Foreign language prereq for IGETC

<p>Hi, I am a ccc student who has just finished my first year in ccc. I am facing a dilemma regarding the prereq for the foreign language criteria on IGETC. </p>

<p>some background information about me: I immigrated to California from China on my freshman year of high school, and I had received all my previous education in China. I can read/write/speak Chinese effortlessly as it was my first language. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do I still need to complete the 2 year foreign language requirement for the IGETC? </p></li>
<li><p>If not, Do I need to take other actions such as taking an AP test for Chinese or something in that nature?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>more background information about me: I am trying to transfer to UCB(college of letters and science) in either next fall or the one after. I have taken 2 years of spanish in high school, but i did not get very good grades in both classes( C OR B i think)</p>

<p>I really have no idea how to handle this situation, none of the counselors in my ccc has a firm idea on resolving this issue. </p>

<p>Thank you for your help in advance!</p>

<p>I might be mistaken but the foreign language requirement might not be required for you since english is not your first language.</p>

<p>but if it is…and you have 2 years of spanish in high school with a C or better then it will satisfy the requirement</p>

<p>Yes, that’s right about the HS. Let’s hope you can get your transcripts when admissions asks for them.</p>

<p>Thank you all for the fast response. </p>

<p>If those two spanish courses that I took in high school can fulfill this requirement, does it mean that the grades I got in those 2 classes will be counted with my GPA in college?</p>

<p>@matchcutto: Can I ask my CCC to include those 2 high school courses in my transcript now? so that it will get a “pass” in the future for this IGETC requirement? like you said, I don’t think asking my high school for my transcript in the future is a reliable idea after all.</p>

<p>Some CCCs have a single, one semester course that satisfies the IGETC foreign language requirement. It may be worth finding one and completing it to avoid any issues with transcripts.</p>

<p>That said, I believe you have a few more practical options to satisfy the requirement. According to SMC’s IGETC worksheet, you can fulfill the foreign language requirement by testing out of it. Both AP and SAT II language other than English classes will satisfy the requirement–both offer Chinese.</p>

<p>Now, if you took Chinese at a CCC or took the AP test, you wouldn’t gain any units because your high school’s instruction was in that language. However, it should still satisfy the foreign language requirement, and you wouldn’t have to worry about transcript issues.</p>

<p>Here’s SMC’s IGETC worksheet. The bottom of Page 3 and the top of Page 4 deal with the foreign language requirement.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.smc.edu/projects/26/igetc.pdf[/url]”>http://www.smc.edu/projects/26/igetc.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>No, you will not receive college units for high school classes, unless you took an AP test or something similar in the subject. You can use high school foreign languages to satisfy a requirement, but those classes won’t factor into your GPA, and won’t count toward The 120 units you need to graduate from Berkeley.</p>

<p>In fact, if you attended a Chinese-speaking high school for two or more years, you’re already set, aside from issues with transcripts. Being instructed in a language other than English for that long satisfies the requirement, so long as you had a 2.0 GPA or better.</p>

<p>@nick_scheu:first of all, thanks for the help</p>

<p>“other AP and SAT II language other than English classes will satisfy the requirement–both offer Chinese.” Does it mean that I should take either one of the tests to fulfill this requirement?</p>

<p>“Now, if you took Chinese at a CCC or took the AP test, you wouldn’t gain any units because your high school’s instruction was in that language.” I am a lil bit confused, I thought you said the AP test is a doable idea? and I completed my 4 years of high school in here.</p>

<p>There’s a difference between earning units and satisfying requirements. Most of IGETC requires units in various sections–Math, Arts, English, etc. The foreign language section does not require units, it only requires you to either 1) Take a certain number of courses in a foreign language and earn a C or better, or 2) Demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language by getting a certain score on a test.</p>

<p>AP foreign language tests normally both provide units and satisfy the requirement. If you took the AP Chinese test, you would not be awarded any units, but the foreign language requirement should be satisfied. If you took SAT II in Chinese, this would also satisfy the requirement. SAT II tests never provide college units.</p>

<p>Bottom line, I’d talk to your counselor. Find out if you can take the SAT II subject test in Chinese to satisfy the IGETC requirement–according to the worksheet I linked to above, you should be able to. Take it, get a 520 or better, and the requirement will be satisfied. You won’t earn any college units, but you don’t need to. Doing it this way just allows you to focus on your major prep courses and electives.</p>

<p>@nick_scheu: I think I know what to do now, thank you and everyone else for the help. :)</p>

<p>Yes, getting your HS transcripts here will be a hassle since you will have to get your school to translate them to English and then send them officially- and I know that’s not easy to do.</p>

<p>According to SMC, you can just take level 1 of certain languages and that will be enough for your language requirement. Maybe that might be easier for you? </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.smc.edu/projects/26/igetc.pdf[/url]”>http://www.smc.edu/projects/26/igetc.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;