<p>She wasn't happy about it, but I encouraged my D to take 4th year of a foreign language her jr year in h.s. b/c the best colleges in our state waived their requirement of two years of a language if you had taken 4 in h.s. Does UofSC have a similar policy? I'm guessing not b/c I haven't been able to find it on the webiste. (D is going to be annoyed with me b/c she only took the 4th yr in h.s. so she wouldn't have to take any in college!)</p>
<p>USC requires “proficiency” in a language. So it depends on her major and the score she gets on her language placement test. If she’s a science/engineering major, she only needs to get a 2 on the test (it’s grades from 1-6 I think) and she doesn’t need to take any language at USC. If she’s a liberal arts major or something else, then the score needed is higher (I’m not sure exactly what it is though).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. Is there an opportunity to take the test before incoming freshman have to select courses? I assume this is a test specific to the university, rather than some kind of standardized/national test? Thinking that if she does have to take a language (although I would hope not after4 years!), she would want to take it as soon as possible. Of course, no matter what she will have a full year (Sr. year) of no language to forget it all!</p>
<p>You take the language test the day before you register at orientation. It’s computerized for most languages, although the latin one was a little different in grading. With most languages, you take the test and get a score, if the score is high enough you move on to a spoken test. If your daughter is in a major that requires a 4 profiency and she gets it, the HS language is well worth it. Of course, if this year is AP, she can exempt based on her score. Look on orientation web page for USC, there is link that explains language testing.</p>
<p>Thanks scmom, I will take a look for it on the website. I feel like I maybe steered her wrong! She does not really like language, but is smart and co-operative about doing things that are good for her in the long run, so only signed up for the 4th year to “get it over with” b/c two of our in-state schools which are considered public ivy waived their language requirement if you had 4 years in h.s…so I mistakenly figured it was the same at most other schools. Now USC is her first choice for one of the athletic teams. Part of the problem is that she will be finished with her 4th year her jr year, so it will be full year of no language before she can take the competency test.
I wonder if the admission people would think we were nuts if she contacted them b/t her jr and sr year, saying she was going to apply so could she possibly take it early…</p>
<p>We’re new to this…but I found the placement testing on the website, and found a chart that said if you get such and such score on the test, then you start your language with such and such course. I tried searching for something that said what the min language requirements are in general, but just got pages and pages of stuff. Anyone know where I can zero in on this info? Sorry if this is a lame question…we are just starting the college searches and are new to navigating the college websites! thanks</p>
<p>It depends on her major. If she’s in the College of Arts and Sciences, she has to get through the 122 level of a foreign language. That’s the most strict requirement, so that’s the most she’ll have to take.</p>
<p>With four years of study, she’ll likely place into 121 or 122 and possibly 200 level.</p>
<p>I took French for five years and placed in at 300 level.</p>
<p>The track for languages is:
109 AND 110 (two semesters) OR 121 (one semester)
122
209</p>
<p>For foreign language, just check bulletin.sc.edu (The USC Bulletin) and check your child’s major’s bulletin. It will say the Foreign Language requirement.</p>
<p>Thanks AU. So…if she applied to College of Arts & Sciences and had sucessfully taken 4 years of h.s. spanish she might test “into” the 121 or 122 level, meaning that even if she tested into the 122 level, she would still have to take the 122 level course? So at least one more year? (and since she will have a year in between taking her 4th year and the taking the test, she might not do too well…)</p>
<p>I have to say I am kind of surprised at the difficulty. Two of the other schools she is looking at are in the most competitive category and are considered "public ivys’ and all you have to do is have taken the 4 years in hs, and then you don’t have to take anymore there.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for helping us sort this all out!</p>
<p>I think I would contact the language department or admissions directly since I don’t know the real answer to this. If they give credit (regardless of test score) if you have AP credit, you might want to consider letting her self-study and take AP test or SAT 2 in her language as soon as she finishes (if they accept that score for placement).I know that every student is required to take math placement before orientation, either algebra or calculus depending on major…but in case of math AP credit has priority. My daughter place highest possible on USC placement, which means Calc 1, but had 5 on AP Calc BC and skipped both calcs and went directly to Vector based on that. Language may be the same.</p>
<p>The top score in the USC language test could place you out of language altogether, but you’re right that it’s hard to keep up fluency for whole year.</p>
<p>^It really depends on a student’s major and their advisor.</p>
<p>I have a friend who is pre-pharm and took AP Cal and got a 5, yet they still made her take the placement test and ended up forcing her to take College Algebra last semester and she’s taking Cal. 122 this semester (the easier cal.)</p>
<p>You can always call the foreign language department and ask. I work there and the people are pretty friendly and fairly helpful.</p>
<p>The rule is though, if you took AP, the highest they’ll give you credit for is 122. If you did IB, they’ll give you credit into the 200 levels, so it’s really difficult to pass the requirement based on the AP exam. I would know. I received a 2 on the AP exam and thus didn’t get any credit, but placed into 300 level here and was able to get back-credit for 121 and 122, because I got an A in my 300 level course.</p>
<p>In order to pass the 122 mark (which is the mark required by the College of Arts and Sciences… and the highest requirement), your daughter would have to either get at least a 5 on the placement test (completely Part I and get some credit for Part II) or get at least a 4 on the AP exam. [who_info</a> | USC: Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures](<a href=“http://devil.cas.sc.edu/dllc_d/Who_info.html]who_info”>http://devil.cas.sc.edu/dllc_d/Who_info.html)</p>
<p>If your daughter has taken four years of language, that places her in a really good position. Each year is equivalent to about a semester of college language, so ideally your daughter would place into the 200 level. I would just suggest that your daughter review all of her grammar, some vocabulary, and speaking before she takes the test, and she should do fine.</p>
<p>And they don’t give credit for the SAT 2’s. They only give credit for AP and IB HL. I actually have a friend who has an issue, because she took French IB SL and scored very well, but the college doesn’t recognize that.</p>