I am currently a junior in high school. My high school requires 2 years of foreign language courses, but kids who are proficient in a foreign language may waive it. I am bilingual and I waived the foreign language requirement so that I could take STEM courses that I found more appealing (AP Physics C, AP Calculus, AP Bio, etc).
Now, as I have begun my college search, I have seen that many good colleges (ivies and top tiers) say that they either require or “strongly recommend” 2-4 years of foreign language courses. I didn’t realize that this requirement existed before. I have never taken a foreign language course in high school.
Here is some context: I was born in America and I have always been bilingual. However, I lived in Hong Kong for 5 years (1st-5th grades). There was a Mandarin class at school that was harder than HS foreign language classes (so is that technically 5 years of a foreign language, even though it was elementary school?). Afterward, I came back to the states for 6th grade. I had to take the ESL test to take normal classes, which I passed. Because I was sort of a foreign student, I got my foreign language requirement waivered like many of the other international students. My waiver WILL appear on my transcript.
My question is, will it hurt my application because I didn’t take foreign language classes? For some colleges like UCLA, it says that it requires foreign language courses. Am I not allowed to apply there now? Can I take a test like the SAT Subject Test or AP Exam in order to compensate for my lack of a foreign language course?
For the UCs, the a-g requirement for foreign languages can be met with a high enough score on the SAT or AP/IB exam.
No college will refuse your application, but for the more selective ones, not having studied a foreign language in HS will hurt, and those colleges are not interested in reasons like “I like STEM more.” But at this point, it is what it is.
You can consider taking the AP exam to demonstrate your knowledge/proficiency in the language, but yes, some (many) schools will require a certain # of years of a language (just as they have other core course requirements) and if you do not have them, you can ask for an exception, but it is unlikely given that there are so many other applicants that will have the core requirements.
The UC schools have their A-G course requirements. I have heard of a rare exception being given to a student whose school did not offer a visual/performing arts class (though some students found a way to take one elsewhere in the summer before Sr year if not offered in their HS). Their website says they accept the “equivalent to the second level of HS instruction” for languages other than English. You may have to reach out to the UCs directly to see if your waiver would meet this. However, if you have taken NO foreign language since 6th grade, it is VERY unlikely they will waive this requirement. Plenty of kids are bilingual but still take another foreign language.
It really depends on the colleges the OP is targeting. For the higher tier colleges, they don’t accept CLEP anyway, so I doubt that they would waive based upon that. And almost every higher tier college has expectations of HS preparation which exceed basic HS graduation requirements. Less selective colleges will be less demanding of requirements.
Also wondering what the school counselor is saying about this. Clearly, high school graduation requirements and recommended courses for college applicants often differ.
Yes, they would. And there are other things the OP can do, but as I said, it depends upon the colleges s/he’s targeting. What one needs to do for HYP is different from what one needs for UC or UT or UMich and is different from what one needs for UF or tOSU
Agree that you are not an international. You are an American citizen who lived out of the country in elementary school, and returned to the US in 6th grade. Many, many applicants have parents who lover overseas and/or were expats for several years. That is not all that unique.
YOu are about to start second semester of our junior year. See if you can get into a language class ASAP.
For any of the UC’s:
**Language other than English
UC-approved high school courses
Two years, or equivalent to the 2nd level of high school instruction, of the same language other than English are required. (Three years/3rd level of high school instruction recommended). Courses should emphasize speaking and understanding, and include instruction in grammar, vocabulary, reading, composition and culture. American Sign Language and classical languages, such as Latin and Greek, are acceptable. Courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement if the high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses.
Exams & coursework that satisfy “E”
SAT Subject Examination
The following scores satisfy the entire requirement:
Chinese With Listening: 520
French/French With Listening: 540
German/German With Listening: 510
Modern Hebrew: 470
Italian: 520
Japanese With Listening: 510
Korean With Listening: 500
Latin: 530
Spanish/Spanish With Listening: 520
AP or IB Examination
Score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Exam in Chinese Language and Culture, French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Japanese Language and Culture, Spanish Language, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture or Latin; score of 5, 6 or 7 on an IB Language A2 HL exam.
College courses
Grade of C or better in any transferable course(s) (excluding conversation) held by the college to be equivalent to two years of high school language. Many colleges list the prerequisites for their second course in language as “Language 1 at this college or two years of high school language.” In this case, Language 1 clears both years of the requirement.**
The UC’s require 2 years of a Foreign language and the options above will satisfy the 2 year requirement, but 3 years is recommended especially for a selective school like UCLA.
The UC description above is far less than the nature of what a top private can expect. It’s not just core skills, not testing well enough, but the very process of learning another language, the exposure to lit, current events, culture, and more.
For top privates, some foreign lang in middle or lower school won’t count. Add in that they want to see this rounding in one’s educational pursuits. Just as they expect other cores. I like thumper’s idea to start now (online is fine, in some ways can be a faster pace,) and continue. OP doesn’t have much time to amble through the semester pace at most hs. An easy language is fine, but I’d stay away from more Chinese. You need to makeup for the lost experience, not cut a corner with a native language.
But yes, this makes us wonder why the GC didn’t realize. What’s up with the high school? You want to be doubly cautious if the hs isn’t oriented toward sending many kids- or top kids- to top colleges. Or has social/demographic issues that impact the academic quality offered. OP has said before that she’s in TN. That also raises the question of affordability of CA publics.
I think getting started online pronto is good. Best program for the goal, not just any online. It shows attention to the problem, proactive. But yes, Midd could be a summer option. You’d need to ensure the Midd course meets her particular need, a good choice for this make-up. Not, eg, more enrichment for kids already in lang. It needs to be affordable.
Next semester is right around the corner. Act quickly.
If OP could then get into, say, French or Span 3, this
fall, it could look good. Could put her back on track. Or continue online.
Sometimes, the fix puts a spotlight on the problem. So the fix needs to look good and be savvy.
An alternative is to take a foreign language in community college this spring - it’ll cover a lot of ground quickly. Then, add a summer course (at Middlebury? You need to apply+ apply for scholarship). That should be enough to start in foreign language 3 or 4 at your HS. See what your HS offers at this level. In some HS Spanish is overcrowded, at others it’s the only language offered at level 3. And of course there’s community college level 3 (often called 201).
College foreign language courses typically move at a much faster pace than high school foreign language courses. In some cases, a semester of college foreign language advances proficiency like a year or more of high school foreign language.
Do you live in California? Be aware that it is very difficult to get into UC’s as an out of state applicant. By law, they must keep the majority of their seats for CA students. Only the very best applicants from OOS will get in to UCLA or UC Berkeley.
If you are aiming for top colleges, I think being proactive now will go a long way towards helping your app.
Agree with previous posters that you need to be spending some time on a community college website, trying to get an online language class. Some schools have intersession, where over the holiday, they have intensive classes of 4 weeks which count as a semester course. You could try to locate those classes.
In high school, there were a number of us who were bilingual: speaking Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese in our homes. At that time, we were all required to take a language, other than our home language. We all ended up in the same French class.
At that time, there were no such things as native speaker classes and it was explained to us that it would be unfair for us to take a class, in our native language, with non-native speakers.
Since we were in California, our targets were the UC’s.
With our children, they weren’t quite bilingual and were tested. They couldn’t test out, so they were required to take the 3 years (they took 4 years). They had to do the foreign language to receive their diplomas.
I am really surprised that your guidance counselor allowed you to take additional stem classes when you are also seeking a high school diploma. Unless that foreign language is not a requirement for graduation at your high school.