<p>My S, a HS sophomore, is currently taking Spanish III. He's struggling a bit, but this seems to happen at the beginning of the year when he hasn't been speaking/listening to any Spanish all summer. So, although I am worried, I am hoping he will kick in as time goes on. (He got A's and B's in Spanish I and II.) Next yr as a jr he would be taking Spanish IV, which in his school is AP Spanish. I'm concerned that he will not do well, as although he's bright, he's not the hardest worker. If he doesn't do any Spanish all next summer, he's going to have a really rough time in Spanish IV (probably fail it).</p>
<p>Here's my question: after this yr, he will have completed 3 yrs of a foreign language. Is this enough, or should he try to keep going? He's not going to be a Spanish major in college, nor will he be going to any Ivies. I see him at a 2nd tier college eventually. I'm just wondering what an admissions officer will think if his transcript looks as though he bailed after Spanish III, even though 3 yrs meets (or exceeds) the foreign language requirements at various colleges. Theoretically, he has 2 more years he could study Spanish after this one...</p>
<p>3 years of Spanish is plenty, I know plenty of very smart kids in my school who are applying to top colleges who opted not to take AP languages. It’s better to not take it than to take it and completely fail…</p>
<p>2nd tier colleges admit many if not most of their applicants. So the adcoms at those are going to mostly look at grades, scores, and college-level classes; they’re not going to go thru with the same fine-toothed comb that a top-20 school would. Its only the 100 or so super-selective colleges you see discussed to death on this forum that admit the 5-15%.</p>
<p>My suggestion is that you read a book or two on admissions to build your knowledge base so you can advise your son. One book that’s good is “Admission Matters” by Franck & Springer, there are undoubtedly other good ones out there.</p>
<p>As an aside, you might want to have a non-confrontational talk with your son about study habits; if he’s bright but not the hardest worker, how is it going to change 1 year from now? Habits are just that, habits. In college the students that are far less bright, the ones he can out-score by superior brainpower, have been screened out; he’s not going to be getting the A’s and B’s because he can outscore them anymore. In fact at many better colleges that go primarily by GPA and SAT (such as many UC campuses) there is a strong wake-up call when the 1st quarter grades come out. A lot of the kids never had to learn how to study, in HS courses were geared down so most had a shot at passing and consequently the bright kids never had to put in much effort.</p>
<p>Top schools look for academic rigor. If he bails on Spanish, he just needs to replace it with the an equally rigorous course. There is no ‘cookie cutter’ transcript that adcoms, even at HPYS, expect to see. If you still have doubts, ask the adcoms at these schools.</p>
<p>There are two considerations. Some colleges actually recommend completing the fourth level of a language but for most three will be fine for admission.</p>
<p>The other consideration is what happens once he gets to college. Majority of colleges have a foreign language requirement on the college level. If you have any idea of colleges to which he may apply, you should start looking at their college requirements and when they are waived. For example, some colleges will let you escape the college language requirement if you had four years in high school, others by having a decent AP or SAT II score.</p>