<p>I was considering dropping Spanish (would be Spanish IV) in junior year as I don't really like Spanish and I'm not planning on doing anything related to foreign language in College and beyond. Is this dumb? I checked the requirements for many schools that I was interested in (ones with good Computer Science) any they all say 2 years of spanish is required and after this year I will have those two years.</p>
<p>I will probably take Physics II H if I drop Spanish.</p>
<p>if you dont think you are going to use it and dont like it very much i would say go ahead</p>
<p>I know a lot of people who regret having dropped language, just because it makes it decreases their pool of interesting people to talk to.
But if the colleges you're looking at don't require it and you hate it, go for it.</p>
<p>The issue is not how many years of Spanish are required for admission as it sounds like you already have enough for the colleges to which you intend to apply -- generally when colleges say two years are required for admission, they mean completing the second level (Spanish II in your case) and not necessarily having two years while in high school. However, for each college to which you are intending to apply, you need to go exploring on their sites to see what each college requires at the college level of foreign language. Many colleges have their own language requirements at the college level that you must complete to graduate from college. At some it is two years of college language, others less, and engineering may also be less even if Arts & Sciences is two years. But those schools may waive that college level requirement if you completed the equivalent in high school. For two years of college language, the equivalent in high school is the fourth year of a language (in your case Sapanish IV; one semester college equals one year high school level language). In essence, the issue you want to focus on is whether that fourth year will save you from having to take any foreign language at the college level.</p>
<p>Wow, I didn't think about that, do many school actually require students to take a foreign language?</p>
<p>It seems that many schools that would do that (require me to take foreign language at a college level) would require it regardless of how many years you have taken it in High School. I think, for example, Yale requires all students to study some language at some point.</p>
<p>It varies. Some have no college requirement. Some have one year. Some have two years. Some have two years but only three college semesters if engineering. Some waive based on years completed in high school, some waive based on having AP test, certain SAT score in the language, or take a college placement test. This is something that must be checked with each college. Yale has a two year requirement but can be passed out of by taking a Yale placement test or with AP.</p>
<p>"do many school actually require students to take a foreign language?"
Yes! Many colleges require freshman to take foreign language placement exams, and if you score hi enough you don't have to take any more language in college. Other colleges will give credit for hi SAT II or AP language tests.
My recommendation is to finish Spanish IV, and take the SAT II test in June, when it is still fresh in your mind</p>
<p>However, the OP wants to study computer science, which is often housed in the engineering school of a university. I think it is likely that many engineering schools do not have a foreign language requirement. The OP should be checking this out carefully by looking at on-line catalogs and listing of requirements for various majors.</p>
<p>I'm having a hard time expressing an opinion on this. I like foreign languages, myself. My son, a computer science major, is also majoring in a foreign language. So, my inclination is to say, study that Spanish. On the other hand, a future computer science student might really be better off with another year of physics....</p>
<p>@midmo: yeah that is my issue, I'm also much better at Science than Foreign Language, which is why I'm considering this at all.</p>
<p>Take 3 years in HS, minimum. Doing 4 is useless unless you intend to study IR, a foreign language, or are in an AP level course. Otherwise, don't take it, just take a high level (i.e. AP or IB) course in the subject area you intend to study or enjoy. For example, a person who is interested in majoring in Public Policy should probably not take a fourth year of Spanish unless they're going to be taking AP Spanish.</p>
<p>I say take Spanish you senior year. My D took Spanish IV her Junior year and decided not to take AP Spanish her senior year. Her college requires 6 credits in a foreign language. She took a placement exam at orientation and missed testing out of having to take Spanish by one question! Boy, did she regret not taking AP Spanish. On top of it, her advisor suggested that she take Spanish her freshmen year since a year had already lapsed since she took it and she was placed in an upper level class. It has been one of her hardest classes this year. She had forgotten a lot of the material. So check the requirements at the college you are applying to. Also if you do end up taking a placement test, ask how it works. My D thinks she might have passed it but she started getting nervous because almost everyone except a few people had left the room so she thought she must be doing something wrong. As it turns out after you missed so many questions, the computer program ended. She hurried through the last few questions and if she hadn't she might have gotten one more question right! She is a Music Ed major.</p>
<p>This Thread is has balanced out as neutral on the helpfulness scale :P</p>
<p>Benellis, just take a look at what computer science departments (in or out of engineering schools) require. If there is no foreign language requirement for the major, and you are sure of your future major, and you dislike Spanish, and you have a physics class in mind that you would prefer, then your path is clear.</p>
<p>Comprende?</p>
<p>a little note: if you're looking at top schools, you'll want four years of the same language
it's like taking all three sciences and calc; not everyone does it and it isn't required, but it looks very good on your application and makes you more well-rounded academically</p>