<p>Do colleges have certain requirements for foreign language? The high school here requires two years of foreign language study to graduate, however, I heard that some colleges require three years of foreign language study, is it true? Any one know if colleges have any special requirement? Does it look bad on your resume when you only have two years of foreign language study?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance .</p>
<p>yeah most of the time but i have a exscuse for not taking spanish for my 3 yrs(will only do 2) I was disorderly exscused(ADHD) my first yr...b/c i could be if i tested out(in which i did) b/c i wanted my extra help room(required..it helps me w/ me classes) b/c im in inclusion plus theatre arts...but that was inn 9th gradee in 10 and 11(going into 11) i dont need either(special small school so i have been able to take spanish but on my record it says for 9th grade i tested out of spanish</p>
<p>Different schools have different requirements. Most require min. of 2, but I believe that some will require 3 and recommend 4. Check on the website of the colleges interested in.</p>
<p>There are two sides to this coin: what you need to get in and what you need to graduate once you matriculate.</p>
<p>Colleges vary widely in admissions. Many RECOMMEND three years of the same language. We were told by the admissions rep one very selective ivy that most of their top applicants have four years and fluency. Bear in mind, however, that this is a recommendation, not a strict requirement. </p>
<p>If you decide not to do three years of the same language then you must have a good reason for it. A good reason could be scheduling conflict or precedence given to other special interests. If you drop the language it should be because you want to do something else that will have a positive impact on your application, not because you just don’t like language. In other words, don’t drop language in order to have a lighter schedule. For my son, because of circumstances, it made sense to take two years of two languages and this didn’t seem to have much bearing on his eventual acceptance.</p>
<p>Once you’re admitted you need to look at the school’s language proficiency requirements. Some schools have none. Some require that you take a test to determine your proficiency. Or they may use your SATII or AP score as the determining factor. If it is determined that you are not proficient enough you may be facing one or even two years of college level language. For the language adverse, this can be very challenging, so depending on what colleges you are interested in, you may be better off gaining proficiency in high school rather than delaying until college.</p>
<p>Momrath, Thanks for your detailed response.</p>
<p>Son is having a class scheduling problem, French language level 4 class is conflicting with AP US government, where US government is required to graduate. Since he already has two years of French study, skipped one level, so he is at level 3 with two years --- which is minimum graduation requirement, so I was thinking to pick US government and drop the language.</p>
<p>Now after reading all the information that you provided, I am thinking maybe he should stay with French to finish at least three years of study. Since it's better to study a language with continuity, if he drop the language this year, it will be hard to pick it up next year. he can do US government next year.</p>
<p>Again, thanks a lot, otherwise, we may make a big mistake.</p>
<p>It is also important for him to take a social studies/history course each year, so if he delays govt, be sure to plug in something else. Also, the French teacher may have some creative solutions. My son and 3 or 4 classmates were in a similar situation for 10th grade, when French 2 conflicted with the only honors math section. The French teacher didn't want to lose all her honors students, and decided to skip them all into French 3, bringing in a fluent upperclass student to work with them the first few weeks.
Although that may not work for your son, perhaps she will have another solution, like an independent study course, where he acts as teacher aide for one of her classes and does some readings on his own. I think this option would work best if he is fairly enthusiastic about the language and wants to continue it his senior year. It would help keep him fresh to take French 4 then.</p>
<p>Also, the information on what colleges are looking for is based on the more selective colleges. I know our state system (which is not highly selective) only requires 2 years. I do think it's wise to keep all your options open at this point, though.</p>
<p>What we discovered for UC Berkeley is that 3 years of a spoken foreign language in high school (or the ability to pass a second semester college level class)waived the foreign language requirement at College of Letters and Science.</p>
<p>UC admissions require 2 years of a foreign language but recommend 3 years.</p>