I tested out of Chinese 1 and 3 and only took Chinese 2 and AP Chinese. Will this look bad on applications to Ivy league and other top tier schools? I’m not from China and I speak English at home. I’ve been attending Chinese school since I was young so I tested out of Chinese 1 and 3 for GPA purposes. Will only 2 years of physically sitting in a foreign language class affect my admission chances to a good college?
I have also taught myself German. Should I take the AP German exam to show that I’m not being lazy?
Thanks in advance!
No one on the outside knows for sure, but most people would consider completing the AP level course to be favorable for someone who does not speak the language at home.
If you learn a language from any means other than formal course work, showing an AP and/or SAT subject test score in the language can show to colleges what level of proficiency you have reached.
I agree with ucbalumnus.
I actually knew of a few people in high school that were in your position. This factor did not hinder their chances of being accepted into universities.
If you believe you are capable of passing the AP German exam (take practice exams or look at previous AP exams if you are not sure), I’d recommend taking it as I do not see how it can hurt your application.
The exam credits and the grade I got on the exam shows up on my high school transcript if that makes a difference.
It really does not matter. For the vast majority of colleges that require/request 4 years of a FL, completing level 4 meets the requirement, regardless of the year in HS that this was achieved. I specifically asked this question of colleges when I was researching schools a couple of years ago.
Nobody will think you’re lazy. If you have the time and money to take the tests, fine. If not, no big deal. If you plan to go to a school that gives out AP credits like candy, the decision is easier. However, if the college limits AP credit and you’ll hit the limit without German, it’s pretty much a waste of time and money. You could wait until you have college acceptances to decide, since taking the test would not significantly enhance your application.
You’re fine, but if you want to add a bow to the gift wrapped package, take the sat subject in German - I don’t know how often it’s offered, probably no more than twice a year, so try to catch the Fall one.
German is only offered in November (with listening) and June.