<p>Hi everybody, I am a freshman in high school. My weakest subject is Spanish. I would like to go to either Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, MIT or Stanford. I was wondering if only taking two years of a foreign language will greatly hurt my chances of being accepted? I will be taking all AP/honors math and science, as well as social studies/history. Provided maintain a good GPA, have strong extracurriculars and do good on standardized test, how much will this hurt me, if at all?</p>
<p>The schools you are aiming for are all reaches to extreme reaches. None of those schools will probably accept a student who finds something hard to master since they are far harder to get through than a high school language class.</p>
<p>they’re all tiptop schools with a large applicant base who have great GPAs, strong ECs and excellent test scores. Ceteris paribus, the guy with 4 years of a language will probably get in over the guy with the bare minimum.</p>
<p>It won’t be a huge detriment to your application, but having it would be better than not. For top schools you want to take every chance you get to put yourself one step ahead of the other applicants. It’s just another attribute that will add to your chances.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, if you are 100% sure that a foreign language would hurt your GPA significantly, then you definitely shouldn’t take it. Colleges say that they want people taking the most rigorous classes, but at the end of the day its the kids with the highest GPA and rank that stick out.</p>
<p>You should know that at just about any university the material covered in one year of HS language is covered in one quarter or semester. The question you ought to be asking yourself, IMHO, is whether a student who is not up to the challenge of taking 4 years of a foreign language in high school is really up to the challenge of attending one of the top universities in the country. I know this is going to sound harsh to hear, but at the top schools they expect their students to figure out ways to solve their problems and not evade them. </p>
<p>So sure, these colleges probably take students with only 2 years of a foreign language (although it helps to have taken more, and Stanford even says so explicitly on their admission webpage). Maybe you could be one of them. But the thing to really ask yourself is not whether you can get away with less language but if you’re really the type of student they’re looking for. And if you think so, then you’ll figure out a way to excel in a foreign language. </p>
<p>Yes, I agree with the above posters, but keep in mind that if your 2 years are Spanish 3 and 4 or something, then that is the same as 4 years (proficiency matters, not the years taken in HS). Somebody I know got into Stanford with just 1 year of foreign language, but got a 5 on the AP Chinese exam. He did not ever take a Chinese class, but demonstrated proficiency equivalent of 4 years in a language.</p>
<p>Yes, it is fairly common for native speakers of a language to just take the AP test and/or SAT subject test in the language, or take just Language 4/5/AP to show that they have the proficiency equal or greater than that of someone who took Language 1,2,3,4.</p>
<p>You seem to assume that Seahawks506 was talking about a native speaker of Chinese, which is possible, but I see no indication of it.</p>
<p>OP, take a foreign language. It is better for you as a person. It may look hard now, but if you persevere, the lifelong rewards will be great. Also, taking two years of Spanish would set you back in college admissions if you apply to schools like Northwestern and Stanford.</p>
<p>In the ultra achieving applicant pool for MIT, Stanford etc, I think you can be pretty much assured that the 2Y of lang will be noticed (and not to your favor) by file readers. Plough through. Get tutoring, go early or stay late w/the teacher. If reaching towards some of the world’s best colleges is really your aim, then you’ll find a way to get it done. If not, then don’t. There are plenty of colleges who will love you and you’ll thrive at – but none located in Cambridge or Palo Alto. But that’s your decision.</p>
<p>Agree with above but also recognize that some colleges require foreign language study as an undergraduate. Neither a 5 on an AP language exam or a placement test will get you excused from this requirement at my alma mater. You very well will be disadvantaged during the application process without four years of language study and you certainly should check your school list to exclude schools that would make you study a foreign language if you won’t pursue them in high school.</p>