would definitely want to clear that with your counselor first. My child is currently struggling in Spanish 3, and it was supposed to be the easy course this year!</p>
<p>Yea I think I’m just gonna stick with Spanish 3 through this year. I might take another language next year or stop completely. Thank you all.</p>
<p>Penn State’s Common Data Set says they only require two years of a foreign language. That’s good news for you!</p>