<p>I'm currently a sophomore and i know its sad but i've never taken a foreign language yet in high school. For Columbia and other Ivies I know they recommend 4 years of it. First of all i couldn't have 4 years of foreign language unless i had 7 periods( which i only have six). Gym is a requirement so my freshmen year was taken up with that, and sophomore year i had to drop french in order to take AP Chem and orchestra. My aunt's a spanish teacher but she lives 9 hours away. What do you guys suggest in order to make up for this??? Im thinking mayb block my classes or independently learn? ( I know some beginner french and spanish)</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat as you. My 6-year high school requires 3 years of Latin for students entering in the 7th and 8th grades, so pretty much everyone gets 3 years. In the experience of students from my school who have applied, Columbia (nor Harvard, nor Yale, nor Stanford, etc) doesn't have a problem with this because they understand that the school requires 3 years of Latin and that the students challenged themselves. And even though we only do 3 years, we go up to AP, so students who want to show their ability have the opportunity too.</p>
<p>Perhaps, if you're school is more permissive of such things than mine is, you might be able to take a course at your local uni in the modern language of your choosing. If your school isn't, make sure you get to take AP to show your prowess and participate in contests like the National French (or whatever language) Exam.</p>
<p>Try taking some summer courses.</p>
<p>Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota do 4-week summer camps in immersion for (at least) 14 different languages. You can even get HS credit for them.</p>
<p>I went to the Japanese camp for two years -- they're great, and I even got to skip Japanese 1 and go right into Japanese 2 for my sophomore year. (Moving from out of state really screwed up my schedule.)</p>
<p>why don't u try to take summer foreign language classes at a local community college in the summer or afterschool?</p>