My daughter is a high school senior and would like to drop a year long course that she is taking. She does not need the course to graduate. The class she is wanting to drop is Latin III. She already has 2 years of Spanish and 2.5 years of Latin if she drops the class. My question is would dropping a year long course after the first semester be a detriment to her from a college admissions perspective? She has already applied and been accepted to her top choice university, however she has not committed yet. I know the university will receive her final transcript later in the semester and would see that she had dropped the class. Would that look bad?
She is obligated to notify the schools of any change in her schedule. I wouldn’t wait to let them find out when they see her transcript. If it’s an issue at that point, you will have no recourse.
What I think I would do is contact the first choice and ask if that schedule change would a problem. They may say it’s fine or they may ask that she not drop it, but either way you will know.
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A college would have the right to rescind an acceptance if the final transcript does not match what was on the application (ex. if she drops a class mid-year).
If your D plans to attend the college she has been accepted to then she should contact her admissions officer and ask if she could drop Latin and keep her acceptance (the college may want to reevaluate the acceptance if she drops the course). If they say it is fine to drop Latin and that is the college she will definitely attend then it should be good (just get it in writing).
If she has been accepted to any other college(s) she is considering attending she would need to get permission from those admission officers to drop the class as well.
If she is waiting to hear from other colleges she should inform them immediately if she drops the class.
As noted earlier be sure this is all done in writing so you have a record (in case someone questions it down the road).
If your D is still considering multiple colleges it might be easier to keep Latin as it would be her third year in a foreign language which a number of colleges do want to see. When college admission officers count years of foreign language they go by the highest level taken in HS (ex. they would not add the two years of Spanish to the two and a half years of Latin – rather they would look at the highest level taken which would be Latin 3 assuming your D completes the course).
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It boils down to a decision by each college where she applied. It would be wise to ask first. Given the circumstances you mention I don’t think too many colleges would mind, but if I were in her shoes I’d want assurance from the colleges and not the musings of some person on the internet. Here is UC Davis as an example of what colleges say
Our decision to admit you is based upon the assumption that you will complete the planned courses listed on your application and earn satisfactory grades. If you drop or switch a course, or if you earn less than a C grade in a course, you must notify us promptly. In many cases, we will be able to accommodate your changed schedule or help you find a way to make up a low grade. Failure to inform us of these changes can be grounds for admission denial.
One other consideration is the benefit to her from passing a full 3 years of a foreign language. Some colleges will waive their general ed foreign language requirement for students that took 3 years in HS. She should look into whether this applies at the colleges she is interested in.