I have taken Spanish for 3 years in high school. Should I continue with the fourth year or take AP Chemistry? I will be majoring in Biomedical Sciences and am applying to Princeton University. Princeton strongly recommends 4 years of a foreign language, but AP Chemistry is more closely aligned with my intended major. I cannot take both classes and do not want to drop another class. Taking the fourth year of Spanish would also qualify me for Spanish National Honor Society. If I take AP Chemistry, I will not be eligible for Spanish NHS. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
This is a tough one. Me personally would take chemistry, but then again I was horrible in french that taking a fourth year would not have been possible. Have you considered taking AP Spanish? If you are in the talks for Span. NHS then you probably have enough brains for AP Spanish. If you have a chance to take AP Spanish I would definitely go for it as you will get enough chemistry work in college. You could also self study for the AP chem exam
My school does not offer AP Spanish, so my choice is between Spanish Honors or AP Chemistry.
Have you had regular high school chemistry, or will take it if you cannot take AP chemistry? College chemistry often has high school chemistry as a prerequisite.
Princeton (like many other colleges) has a foreign language graduation requirement; a higher level of foreign language in high school may allow you to start in a more advanced foreign language course in college, allowing you to fulfill that requirement with fewer college courses.
If you will be a pre-med, be aware that Princeton has less grade inflation than most super-selective schools (with similar strength of students you are competing against for high grades). This may not be advantageous in applying to medical school, since college GPA is a highly important aspect in your application.
I have already taken Chemistry Honors.
Princeton’s AP credit chart is here: http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ap/table/
4 on AP chemistry = first semester general chemistry
5 on AP chemistry = second semester general chemistry
5 on AP Spanish = third semester Spanish (fulfills foreign language requirement)
If you are a pre-med, be aware that many medical schools do not accept AP credit for pre-med courses like general chemistry. If you skip them with AP credit, you will have to take additional advanced non-organic chemistry courses in substitution.
Since admission to Princeton is unlikely, check other schools of interest.
Since you’ve already taken chemistry, the fourth year of foreign language is more important. Here’s Princeton’s recommended preparation:
https://admission.princeton.edu/applyingforadmission/academic-preparation
And it’s not just Princeton; many/most of the super-selectives would like to see four years of the same language.
My son that was accepted to Princeton took only two semesters of community college Arabic for his foreign language, but he took a bunch of math and physics courses in high school. Yeah, he was lopsided, but he followed his passions and it didn’t hurt him.
Call Princeton if you’re not sure what to do.
Are you in Spanish 3 or 4? Some schools start you in spanish 2 if you have taken Spanish in middle school so you end up in Spanish 4 by Junior year.
The other thing I woudl think about is will other students at Princeton have taken AP Chem? You want to figure out what your cohort would have taken.
@bopper when you start in Spanish 2 and end in Spanish 4, do colleges that recommend 4 years of foreign language accept your Spanish 2-4 as “4 years”? Because I did Spanish 1 and 2, skipped Spanish 3, and did AP Spanish in Junior year and will not take a language in Senior year. Does this fulfill the “4 years recommended”?
For the vast majority of colleges, it’s the level completed that is the important part. So in your example, yes, it fulfills the 4 years recommended.
I have only completed Spanish 3. Should I go against the recommendation and take AP Chemistry instead of Spanish 4? Colleges like to see AP classes, but they also like to see the fourth year of language… In college, I plan to focus more on the sciences than a foreign language.
Since Princeton only recommends at least 2 years of history, should I take Spanish 4 instead of AP Government and Politics?
As mentioned above, your chances of getting into Princeton are slim, as they are for every applicant; don’t focus on Princeton.
In almost all cases for top colleges, Spanish 4 will be preferable to AP/Government and Politics/AP Chemistry/[fill in any other course here].
Yes, taking AP Chem and Spanish 4 is preferable to either one + AP Gov. Spanish4 is a “core” class, whereas AP Gov is an elective. If you can’t fit both, discard the elective and keep the core classes.
How good is the Spanish program at your HS? Could you take the AP Spanish test after taking Honors Spanish 4?
I’ve already changed my schedule. My school doesn’t offer any AP Foreign Language classes, so I probably would not be able to take the AP Spanish Test. Thanks to everyone for your help.