<p>I'm currently a junior and taking AP French 5, which is the last French course in the language progression. However, most colleges want to see 4 years of a language. Would they understand my circumstances, of should I continue taking French at a community college? I also want to study Spanish some time in college, so should I start that senior year? That would bring my GPA down though.</p>
<p>No matter what you do, your passion for languages will surely prevail. Out of the CC domain, a very small minority of high school students dual-enroll/go to a community college, so colleges won’t look down upon you for not finishing 4 years of French if you had already taken its AP. However, it depends what YOU want to do. Would you rather leave French for a year and take Spanish or would you rather dual-enroll in French? I don’t think you should/shouldn’t take a class merely because of your GPA. If GPA were all that mattered, most students would drop band and art to take every single AP class!</p>
<p>I think it comes down to what you want to do. Dual enrolling is definitely a good option if you want to continue French, but don’t let continuing French, or your GPA, stop you from pursuing Spanish. I took two years of Spanish, and right now I’m in my second year of Latin. It’s pretty cool to explore different languages, so I’ll definitely advocate it.</p>
<p>When colleges require or recommend a minimum number of years in a language, they usually refer to the highest level attained in the language. If the college wants to see four years of a language, then they want you to have French 4 or higher, which you do. Do whatever you want for your last year. You’ve met more than many colleges would require in terms of language requirements.</p>
<p>I agree with @baktrax. My daughter completed AP Spanish in 10th Grade, and did not take another language class at school after that. She is not a native Spanish speaker, but rather had studied it so much growing up that she was able to take the AP course then. Although she studied some other languages for fun outside of school, she did not feel obliged to complete “four years” of a foreign language at school, since it seems that the intent of that requirement is to complete the highest level of foreign language at your school. By all means, if your school has another language you want to study, then go for it, but otherwise it should not matter. If there is a particular university you are especially interested in and you want to confirm their requirements and that your AP class will suffice, you might want to contact them to be sure.</p>