Do I need a language for Ivy League school?

[MrWallStreet]

<p>Well I am going to keep this simple and short. I am a sophomore in high school and I want to go to an Ivy League college, I have taken Spanish since 7th grade and currently in Spanish 3. Should I continue Spanish or take an AP class instead?? Help!!</p>

[T26E4]

<p>Each college requires some level of language proficiency. You should look at their indiv websites to see if what you’ve taken is enough – rather than rely upon random internet advisors. Good luck to you</p>

[drusba]

<p>High rank colleges usually want to see 3 or 4 years of the same language. That refers to level completed and not necessarily to actual number of high school years taken. In other words, at end of this year you will have completed 3 years of Spanish to meet that 3 or 4 years needed. You need to check the requirements for each college to determine whether you may need another year.</p>

[Sikorsky]

<p>Here’s what they say at Harvard. Does it sound like you?</p>

<p>

Foreign Language</p>

<p>You should leave secondary school knowing at least one foreign language well enough to read it easily and pronounce it acceptably. Knowing a foreign language enables you to enter another culture and to understand its ideas and its values. A fundamental aspect of language-learning must be a grasp of vocabulary and syntax that allows you to read novels, plays, poems, and magazines, with as much of a native speaker’s comprehension as possible. We have found that students who have mastered a foreign language before they come to Harvard take more language courses here than those who have not. Indeed, these students often embark on the study of languages not commonly taught in American secondary schools.</p>

<p>Many secondary school students take a smattering of several languages – for example, Latin for two years, French for a year, and Spanish for a year. When it is too late, they realize that they cannot read or speak any of these languages well. We urge you to try to study at least one foreign language and its literature for four years. Continuity of study is important, too, because a “year off” from a language can be a real setback. Once you are comfortably fluent, you will possess that language – and better appreciate the culture it has shaped – for the rest of your life.

</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Preparing for College](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#language]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#language)</p>

<p>They way I read this, I think they want you to take more Spanish.</p>

[ucbalumnus]

<p>For the most selective colleges, it is likely best to complete at least level 4 if available.</p>