Can I make up for a lack of foreign language credits in the rest of my application?

I don’t think this is a big deal at all. You sound like a very interesting and desirable applicant, and the SAT score will help a lot. If you followed your interests and used the space in your schedule to take other challenging classes (as opposed to pottery, PE, etc.), I doubt the lack of FL will make much difference. The rest of your application—grades, scores, schedule rigor, activities—will matter much more. I know enough kids who were accepted to top colleges with minimal or no FL that I wouldn’t be surprised if the admit rate is higher among those with no FL than those with some (given that the vast majority of applicants will have some). Of course, there might be a few where it will matter, but you likely won’t be a good fit at those anyway. I’d just be prepared with a brief explanation of your choice: schedule conflicts, desire to pursue other interests, etc.

As far as colleges requiring FL for graduation as some have mentioned, that’s not really the case. Plenty of BS and BSE grads out there from great schools. Now, if you plan to pursue a BA or attend a school that does require FL to graduate, then I do think getting a year of language under your belt would probably ease your transition to the first year of college.

Also, as others mention, UT is a great school and top ten in some fields.

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