Four Years of Language Recommended?

Applying to College
1

<p>Most of the colleges my D is applying to recommend 4 years of a language for admission. She took French I during middle school and completed French IV last year. She opted not to take French V (mostly because it was killing her) to take a 4th year of science, which is also highly recommended. She plans to major in psychology so that was an easy choice for her. Question is will admissions count the middle school french as the fourth year?</p>

2

<p>It is the level reached, not the actual number of years taken in HS, so she has 4 yrs of French.</p>

3

<p>That might not always be the case, entomom. Most of the colleges in my state (FL) require a minimum of two consecutive years of foreign language while in High School. They don’t count middle school credits, it just determines whether you start in HS at level 1 or level 2.</p>

4

<p>It probably counts as having four years, but blowing off French V because she thinks she doesn’t need it as a psychology major is NOT something you want to mention anywhere on an app. “I chose to take a fourth science because that’s what I’m interested in” sounds a lot better than “I don’t think taking more French is important since I had already decided what I wanted to do for the rest of my life in my junior year of high school.” In other words, play off your strengths.</p>

5

<p>The only schools that I know of that recommend 4 yrs of a FL are highly selective ones and they look at the level reached.</p>

<p>If FL only requires 2 yrs, it makes more sense that they only count HS courses.</p>

6

<p>“Reccommend” isn’t “require.” Especially if she’s replacing it with a 4th year of science (ie, not some elective or low level class) and hopes for a psych major. Skipping the 4th year of language is slightly more of an issue for majors that require language skills.</p>

<p>adding: this article may allay some concerns
<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/a/ForeignLanguage.htm[/url]”>http://collegeapps.about.com/od/theartofgettingaccepted/a/ForeignLanguage.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>Thanks everyone for your input. And Kudryavka I agree with you, she’s not going to say anything about it on her application, but I wouldn’t say she was blowing it off. She thought hard about this decision and it was just the way her schedule could work out this year.</p>