world language doesnt work with me. barely got through two years of spanish with my sanity 'cause my school is 65% hispanic so all the teachers expect you to know fluent spanish.
applying to several ivies, duke, uchicago, etc, anyone have any ideas on how the admissions officer would view it?
thank you so much
You couldn’t get some of your Spanish speaking classmates to practice Spanish with you?
What was the highest level of Spanish that you completed?
If only level 2, it may be considered a “defect” at colleges that expect level 3 or 4.
Then take french or mandarin.
@GMTplus7 would the colleges care if you took 2 years 1 language, 1 year a different one?
@ucbalumnus would 3 nonconsecutive years be better than 2 years in your opinion (took 9,10, not grade 11)
Don’t assume all schools have the same requirements. Check w each school individually.
@GMTplus7 all the schools im applying to “recommend 3-4 years” but dont require. i dont see how adding one or two years will magically transform someone into a fluent speaker which is why ive always questioned foreign language requirrements.
It has nothing to do with an expectation of fluency in 3 years. You think one year of US History qualifies you as an expert on US History?
Doesn’t your HS have a foreign language requirement?
@GMTplus7 yes we do i believe it is 2 years; i just hope that this hole in my app wont stop a school from accepting me. do you know the reason why schools want 3+ years?
For competitive schools, you do need to treat all “recommended” as “required”.
@billcsho would you say doing poorly in spanish III vs doing well in a different class is better for college admissions?
Do you think top schools would consider anyone not up to their standard in one way or the other?
They would if your school didn’t offer the class. Or maybe if you had some compelling personal circumstance or hook (e.g. refugee, development case, recruited athlete, Nobel Prize laureate).
unfortunately i am not that special, guess rutgers it is for me 
What is your definition of “top”? There are a lot of interesting & attractive options out there between Princeton & Rutgers.
For most schools, the highest level completed matters (though you should check each school to be sure). For most schools, this means that Spanish 1 & 2 and French 1 counts only as level 2, while Spanish 2 & 3 counts as level 3.
Rutgers is a perfectly good university if you can afford it. Don’t fall into the common NJ resident mentality that Rutgers and other in-state publics are completely unworthy for them.
They prefer 4 years because they value fluency level accomplishment. It is considered a core class, not an elective so you will be at a disadvantage. If you aren’t going to take it, then consider trying to have something really impressive that you did instead.
All of these schools with very low acceptance rates will have applicants that have 4+ years of foreign language, so you will not be competitive. Will your application automatically be discarded? No.
Most of these schools also have a foreign language requirement to graduate. It does not get any easier taking a class in college, and will probably only serve to distract you from your major requirements. You are far better off taking as much as possible while in HS.
Yes. They want you to enter their university having received a well-rounded college-prep education. Colleges do not expect, and in some cases do not want, students to specialize in HS.
What ski said.The best competitive kids don’t say, “doesn’t work with me.” They get on top of the challenge. This is not about fluency. It’s about familiarity, some ability to use the language (as shown in an academic class) and the willingness to go for it, not make excuses. Especially, considering third year moves more into lit and writing skills. For any highly competitive college, (and you have a bunch of them on another thread,) there will be thousands of kids who not only didn’t back off, but excelled.
Consider an online class, to show you get the point. 2 years can be ok for extraordinary stem kids who knocked themselves out on higher level math/sci classes, DE, work, etc. But it can also be a flag, for any college where the competition is tough.
@skieurope @lookingforward thank you for your responses, i do appreciate it. i do have other queries though. how do i take an online class in the short amount of time i have left? furthermore, if i take spanish III, after a gap year (junior year), do yall believe that it would be beneficial for me instead of taking a STEM course?
You didn’t have to pick Spanish for FL unless that’s the only thing offered at your school.