<p>I KNow that I have in the past seen some postings concerning schools that neither require Foreign language to be admitted, nor require foreign language once at college. I however can't seem to find them. </p>
<p>My Dilemna is this , my son, who is now a HS Sophmore has huge issues with SPanish. He has straight A's in honors and AP classes in all subjects, except B's and C's in Spanish . This is not an issue of not doing the work. He works harder in SPanish than in all other classes combined. We have a tutor 2x a week, who says his written work is probably at an A- level, but he gets below 50 on anything "oral" he needs to do in class. Basically he has no ability to speak at all. </p>
<p>He is probably pretty competitive for some very good schools,(based on 10th grade PSATof 199 and weighted GPA) and his counselor wants him to take another year of Spanish, so he will have 3 years. Spanish is not only killing his rank, but crushing his soul. He is likely to go into business of something science based. Any suggestions for schools that willnot require a 3rd year, or any spanish in college, and or whether a 3rd year is really necessary.</p>
<p>I am looking for schools for my “B+” student (so no Ivies). Vitually every web site I’ve checked out (30 or so) want 2 years of the same foreign language. Only one “recommended” a third year.</p>
<p>Its general institute (breadth) requirements, while extensive, do not include a foreign language graduation requirement:
[MIT</a> Course Catalog: Undergraduate General Institute Requirements](<a href=“Welcome! < MIT”>Welcome! < MIT)</p>
<p>In many cases at other schools, foreign language graduation requirements may vary by major.</p>
<p>Does he have any friends in school who are native or heritage speakers of Spanish who can help him with the speaking part?</p>
<p>He does have a number of friends who are native speakers. Unfortunately that is a big part of the problem. Since the only language offered is SPanish, all the native speakers take Spanish beginning with SPanish 1 to make their life easier. His SPAnish class is probably 1/3 native speakers. The school does not see a problem with this since, they want these spanish speakers to learn “proper spanish.” His friends try to help him, but he just is not able to catch on. I understand this, since I work with a large SPanish clientele, I can understand almost everything that is said, but can’t respond.</p>
<p>In addition to schools that don’t have a language requirement, if your S has small schools on his list, you might inquire whether they have any flexibility about their requirements. </p>
<p>Our S had a similar problem with Spanish in HS. He made it through 4 years only by the grace of a teacher who gave him grades in part based on his effort. His Spanish subject test score at the end of HS was in the bottom 1% - shockingly low for anyone, much less a student whose other college board results were all above 700. </p>
<p>Despite the low Spanish grades, he was accepted to and started at a well-regarded LAC last year. He signed up for language his first term. But, after a couple weeks of class, it was clear to him and his professor that he would be unable to meet the language requirement for graduation. </p>
<p>With the professor’s encouragement, our S applied for an exception. A committee of professors agreed within a couple weeks to modify his graduation requirements. He is now required to take courses taught in English covering aspects of foreign cultures in lieu of mastering a language. </p>
<p>This is apparently a not-uncommon accommodation made by S’s school for students like our S and yours who try their best but are unable to master a language. I would expect other LACs may provide similar accommodations.</p>
<p>Some high schools (and colleges) with a lot of heritage speakers have special versions of the courses for heritage speakers (who, if they need high school language courses, are typically well beyond high school level in speaking and listening, but weaker in reading and writing).</p>
<p>As to what level of foreign language completion is sufficient, you have to check each college’s entrance and graduation requirements.</p>
<p>Do you know why his GC wants him to take 3 years? Our HS requires at least 3 years of foreigh language as one of the requirements for GC to check the box stating “Distinguished”, the highest level of graduation plan. The next level down is the Recommended plan where students only need to take 2 years of foreigh language. Each HS is different, so you may want to look into it.</p>
<p>Serenade, you must be a Texan. I realized that working toward the “Distinguished” diploma is one of the least worthwhile things a student at a public school in Texas can do. Our students’ transcripts all say “recommended” diploma (unless it’s “minimum”) until after graduation. If a student orders a transcript after graduation, then “Distinguished” is on it, but by that time, the college application process is over. The actual diploma doesn’t even say Distinguished.s</p>
<p>Plus, several “advanced measures” are required, and if the student doesn’t get those until Senior year AP scores come out, the school generally doesn’t pay attention and the transcript still says “recommended.”</p>
