Disability and Foreign Language College Admission Requirements

Parents Forum
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My son had a 504 in HS. He is dyslexic and dysgraphic and struggled with FL. He took the minimum FL required by the state to graduate, which was the equivalent of two years. FL caused him a great deal of stress and anxiety. He didn’t care if a college wouldn’t admit him without more FL.

Many colleges will want to see more recent proof of disability if the student intends to seek accommodations. For example, the last significant testing my son had was in 8th grade, when his IEP was changed to a 504. The college wanted testing within the last three years, if I recall, to consider any accommodations. Most colleges will likely be more strict about documentation.

By his senior HS year, my son had matured and had many years of school intervention and private tutoring behind him. He was better equipped to deal with his learning challenges and refused to do another round of tests.

When choosing his college, he knew he would have to fulfill a FL requirement as part of his degree and decided he could handle it. He said he would work it out, and he did

In college, he repeated Spanish at the 100 level, starting fresh. He had retained some of his basic Spanish skills so he got a good grade, which helped his GPA. His degree required 3 semesters of FL. He took the remaining semester during the winter break at the community college. He checked before to ensure his Uni would accept the credits. Only pass/fail grades were given, so it wouldn’t affect his GPA.

If your daughter attends a public university, they might accept her DE credits if they have a FL requirement. If she wants to take a break from her ASL classes, I think it’s fine. She should be aware though that at some point, depending on where she goes to college, she might have to do that final level of ASL to satisfy a FL requirement.

Edit: It is likely the private universities or colleges won’t accept her DE FL classes to fulfill degree requirements. This will depend on each college, so if this is a critical issue, her list should be compiled with knowledge of any possible FL requirements a degree requires, and what the college disabilities office requires to provide accommodations.

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23

Thanks for the info esp about disability testing - she was tested in Junior year but didn’t qualify for IEP. (That’s another issue.) Regarding admission requirements, do you feel like taking 2 years HS FL effected his college acceptances?

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I actually don’t think so. He wasn’t aiming sky high and only applied to seven colleges. He got a transfer option from a T25 (didn’t pursue it) and was deferred and later rejected from another T25. He loved the public in state uni he chose and he just graduated.

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27

Be the student you are and find your fit based on that. DS23 only did 2 years of Spanish. He actually has a foreign language waiver, but didn’t use it. Both of my kids dropped WL after 2 years to allow them to take classes in areas they excelled in. We were being “real” about it. DH used to be a German teacher. We knew our kids were never going to become fluent in a foreign language with the instruction provided in school. They will spend time in another country if they ever decide they really need to become proficient. Being a class both struggled in, the hours required for them to even keep up were so much better spent in areas where they could excel. I researched colleges they were likely to apply to and knew they would be fine with 2 years. By dropping FL, both of my kids were able to take additional classes in the fields they ended up majoring in and I think that really helped their college applications making them very strong candidates so that only having 2 years of FL didn’t stand out.

As for FL in college, DD22 is able to take a World Culture class to meet the requirement and DS23 major doesn’t require it. At some schools they did and at others, he had a choice of which school (liberal arts vs natural resources) to take his major in which bypassed the language requirement.

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28

Wish this could be posted at the top of every thread.

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29

I agree. D started looking at some specific colleges with the type of major she is interested in, including some T25. Several of the schools recommend up to 3-4 years of FL, but also say it’s not a hard “no” without it…I think that’s what they mean by “holistic” review. (I am assuming this is the same effect for scholarship potential.) That being said, based upon everyone’s input she’s now leaning against taking ASL3…to give herself a break before her last school year.

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30

Hi there, my neurodiverse daughter is in the process of applying to colleges right now and we are unsure how to handle everything – to disclose or not, how to do so, what colleges are realistic targets, everything. Would you mind talking about how your D navigated the process and did so well with admissions? Either here or via DM? I would appreciate it so much. This is our fourth and last kid to go through the process, but the only neurodiverse one, and it’s much tougher than I imagined. Thank you! And congrats on her success! Where did she end up going?

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Happy to PM you…

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I have a son on the spectrum who is a college sophomore at a T50 school. He did not disclose his diagnosis in his college apps. I am happy to discuss if you want. You can DM me.

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You might want to start a new thread. There are lots of people here in the same boat that can give advice. If you don’t mind, you can also be a bit more specific about her neurodivergence and different schools have different programs.