DS19 is taking Chinese 4 as a senior. He took Chinese 1 & 2, but in his junior year, he couldn’t fit Chinese 3 into his schedule (overlapped with required core course). However, the teacher allowed him to sit in a Chinese 2 class during his lunch period, and she differentiated for him so that he knew enough Chinese 3 to be able to take 4. He didn’t get any credit for this, even though I think he should have;) He is also now a member of the Chinese Honor Society and will hold the position of Secretary as a senior. If he is interested in a school that requires 4 years of a language, do you think they will consider him if 3 is not on his transcript, but 4 is? No matter where he applies, should he mention his arrangement of taking it for non-credit during his lunch period, and if so, where would he put it on his application?
It’s the level that matters and not the years. Some people say some schools need 4 actual years but I haven’t seen concrete evidence of it.
IME, “some people” would be wrong. I have never heard an AO state this. Completing level 4 = 4 years. Now if level 4 were achieved as a freshman, well, then that might be different.
Yes, he will be fine.
Has he taken the subject test?
Agree, if level 4 is taken it should be fine.
If you want to mention the no-credit course you can do so in the additional information section (keep it short and sweet – a sentence or two) and if you want you can ask the guidance counselor can mention the conflict with Chinese 3 in his/her letter or recommendation.
I cannot answer your question, but can encourage your son to take the appropriate AP & SAT subject language tests to further establish his accomplishments & proficiency in this area.
@VickiSoCal No subject test. Never thought about it, but if it can help then I’m sure he will consider it.
I don’t think the subject test is necessary.
I agree.
That said, if the college has a foreign language requirement for graduation, it may be advantageous to take the AP/SAT exam, as a high enough score may exempt one for the requirement or lower the number of classes needed to achieve. But for admissions? Not necessary.
Just a thought, but my understanding is that the curve on the AP Chinese test is very harsh since so many native Chinese speakers take it to get college credit. While you don’t have to report AP scores to every college you apply to, there are some that would require it and others that might find it odd if you reported all AP scores except one. IOW, if there’s a risk that he’d get a lowish AP score in Chinese, sign up to take it senior year so he’s taking it after colleges acceptances are done. Best of all worlds - he gets college credit if he does well and nobody will know or care if he gets a 2.
He’s going in to his senior year now. If he takes AP test it would be at end of that. I was thinking he could take SAT in November.
The overall score distribution on AP Chinese is heavily skewed toward 5 scores because of the large number of heritage speakers, but the non-heritage-speaker (“standard group”) score distributions appear more typical:
Just take the AP for potential placement/credit purposes. Fall is pretty hectic with app’s and perhaps last minute burnishing of SAT/ACT or core subject SAT2 scores.
Same for the Subject Test. But if the OP’s kid is taking either test just for credit/placement, it does not matter. The kid does not need to list the test on the application, and he’s better served taking the AP exam in the Spring after college decisions have been made.
The timing might be rough with college application deadlines. Unfortunately that’s the only date its offered.
Alternatively, he might want to forgo them all, and just take the college’s free placement exam.
Also, some schools require multiple SAT subject tests for admission. Not sure, but I think that Georgetown is among those schools.
Yes, Georgetown requires 3 subject tests.