<p>^I agree. Nobody is going to care whether it is a Distinguished or Recommended plan after graduation. However, the LOR from our HS GC is going to be stated based on students’ intention. By the senior year, GC and students should have a very clear picture of what graduation plan a student is in. The rules now allow the newest state mandated tests (STAR?) can also be used as advanced measures, not just APs.</p>
<p>I guess each district can decide which of the state permitted “advanced measures” they accept. Ours only recognizes PSAT honors and AP exams…so that really means, if you don’t have them by summer before Junior year, the school isn’t going to check the “distinguished” box.</p>
<p>I had similar problems in high school - I took a gap year in France and by the end of the year spoke French fluently. IMO worth considering. My son similarly struggled with Latin in high school, and then ended up at a school where the IR major required taking a language till you were fluent. (Don’t go to Tufts! Even if you aren’t in IR it has more of a language requirement than most schools.) He’s finally getting good at Arabic, but he’s spent one summer in Jordan and did an immersion program in the fall.</p>
<p>U of Rochester and Brown don’t have language requirements.</p>
<p>Many colleges, even ones that don’t have language requirements may prefer to see students with 3 or 4 years in high school, even if they don’t* require* it.</p>
<p>Does your son attend a NYS public school? If yes, he will need the 3 years of spanish and the LOTE in order to get an advanced regents diploma, advanced regents with honors, or any of the 3 new diplomas that the state has introduced</p>
<p>Advanced Regents Diploma with Mastery in Math: The student must complete all course and exam requirements for the Advanced Regents diploma and score 85 or higher on each of the three required math Regents exams: Integrated Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2/Trigonometry. </p>
<p>Advanced Regents Diploma with Mastery in Science: The student must complete all course and exam requirements for the Advanced Regents diploma and score 85 or higher on any three science Regents exams. (Note: While the Advanced Regents diploma requires only two science Regents exams, the Advanced Regents Diploma with Mastery in Science requires three science Regents exams.) </p>
<p>Advanced Regents Diploma with Mastery in Math and Science: The student must complete all course and exam requirements for the Advanced Regents diploma, score 85 or higher on three math Regents exams, and score 85 or higher on three science Regents exams. Note: students earning these diploma designations must complete all course and exam requirements for the Advanced Regents diploma, including 6 credits in a Language Other Than English (LOTE) and the LOTE exam. </p>
<p>I suggest that you pick out a number of possible schools that he might be interested in and check what their requirements are. </p>
<p>There was some question if my D would stop with 2 years of foreign language because of scheduling difficulties. I checked a lot of schools and found that with only one exception, none of the schools of interest required more than 2 years, although a number recommended more. </p>
<p>The more selective schools are more likely to require more years of language. But given that relatively few require more than 2, and your S is finding Spanish to be problematic, I would say to drop it next year.</p>
<p>Looks like SUNYs have a graduation requirement of either second semester level university foreign language, or an 85 or higher in a foreign language Regents exam.</p>
<p>Both my kids went to big state u’s in N.C. </p>
<p>S1 took three years of Latin in h.s. His college major didn’t require any further foreign language courses at the college level.</p>
<p>S2 was terrible at Spanish. He got a C in Spanish as a soph. and failed Spanish II as a junior (had never made less than a C in his life. Six other kids failed too. Teacher was very young). He took Spanish II again as a senior and made a C…hallelujah. </p>
<p>Both kids’ big state u’s required at least two years of h.s. foreign language for admittance.
Both of them got B.S. degrees.</p>
<p>The NY State foreign language regents exam were already widely considered a joke among most foreign language teachers at my HS back in the early-mid '90s. When they heard I scored in the high 90s on the regents for the foreign language I took despite having flunking or abysmally mediocre course grades for most of the 3 year period, one teacher said…of course! You’d have to be inexplicably stupid or high on some drugs to not score at least a 90/100. </p>
<p>And according to several old teachers still teaching and current teachers in that department…the exam’s been watered down further because the regents diploma has become required for most NYS high school graduates rather than a slightly higher diploma above the regular diploma that’s no longer offered at most schools.</p>
<p>Considering all that, I’m surprised any college would accept regents exam results as equivalent of fulfilling a college-level language requirement.</p>
<p>The state no longer administers a foreign language regents regents. It is a new exam for foreign language. In addition, the state has expanded the diploma options</p>
<p>I’ve heard of some kids at our school who have speaking difficulties in the traditional “world” language courses, so they take American Sign Language at the local CC instead. I think they fulfill 1 year of second language requirement (for the CA state schools at least) for each semester of ASL.</p>