Foreign Language Requirements for Admission. Honors 5 vs another AP Senior Year?

Applying to College
1

My son is currently a junior taking French 4 honors. He has gotten A+ in all terms taken but now wants to bail on French next year instead of taking AP French 5 as a senior. He would likely swap it with an AP or Honors in something he is more interested in (e.g., Speech).

He is already signed up for five challenging APs. He is looking at top tier colleges (Georgetown, Tufts, Bowdoin, etc.) and focusing on psychology, sociology or business programs. Most of those schools we have checked seemed to indicate that as long as he takes a ‘level 4’ FL class, that meets the requirements/suggestion of four years of a FL. But they also sort of allude to the fact that taking more is looked favorably upon.

Any opinions on what he should do senior year? Take French 5 Honors, probably do well but not really enjoy it? Drop French senior year and fill that slot with another AP or H class he is interested in? Is is pretty much a wash so why not just do the one that makes him enjoy school more (especially after this stressful and strange COVID year)?

2

Completion of level 4 will satisfy the recommended HS foreign language prep for ant college. He can feel free to drop French for another course.

2 Likes
3

For admission, level 4 should be sufficient for admission for any US college.

However, completing a higher level in high school may result in placing into a higher level in college, which may allow for completing a foreign language graduation requirement in fewer courses, or otherwise reach a higher level in French if desired for some other reason (e.g. for a major, or before doing study abroad in a French-speaking place).

2 Likes
4

Completing Level 4 will suffice. He can take Speech with no worries.

5

Level 4 of a foreign language is sufficient for any school.

My D is in the same boat - I don’t think she’s had less than a 98 in any grading period through the current 3rd period of Honors French 4 - and she won’t be taking AP French next year, to free up time for other courses.