Hey guys, I am an incoming freshman. International student
Does College of Arts and Sciences have a language requirement? Or is it not mandatory?
How hard are the language placement tests? I am planning to take Russian.
And if I am on the 4th level out of 5 levels of a particular language, does that mean I can start studying that language from let’s intermed/advanced level?
Yes the College has strict language requirements – the equivalent of 4 “Penn” semesters of language. Language study is “mandatory” but it is possible to get an exception for students who have a “learning disability” in regard to language study. The exception consists of alternate courses. The level at which you can continue study no doubt depends on the results of your placement exam. You can skip the placement exam if you have taken the AP exam or the SAT II for the language. If you’ve scored well on the AP (a 5 as I recall), or if you’ve taken the SAT II in the language and scored mid-600 (the required score varies slightly by language) then you would have met the 4-semester language requirement. I expect that you can choose to continue study at a “lower” level than the placement test indicates.
See:
http://www.college.upenn.edu/language-requirement
http://www.college.upenn.edu/language-placement
https://secure.www.upenn.edu/nso/placement-exams.html
Note that the dates for the placement exams are not yet set for 2015.
@fogcity thank you for your reply!
Can I study two languages at Penn? I want to study Hispanic. I have never studied it, so it will be a whole new world to me. Previously, I have studied Russian. I am thinking about taking Russian language placement exam and finish my course earlier. Probably want to minor in it.
@Penguiny Yes, you can study two languages. The last I heard about it, Penn was teaching over 100 languages, so I am pretty sure that they will have Spanish. 
If you want to minor in Russian, you should probably meet with your advisor and take the Russian assessment to determine what level course would be appropriately challenging for you.
Also, I think you should be changing your spelling to Pennguiny now!