Foreign Language Requirements...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>I am facing quite a conundrum...</p>

<p>I am going to be applying to Dartmouth, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, etc. I am currently a second semester sophomore. Now, this summer, I plan to take some classes at the Harvard Summer School if I am accepted. I am unsure about the foreign language requirements. My school (a small, private Christian academy in SoCal) only offers Spanish I-IV and American Sign Language I & II. Disregard the ASL. I am currently taking Spanish II. </p>

<p>For Harvard's Summer Program, should I be accepted, I would take Statistics and Chinese I (I really want to learn Chinese... my mom is, after all, Chinese). </p>

<p>I would then skip Spanish III in the Junior year (since I would have a schedule crammed with AP/Honors Classes, as well as Honors Journalism and Honors Choir Accompaniment). Then, I would take Spanish III Senior Year. </p>

<p>But, will colleges like Dartmouth, Harvard, or Stanford be OK with me taking 3 years of Spanish and one year of Chinese, or do they want four years of Spanish? The requirements only call for four years of a foreign language. There is no indication that you have to stay with one language. </p>

<p>I believe three years of Spanish is enough to get by, and my mom and friends can help me with my Chinese once I have built a sturdy basis in Chinese I. But, I need your help.</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Well I can’t speak for other schools. But I get the feeling as if the 4 years of a foreign language in high school requirement is a bit loose anyway (namely, I know plenty of students who only did 2-3 years of a language in highschool). So I’m sure this would be fine.</p>

3

<p>To find the most definitive answer to your question, go to the source. 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).” You might also find that searching college websites provides accurate information.</p>

<p>As a note–it usually isn’t necessary to post the same question in more than one forum. You could choose a general forum such as College Admissions and post only once.</p>