<p>I could not find this info on the MHC website. Does anyone know what the policy is to allow students to place out of the foreign language requirement based on an AP score? Specifically, what score in AP French would be needed to avoid having to take additional foreign language classes?</p>
<p>Im not 100% sure but usually if you have a 4 or 5 they take the credit and you have to take a test by the department to place you in a class. I heard it was a lot harder than the APs. You can call the language department and ask. Everyone is pretty helpful</p>
<p>There’s no way to test out of the language requirement. The best you can hope for is to test into an intermediate-or-higher level class, and only have to take one 4-credit course. The AP doesn’t help you there, either - you have to take the placement test (<a href=“https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/french/placement_exam[/url]”>https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/french/placement_exam</a>)</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.mtholyoke.edu/transfer/exemptions[/url]”>https://www.mtholyoke.edu/transfer/exemptions</a> “Advanced Placement credits may not be used for distribution.”
<a href=“https://www.mtholyoke.edu/registrar/transferap[/url]”>https://www.mtholyoke.edu/registrar/transferap</a> “Advance Placement credit cannot be applied toward college requirements.”
<a href=“https://www.mtholyoke.edu/registrar/ab[/url]”>https://www.mtholyoke.edu/registrar/ab</a>
</p>
<p>Hmm… this is the only college on my kid’s list that will not allow placing out via AP score. Honestly, could be a deal breaker her for her. After suffering through many years of foreign language study, she hopes to never have to take another class in it.</p>
<p>I can guarantee you that no AP class would be taught at the level of a course at Mt. Holyoke. We are really talking about an experience way beyond that of the typical high school classroom, even for top high school students. Mt. Holyoke continues to be recognized by students for a top-notch classroom experience. If she struggled during high school then she should ask early for tutoring. If she is accepted, to turn down Mt. Holyoke just because they have high standards and expectations would be a really bad decision. Could be she is not the right type of student for Mt. Holyoke anyway, if this is the case. Does she want a challenging college experience that will give her excellent preparation for grad school/career/life? Or does she just want easy A’s? Big difference. There are no easy A’s at Mt. Holyoke; there is only an exceptional educational opportunity to really learn and grow!
(Alum from Class of '89)</p>
<p>My kid has taken foreign language since kindergarten at her school. She has studied two different foreign languages (one for several years, another one she took a couple of semesters outside of the regular school day). And honestly… she HATES them. She has ground her way through her high school language, and is taking AP this year partly with the hope of NOT taking a language in college if she can score high enough. She is an excellent students in all other areas, but has no talent at all for foreign languages (this is a family trait, probably actually genetic… her dad and I also have a horrible time with foreign languages, and her older siblings were also awful at them).</p>
<p>I think you post is a little smug about how not being good at this ONE academic component means a kid is not a good candidate for MHC or not willing to work hard. MHC is honestly not the most rigorous LAC around – strong, but not drop dead difficult like some. You are fooling yourself if you think it is… it is actually probably the easiest school on her college list. She is willing to work hard (her stats and ECs definitely show that), but has pretty much had her fill of foreign languages. So it is a legitimate question for her to consider when looking at schools. MHC is out of the mainstream of other LACs on this issue, IMHO. And not for any good reason that anyone has posted so far.</p>
<p>teachandmom, i’m going to be attending Moho next year and I honestly REALLY hope that I won’t be as elitist and disrespectful as you are when I graduate. </p>
<p>intparent, This is what the MHC website says about AP tests. </p>
<p>Mount Holyoke participates in the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. A student who has received a grade of 4 or 5 on an A.P. exam in a subject approved for credit by the appropriate College department generally shall receive 4 elective credits.</p>
<p>From what I’ve asked in the admissions office it seems that you can place out of a lower level class and take a higher level elective instead…but you can’t opt out. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>It just bothers me very much to see students and parents who want Mt. Holyoke to lower it’s standards and requirements. The college has already done so over the past 20 years; I know many professors who say today’s student is not as prepared as those of the past. It’s a fact.
On a side note, no self-respecting Mt. Holyoke student ever called herself a MoHo in days past, either. Do you not get the connotation of the “Ho” that could be brought to people’s minds? Mt. Holyoke women fought to0 hard to be respected and though of as bright, capable women who excel. We were always Mt. Holyoke women, Uncommon women, or later, alums; not Mo HO’s. Mt. Holyoke College was MHC or Mt. Holyoke, not MoHO. Mary Lyon must be turning in her grave. I am very far from elitist, but I do have exceptional pride in my alma mater, and hate to see some of the changes that have taken place. If anyone ever dared call a student a HO, there would be protests, uproar, “student education efforts”, etc. Where has pride gone? How is it any different than using a negative racial or ethnic connotation, if you think about it a bit? I hope those attending in the near future will consider such things, in respect to all the women who worked so hard before you.</p>
<p>Although I don’t believe it’s right to knock a college off a list for one class, I think teachandmom was a little too harsh in her response. </p>
<p>If your daughter was able to make it to AP French, I’m sure that she would do fine with the foreign language requirement at MHC. However, I do agree that teachandmom is right in saying that an AP course is definitely not academically equivalent to a MHC course, especially for foreign languages. In my experience, foreign languages in high school are extremely different from ones in college. Mount Holyoke is more focused on actually using the language instead of simply studying verb charts so the courses are pretty useful for that aspect. </p>
<p>Most people complain about at least one distribution requirement. Personally, I dislike science and hated that I couldn’t use my AP credit to skip out of the lab requirement, but by the end of the semester I was glad I had to take the class. I’m definitely not a science major, but it was nice to broaden my horizons a bit. </p>
<p>If your daughter still plans on applying to MHC, please feel free to PM me if you have any questions!</p>