Foreign Language

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I've taken Spanish I up through Spanish III, but have decided not to continue with Spanish IV. Will this hurt my chances at schools like HYPSM? I know Harvard and Princeton traditionally recommend 4 years of a foreign language.</p>

<p>Here are my circumstances:</p>

<p>1) Taking Spanish IV could possibly lose my vale. status and bump me to salu.
2) Instead of it I would take an AP humanities elective like Human Geo or Computer Science.
3) The Spanish III and IV curriculums were changed last year to match a "storytelling" and "implicit learning" format, so that nothing is taught as a grammar lesson, but as repetitive short stories.</p>

<p>Should I go for Spanish IV and AP?</p>

2

<p>its probably not a very good idea to drop spanish</p>

3

<p>^ agreed! </p>

<p>If you can take it then take it, Just make sure to spend a little extra time studing.</p>

4

<p>I'd take it if you plan on going to harvard</p>

5

<p>hmm my counselor called back today...spanish IV doesnt fit into my schedule...shes still going to try to work something out..but in the case that it doesnt fit...would that hurt me in the long run, even tho it wasnt my fault?</p>

6

<p>If it ends up not being your fault, explicitly state that in your application. If not-then the situation get difficult. I understand you value your Val. status, but you really need to gain some perspective. I can tell by your college choices that you have high asperations-each one of those schools, they could easily fill the entire class with Vals-BUT THEY DON'T. Valedictorian is nice, but compared to Saludictorian, colleges aren't really going to care. 1 vs. 2 is a lot different than 1 vs. 20. Rank is a factor, but when you are that close, your essentially arguing over semantics. When a school like Harvard or the others says you need 4 years minimum language-YOU TAKE FOUR YEARS MINIMUM. Language is a huge aspect of the academic evaluation because it shows dedication and indepth study. No one wants to give up Val status and you shouldn't have to. It is unfortunate that that is how your school works, and it may not be obvious now, but #2 w/ advanced language looks better than #1 w/o. By the way-this years Spanish AP test had almost no grammar on it. There was mostly short story reading and analysis. Just thought you'd like to know.</p>

7

<p>hmmm...thats a really good point halopeno2</p>

<p>im gonna try and see if my counselor can work it out i really hope so!</p>

<p>thanks guys!</p>

8

<p>my suggestion would be for you to take Spanish IV as a distance learning course or dual enrollment cc class. That would save your place as val and show 4 years of language study to colleges.</p>

9

<p>Some schools even pride themselves on having a high percentage of students who took 4+ years of a language (at least, I know Wesleyan, top-tier LAC, does. They had that percentage posted on one of their fact sheets online). So yep, most definately continue on with Spanish 4.
Also, I was in the same predicament as you last year, so I know how you feel-- I wanted to continue Spanish IV, but it wouldn't fit into my schedule. So after some grovelling and begging to my Spanish teacher and my counselor, they agreed to have me sit in a Spanish III period and do my Spanish IV work there. I got my speaking practice by helping out the Spanish III students, not to mention a great review of the basics.
CAUTION: Because it's independent study, it is super-easy to fall behind (I know I did-- I got a C third quarter because I was absent a lot due to lots of school trips).</p>

10

<p>I dont have the option of doing it independent study...the Spanish department head refuses to accomodate it</p>

11

<p>Not after begging and whatnot? That's what they told me, too, at first, and my persistence paid off.
But awwww.</p>

12

<p>even if your high school won't allow you to do it independent study -- do a college class. There are many distance learning classes. there are also many options for an accredited high school class in Spanish, also online. some are much cheaper than others. You do not have to have your high schools permission to take the class.</p>

<p>The course may not be reflected on your high school diploma, but you can send the transcript from the place you take spanish at to prove you took the class. That way you have the 4 years of the language, it shows your dedication and that you did whatever it took to pursue your rigorous education.</p>

13

<p>3 years is enough if u demonstrate that you have interest elsewhere.</p>

<p>I think that for a prospective physics major colleges would like to see AP Comp sci or AP stats instead of AP spanish.</p>

<p>however, for prospective humanities majors, i think FL is placed on a much higher scale</p>

14

<p>i will most likely be a biological sciences major...so thats why i dont know
i dont think i have time to take spanish elsewhere outside of school
the way it stands..here is my schedule:</p>

<p>AP English Language
AP Calculus AB
AP Physics C
AP World History
AP Psychology
AP Music Theory
and AP Computer Science</p>

<p>now i would be taking out CS to accomodate Spanish....</p>

15

<p>If it comes down to being an impossibility for you to take Spanish, just explain it on your app. If it is out of your control (and they will be able to tell whether it is or not), than you won't be held accountable.</p>

16

<p>how do I explain it on an app? like just randomly or where?</p>