Foreign language? Shoot

Applying to College
1

<p>I only have 3 years of foreign language (dropped French after sophomore year for another AP). Was this a fatal mistake if I'm looking to get into some top schools next year?</p>

2

<p>3 years? are you including before high school?</p>

<p>Anyway, two years is all that most colleges (even top ones) require. They would only want to see more if you were seriously interested in something like international business.</p>

3

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<p>No, here’s an example of why they want to see 4 yrs:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#preparation[/url]”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#preparation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>A fatal mistake, no. Will you be competing with applicants who have completed 4 years (recommended by some selective schools) of a FL, yes. It is one of many factors taken into consideration, so it just depends on how the sum total of your application adds up.</p>

<p>How about taking it sr year??</p>

4

<p>If I completed three years in high school, but it was through level 5, does that count?</p>

5

<p>Yes, because you should know “at least one foreign language well enough to read it easily and pronounce it acceptably.” I took three years, one through level 3 and one at level 1, and I was fine at Stanford.</p>

6

<p>There is to my knowledge no college that actually requires 4 years of a single language but there are some that recommend it or recommend three. There are many that require two years. And when they say they recommend or require a certain number of years they mean completing that level of the language, e.g., if they say three years are recommended they mean completing the third high school level of the language and thus, for example, if take the first two years of French in junior high and complete French 3 in one year in high school, you have “three years.”</p>

7

<p>The admissions board will consider your transcript and preparation in light of your environment. If you went to Stuyvesant or another large, rigorous where many languages are available for four years, they may hold taking only three years against you without mitigating circumstances.</p>

<p>If you went to a small rural high school or one where the academics are below the median and foreign languages are not offered for four years, they will understand your plight. If you feel competent, it may be a good idea to take the SAT II for the foreign language you studied.</p>

8

<p>My high school is a large public and it does offer French all the way to AP. I just really hated the language and never showed interest in it. Should I consider taking it again in 12th grade to finish the 4 years or am I better off continuing to load myself with AP’s?</p>