<p>I took Spanish 1 in 7th grade, Spanish 2 in 8th, Spanish 3 in 9th, and Spanish 4 in 10th. Would it look better to colleges if I continued on to DP Spanish HL or took IB/DP ab initio Chinese? I am entering 11th grade so I am subject to only take Chinese for 2 years. I'm asking about elite, highly selective colleges. Because I've fulfilled the requirement of 4 years of a language, I question whether colleges would want trilingualism or "advanced" fluency in 2 languages.</p>
<p>Two years of another language will not give you “advanced fluency”. If you want to take another language then do it. Otherwise find something else to do with your time.</p>
<p>Either can be fine. Right now, you only have 2 years of hs foreign language. Most important is to not stop where you are now. But, to make this make sense, from a language learning pov, you need to be sure you can fit senior year Chinese into your schedule. Depending on your possible college major, you don’t want to be stuck choosing between Chinese 2 and some higher level math or sci courses.</p>
<p>Are you native with either language?</p>
<p>I think you already have 4 years of Spanish so I think it’s best to continue down that path.</p>
<p>@billcsho no</p>
<p>Continue with Spanish, or take Chinese if you genuinely want to learn the language, not to impress colleges, or drop your language altogether. As someone who has taken both Spanish (for 5 years) and Chinese (4 years at the high school level, one at the university level, and a month long stay in China), I can tell you that if you think that after two years of Chinese you will be fluent, you are severely misinformed. Chinese and Spanish are entirely different languages. Spanish is much easier for native English speakers to learn. There is no way you could gain fluency of Chinese in two years, short of living in a Mandarin-speaking country. Do NOT take Chinese if the only reason is the impress colleges. Chinese II isn’t impressive. However, do take Chinese if you’re genuinely interested. </p>
<p>Since neither one is your native language, it may actually show your passion in some way. Having one foreign language for 4 years is sufficient to fulfill any school application requirement. If you are planning to major in International Relationship or other kind of Global Study, having a second foreign language may strengthen your application. Although level 2 of any language would not likely make you fluent in it, but you can definitely continue studying in college and that 2 years learning may help your placement.
If you are not going to study in that area, then you better use your time to take other useful courses. Also, continue in Spanish may get you college credit while level 4 may or may not.</p>