4 year recommendation

[karolusmagnus]

<p>I know Harvard recommends 4 years of language, but would 3 years of 2 different languages satisfy this?</p>

[fauxmaven]

<p>I am sure this could be answered by your guidance counselor .</p>

[Sikorsky]

<p>Is there a particular reason why you’d be taking 3 years of two different languages instead of a single language for four years? And can I safely assume that when you say “3 years,” you do not mean, “French 3, 4 and 5”? Because if that’s your question, you have no problem.</p>

<p>If you’ve done your homework, you know that Harvard says this:</p>

<p>

There is no single academic path we expect all students to follow, but the strongest applicants take the most rigorous secondary school curricula available to them. An ideal four-year preparatory program includes . . . four years of one foreign language.

</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/faq.html#1]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/faq.html#1)</p>

<p>And this:</p>

<p>

You should leave secondary school knowing at least one foreign language well enough to read it easily and pronounce it acceptably. . . . A fundamental aspect of language-learning must be a grasp of vocabulary and syntax that allows you to read novels, plays, poems, and magazines, with as much of a native speaker’s comprehension as possible. . . .</p>

<p>Many secondary school students take a smattering of several languages – for example, Latin for two years, French for a year, and Spanish for a year. When it is too late, they realize that they cannot read or speak any of these languages well. We urge you to try to study at least one foreign language and its literature for four years. . . .

</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Preparing for College](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#language]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#language)</p>

<p>Can you do what they’re describing with 3 years of two different languages? If you can, I’m impressed. (Unless, as noted above, your “3 years” of some language are the third, fourth and fifth.)</p>

<p>Does this mean you can’t get into Harvard with 3 years of two languages instead of 4 years of one? I doubt it.</p>

<p>Will they notice that you haven’t taken 4 years of a single language? I’d bet money on it.</p>

[detoidi]

<p>It’s only recommended. No, you don’t have to.</p>

[Sikorsky]

<p>Of course not, but given the way Harvard states a clear preference for 4 or more years of a single language, I wouldn’t disregard the recommendation without good reason.</p>

[Reedite]

<p>I completely agree with Sikorsky.</p>