Foreign language?

Applying to College
1

<p>My D is a junior currently taking French IV and hating every minute of it, not doing great either (probably a high B). We are currently debating whether she should drop French V in her senior year. The teacher says that French V is the "AP version" of French, where rather than fill out sheets and do basic grammar they will have to actually write out whole passages in French. My D is likely to hate it even more, and do worse.</p>

<p>We almost made the decision to drop French V next year, but then discovered that some schools "recommend" 4 years of a foreign language. She skipped French I in 9th grade on the basis of her middle school French placement test, which is why she is taking French IV in 11th grade.</p>

<p>Anyone have a feel whether not taking French next year, a core course, will be viewed negatively on her application? Her other classes are AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Econ, Physics, Advanced Art, and Marketing, so she does have a full schedule. Should we just list the fact that she placed out of French I on her applications in the fall?</p>

2

<p>I'd say no. She doesn't like it, she's already very advanced, and she has a full schedule. I seriously doubt it would impact her negatively in admissions if she were to drop it.</p>

3

<p>Don't stress out too much about recommendations. In many cases, that's just what they are, recommendations. I got into top colleges with only taking three years of (regular) history when they recommended four, so I doubt that skipping French V would be detrimental to your D's app, especially since she is already past French IV.</p>

4

<p>When colleges recommend 3 or 4 years of a single foreign language, they mean completing the third or fourth year of the language, not that you must take foreign language in every year of high school. So she is fine by completing French IV.</p>

5

<p>Thank you all for the replies.</p>