<p>I've seen a lot of questions regarding foreign language requirements. Here's my situation: took 2 years of Latin in middle school = 1 year of credit on high school transcript, and an additional 1 year during my freshman year. I've gotten all A's and a Summa Cum Laude/Gold Medal on the National Latin Exam. I'm switching to a school where Latin is not offered and you can only take 6 classes (vs. 7 or 8). I will be studying independently (or maybe an online course) and then taking AP Latin Vergil this year as a sophomore. I've also been self-studying another modern language and plan to continue, but don't know how far I'll get necessarily. (possibly more languages in the future, because I <3 languages/linguistics :). but who knows?)</p>
<p>So, I can't count on getting very far in other languages besides Latin. Obviously, taking AP exams and national language exams and scoring well on them is an achievement...if I do these things successfully for Latin, will that excuse me for only having 2 yrs credit w/ only 1 yr during HS?</p>
<p>As someone who has gone from 0 to 100% fluency in Spanish in less than 3 years, I definitely understand your linguistic passion and motivation.
I don’t think that your amount of Latin credit is necessarily something that needs to be excused. Many of us applicants have less-than-ideal schools/curriculums (I hate mine), so it will perhaps comfort you to remember that colleges are evaluating you, not your high school.
It has been said that taking the AP exam of a language you are native to can be the death knell, but this is obviously not the case with Latin, a dead language. Your AP performance, if adequate, will demonstrate your zeal. It’s rather likely that your situation is preferable to someone who drudges through higher-level Latin classes without enthusiasm or exceptional performance.</p>
<p>Depending on the language(s) that you study, there are other nationally recognized (and even internationally recognized) exams available. Check the list of CLEP exams for the languages you are studying [About</a> the College Level Examination Program (CLEP)](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Earn College Credit with CLEP – CLEP | College Board) They are shorter than the AP exams, and can be taken at any time of the year at multiple locations around the country.</p>
<p>For other languages, look for exams such as those offered by the Goethe Institute (German), and Aliance Francais (French).</p>
<p>It depends on the schools to which you apply. Some colleges and universities, mainly publics, have strict high school language requirements for applicants. I know Florida and California are inflexible. Also, some colleges and universities will let applicants substitute a high AP score for the language requirement, but often Latin doesn’t qualify.</p>