<p>PaperChaserPop, maybe you are right.
I wrote that’s my “guess” because it is solely based on my personal feelings. But in my personal experience, learning foreign languages and musical instruments are similar that I had (have) to practice everyday. I needed to practice violin everyday for 16 years to reach to some level in my childhood. But I did some concentrated study time to time to get good points in other subjects like Math, Physics and so on. Missing only one day practice is worth another several days in case of learning languages, music instruments and some sports. But in Math, several days rest can result in better idea.</p>
<p>Here’s what my S, a HS senior, will be going forward with in his college applications.</p>
<p>HS transcript: Freshman: Spanish III (A/A) Sophomore: AP Spanish Language (A/A/5)</p>
<p>GC letter: This student attended K-5 at a Language Immersion Elementary School studying Spanish. In grade 5, he attended a six week student exchange program in Mexico. In grades 6-7, his social studies classes were in Spanish. In grade 8, he had a class in Contemporary Spanish.</p>
<p>We figure if that’s not good enough, the Ad Comms are pretty dense.</p>
<p>The only question mark might be why he didn’t take AP Spanish Lit, since this is offered by his HS. He didn’t because he would have had to take an extra period, when his schedule was already crammed with AP classes. Further, it’s obvious from his transcript that he’s aiming for some math science major, since he’s already taken Linear Algebra and will be taking Multivariable Calculus.</p>
<p>FiddlinEcon - I see your point. In fact, I think your point is much better shown in musical instruments. You can skip FL practice for a week and still be able to pick up where you left off very quickly, but not so in violin or piano, especially if you are still in “learning” stage. However, I still think that by attending classes AND doing homeworks, the students are engaged with other subjects on a daily basis. Sure they don’t do much math in the summer, but this is why teachers spent a week or two at the start of fall to review prior year material. If they miss their classes even occasionally, or skip their homeworks, they will suffer. Pardon me for using my story to illustrate this. I went through Calc BC without doing any of my homeworks because I can still get a good grade with good test scores alone. I got a 5 on the AP, BUT those missing homeworks caught up with me. I was not able to do problems as fast as I’d like. Formulas and proofs faded out at an alarming rate. A year later (I did not take math for a year), I retained very little of what I had learned. But again, it is a whole level of hurting with missing violin or piano practices.</p>
<p>Will someone please answer whether years are counted in actual years or levels? For UCs, if you took French 1 in middle school (shows on transcript) and French 2 and 3 in freshman and sophomore year, you have 3 years. Is it like this with other places?</p>
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<p>Where do you see that these schools don’t allow LORs from FL teachers?</p>
<p>[Teacher</a> Evaluations : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/freshman/evals.html]Teacher”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/freshman/evals.html)</p>
<p>"Both evaluation letters must be from teachers in two different subject areas from the following:</p>
<pre><code>* English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Foreign Language
- History/Social Sciences"
</code></pre>
<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Requirements](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/requirements.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/requirements.html)</p>
<p>"Two Teacher Evaluations</p>
<p>These evaluations must be completed by teachers in different academic subjects who know you well."</p>
<p>[Paper</a> Submission of the Application | How to Apply | Application to Yale College | Freshmen | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/application/how/paper.html]Paper”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/application/how/paper.html)</p>
<p>"In addition to the Common Application and the Yale Common Application Supplement, several other forms will be needed to complete your application to Yale: 2 teacher evaluations from instructors who have taught you in academic subjects, the School Report Form, and the Midyear Report Form. "</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University | Application Checklist](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/checklist/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/checklist/)</p>
<p>“Two teacher references. Please ask two of your teachers to complete and send the Teacher Reference Forms by January 1. Choose teachers from two different areas of study. These two forms are available as part of the Common Application.”</p>
<p>[MIT</a> Admissions: The Freshman Application](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_freshman_application/index.shtml#teacher]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/the_freshman_application/index.shtml#teacher)</p>
<p>"We require two teacher evaluations - please give them to your teachers early! One (“Evaluation A”) should be from a math or science teacher and one (“Evaluation B”) should be from a humanities teacher. "</p>
<p>[Caltech</a> Undergraduate Admissions: Freshman Applicants](<a href=“http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/applying/freshman]Caltech”>http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/applying/freshman)</p>
<p>Caltech doesn’t even mention LORs, they just direct to the CA forms.</p>
<p>I agree with T26E4, you don’t HAVE to have the recommended coursework, but you can bet that most of the other candidates will have taken these classes, and in many cases, more. With so many applicants and so few spots, you’d better be ready to bring it big time with the rest of your application if you hope to be a competitive candidate.</p>
<p>hmmmmmmm, It’s my understanding (but I am unable to cite a link, so I hesitate to state as fact) that it is indeed the final level reached, not the number of years of FL taken in HS that is important.</p>
<p>entomom - Thanks for the correction on Stanford. I did call a few of the HYPSMC school admission office and more than one told me they will not accept LOR from FL teachers. When asked why, they said because FL is not considered core academic subject.</p>
<p>PCP,
I don’t mean to argue with you, but I don’t see anything in the LOR instructions for ANY of those schools that would preclude using a FL teacher. I can’t quite understand why they would they say that over the phone and not make it clear on their website, after all, they call the shots when it comes to admissions requirements.</p>