Complaining about high school advising regarding foreign language course is a bit like complaining about the placement of deck chairs on the Titanic. The much more serious issue is that, for the vast majority of American students, foreign language instruction is just abominable. They can take three or four consecutive years of a language and have no significant speaking competence, reading competence, writing competence, or comprehension, and nothing but the most superficial engagement with any culture other than their own . . . and have been both stressed and bored stiff in the process.
American (U.S.) children are literally the only students in the world who can imagine calling themselves educated while remaining fundamentally monolingual. Notwithstanding that, I always sympathize with the students and parents who seem to regard foreign language as a waste of time, because so often it is. I respect that elite colleges are trying to keep the principle of foreign language instruction alive, but unless they start caring about the quality of instruction, it’s not going to work.