Foreign Language requirement

Applying to College
1

<p>I am a sophomore right now and we are currently scheduling for Junior year. Following is a question I have regarding foreign language;</p>

<p>I took Spanish 1 in 8th grade which got transferred over to HS, I took Spanish 2 as a freshman and I am taking Spanish 3 currently as a sophomore.</p>

<p>Would this be enough for the college requirement or should I do more. If I need to have language all four years of HS, I was planning to do French 1 & 2 because I heard Spanish 4 is very tough and I am not planning on becoming a linguist.</p>

<p>Also, would this be enough for Ivy schools too?</p>

<p>Please let me know.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Three years is enough to meet requirements at the vast majority of selective schools. To get into an Ivy, however, you may need more.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think any of the top 20 schools actually “require” certain high school classes. Most of them “recommend.”</p>

<p>It would, however, likely be a better idea to stick with Spanish than to switch. Maybe you might want to take 3 years (the number most top schools recommend) instead of 4, but switching is generally a bad idea.</p>

4

<p>Since I already have 3 years, although 1 year done in Middle school, can I stop taking the foreign classes and do some other APs instead?</p>

<p>Also, would that effect my chances to selective/IVY schools, (my goal is Harvard)?</p>

<p>If I continue, I will do Spanish 4 as Junior and AP spanish in senior, for which I think it is too much Spanish for somebody not specializing in Spanish.</p>

5

<p>It depends what AP courses you would take instead, and on your grades in Spanish.</p>

<p>My sense is that the Ivies are looking for depth and passion in the cornerstone subjects – english, math, science, history and foreign language. So if you are not thrilled by continuing Spanish at the higher level, you may not get the best of grades. If the AP/honors class you decide to take is in a core curriculum subject, and you do very well in that class it’s a good tradeoff.</p>

6

<p>It is the level you reach, not the number of years taken in HS. So, your 1 yr in middle school and 3 yrs in HS would meet the recommendation/requirement of any college. For schools like H, you should stick with 4 yrs of a single language, not break it up into 3 yrs of one and 1 or 2 yrs of another:</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Preparing for College](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#preparation]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#preparation)</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/preparation/[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/preparation/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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7

<p>I would take the 4th year of Spanish. I was surprised at how many schools “highly recommend” 4 years of a single language. You don’t want to eliminate any options because of a language requirement. Also, my D already took Spanish 4 (her school is on blocks) and aced it no problem. She started Spanish like you (in 8th grade) and is a sophomore now and is fluent in reading, writing and speaking Spanish. Spanish 4 was no problem for her. She and her friends from Spanish 4 even texted each other in Spanish to perfect their skills in a more fun way - it really helped! She really enjoyed Spanish 4 and will be taking AP Spanish next. Good luck! :)</p>

8

<p>Sorry for the semi-thread jacking but this question has always bugged me. I know that Princeton and Harvard recommend 4 years but how would 3 levels look for a prospective engineering major that dropped French to take two sciences?</p>

9

<p>hsstu, To find the most definitive answer to your question, go to the source. The college websites described above seem helpful. You might also want to check the Common Data Sets provided by the colleges in which you are interested. They can be found by searching the internet for “Common Data Set” and the college’s name. Item C5 is: “Distribution of high school units required and/or recommended. Specify the distribution of academic high school course units required and/or recommended of all or most degree-seeking students using Carnegie units (one unit equals one year of study or its equivalent).”</p>

<p>My daughter and I addressed a similar question this week, as she is a junior preparing her senior schedule. She has taken three years of the same high school language, but will have trouble fitting in a fourth year with the other (primarily AP) classes she is considering. Of the 15 selective colleges we researched, none requires more than 2 years, although many recommend more. Of the Ivies we looked into, Dartmouth left this blank, Cornell recommends 3 and Princeton recommends 4. I was interested to see that UVA’s Common Data Set recommends 5 high school units of foreign language, and hope that this is a mistake!</p>

<p>A broader consideration as you think about whether to drop foreign language from your schedule is whether your overall schedule will be considered demanding enough by selective schools. One question in the Common Application asks your school to answer the following: “In comparison with other college preparatory students at your school, the applicant’s course selection is:> most demanding > very demanding> demanding> average> below average.” Therefore, if you’d like to apply to selective schools but take only two years of a foreign language, you’ll want to make sure that your other courses are demanding enough that your guidance counselor will still be able to mark “most demanding.” Please also think about whether he or she will be able to do if it is the case that the only reason that you wish not to take Spanish 4 is that you have heard it is very tough.</p>