<p>I am an Asian student studying in an international school in my home country. I have noticed that some universities have a Foreign Language Requirement -- students should have taken at least 3-4 years of a foreign language in order to be considered eligible for admission. Because in my home country the government strictly requires the students to take language classes in their native languages, I wasn't able to take any language classes except my native language and English. Will the fact that I have taken four years of my native language classes satisfy the requirement? Does the foreign language requirement apply to all international students or only American students? I am talking about some top schools --even some Ivies. Do you think this will be a problem ? I have never taken a foreign language class except English before .. </p>
<p>You have taken classes in two languages: your mother tongue and English. One or the other should be considered “foreign” to you for purposes of this requirement.</p>
<p>What is the specific wording, are they actual requirements or just recommendations? If they are the former, then yes, you do have to have the designated number in order to be considered for admissions. If they are recommendations, then your application will still be considered.</p>
<p>Since English is not your native language, it’s a foreign language. For schools that have only recommendations (rather than requirements), you should be completely fine by virtue of having learned a native and non-native language, regardless of which languages those are, and by having sufficient proficiency in English to handle college-level work in English.</p>
<p>At schools that have a specific requirement when it comes to foreign language, I’d recommend contacting the admissions offices to check whether you meet the requirement before spending money on application fees.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Does Stanford, Northwestern, or U of Virginia have a foreign language requirement? I am planning to major in science- nothing to do with language… Do UCs also have a foreign language requirement??</p>
<p>^Check the websites of these schools to find out. This is a case where you want to go to the primary source, not rely on CC members as memories can be faulty, policies can change, etc. General requirements are usually not tied to specific majors, but the websites will state if there is anything special needed.</p>