Hi. We see that the equivalent of 4 semesters of a foreign language is part of the Core requirement, but that you can pass out of it with testing. It references the AP.
I have a couple related questions for anyone who knows. First, does the college offer its own placement test for people who didn’t take the AP? And if so, does anyone know how similar it is the the AP or not or in general what it is like? Also, when can it be taken for incoming first years? And does it place you potentially somewhere in the spectrum between a full waiving of the requirement and starting at the beginning – so for example, starting someone in semester 3 of 4?
My son took 3 years of HS Latin (no honors offered) but not the AP. So ideally doesn’t want to start from scratch but doesn’t have an existing AP test result to use as a launch point.
Thanks.
Yes
It’s not similar. It’s more like the now-discontinued SAT Subject Test
Varies by language. In general, it’s a multiple choice exam. Some languages also require an oral interview
During the New Student Orientation Program, unless the language (e.g. Spanish) is an hour online placement test
Yes
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Thank you (especially for the clear line item responses).
Sounds like if our son wants to get a feel for the Latin test he should find some old SAT Subject tests online.
I’m not a proponent of prepping for placement test, particularly when placing out entirely is not an option. If he wants to do a quick review, he can go through his class notes. If he feels that he was placed incorrectly, he can speak to the instructor.
It’s more about familiarizing oneself to the format of the test for comfort, not learning to the test.
Placing out of language really frees up some time for electives. Given the number of classes for Core, this is understandable.
Each of the language departments have their own policies for placement tests. They are usually offered during NSOP. I’ve heard that the spanish exam is much harder than the AP test. So very few students place out of the entire sequence.
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Thanks. That was the thought, though he didn’t expect to place out of Latin but potentially start at III or IV to leave open more slots for other classes.
Now he wants learn Chinese which means starting over, on top of a planned double STEM major and performance and lesson activities/credits. If he had placed out of Latin he could start Chinese and see how it goes. It seem seems like a big commitment on top of all that other stuff. But he has a tendency to set aggressive goals.
I’ll level set expectations. With latin 3 in HS, there should be zero expectation of placing beyond Latin 3.
I will also caution against the kid in the candy shoppe syndrome. Those coming into college at the top tier think they can do it all because they did all AP courses in high school and took 5 online courses and self studied 12 AP’s. Yeah, most are in for a wakeup call
Maybe your child has a valid reason for double majoring and thinks he can add music credits, but he really needs to wait until he actually has a semester under his belt and talks to his advisor. On top of that, scheduling conflicts will make a double major difficult. And with Chinese, that takes up a MW block and a TR block, further limiting other options
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Yep, we’re on the same page. He’s yet to ever take our council versus his own so he’ll figure it out eventually, either in time (after taking to an advisor, etc.) or the hard way. The idea of starting over with a new language threw us, but is classic him.
Double-majors are almost unheard of. Reason is that the core requirements take up so much time. Is he at CC or SEAS? Suggest that he read the bulletin and add up all the courses required for the double major. Some of the requirements are offered in sequence (so only once per year). Then you have the issue with large waitlists for classes.
Instead I would suggest to look into minors or concentrations. CC does not even require a major to require. So some students double minor, or major + minor or major + concentration. But double major + core within 4 years is very difficult to do.
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Yep, he read it and charted out how its possible, in a perfect world (before not getting a class when he wants one derails it). Once he has orientation and experiences a first semester much could change.