<p>Ok, consider 2 applicants, equal in everything except in this. Both are applying to the biomedical engineering program. Both have taken both the AP Computer Science Exam and Ap French exams. But now, one took 4 years of french and the other took 2 years of French, 1 of AP Computer Science, and the last of Computer Aided Design. Which is preferred? </p>
<p>Most competitive colleges prefer proficiency through 3 yrs of foreign language. I’d say the 2nd person is at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>What was the highest level of French that each student took? Did they get the same scores on the AP French and CS tests?</p>
<p>Foreign languages and CS are two subjects where it is relatively common for students to gain proficiency up to AP level and beyond through means other than high school course work.</p>
<p>Assume both got equal grades. French went up to French 4, but not AP french. </p>
<p>Do you mean to say that the student with two years of high school French took levels 3 and 4, versus levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the other student?</p>
<p>Student A, French 1,2,3,4 and Student B 1,2 then AP Computer Science and Computer Aided Design.</p>
<p>It’s not pointless because the way question is set up makes it so that one optimizes every part of his/her application. Brown Parent made a good point on french but if it was that simple then I wouldn’t have asked. It’s french vs an AP. Colleges also talk about the rigor of high school courses, almost more than 4 years of foreign language, but it’s not exactly clear which is preferable. Along with this, the student is aiming for engineering, so that further leans the scale to Computer Science. So yeah, not so pointless. </p>
<p>Still pointless. They want both rigor and 3-4 years of a foreign language. In your hypothetical situation one student took an French IV and one took AP Comp Sci, yet both took both AP exams and got the same score. The student with French IV will be judged to have had the more rigorous schedule since he took the hardest curriculum that was offered; he’s not going to be penalized if the HS does not offer AP French. French IV requires 3 years of high school French; AP Comp Sci generally has no prerequisites. It’s not a competition where whoever has the most AP’s wins.</p>
<p>Now that was the comment I was looking for. A reason why french is counted as rigorous, because that was the only thing stopping me from taking french. Why didn’t you say this from the start? 
Anyways, thanks, now the problem is settled.r</p>
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<p>It is rather unlikely that Student B will score as well on the AP French test as Student A, so your comparison is invalid.</p>
<p>The exception may be if the student is a native or heritage speaker of French, in which case it is a waste of time to take the lower level French courses in a US high school (so s/he may start in level 3 or 4, or perhaps is too fluent and literate for any high school French and just takes the AP French test to prove such proficiency). If such a student is concerned about showing foreign language courses on the transcript to colleges, then the choices would be to start another language, or take more advanced college French courses if available at a nearby college.</p>