Is it really that important to take 4 years vs 3 years if your planning to apply to a state school or is it very little…
Check you state school requirements. 2-3 years is common.
It depends on the school. Some recommend 4 years. If it is a competitive school, take all recommendation as requirement. My D2 wanted to quit Spanish after level 3. I have convinced her to finish level 4 in junior year to keep the door wide open to any college.
Agree, look at the website of each school you plan to apply to and it should spell out the required/recommended HS coursework.
for one of my top school uconn it states:
2 years of a single foreign language (3 years strongly recommended)*
Then three years is what you need (four if you want to be more competitive, depending on your future major and how competitive it is.)