<p>Duke is my top college, and I plan to apply ED for the class of 2011 (Im a rising Junior). Im concerned because I am not taking 4 years of Spanish, I am dropping it since I completed Spanish III this year. Will this hurt my chances at Duke? </p>
<p>BTW, I am replacing it with an advanced engineering class to fulfill my technology credit.</p>
<p>No, I dont think it hurts you that much since I did the same and got in in spite of it, I took AP Physics in lieu of it. As long as u replace it w/ a course of equal or greater rigor, I think ur fine.</p>
<p>I replaced Spanish with a directed study (not of equal rigor...) after 3 years and I got in. It shouldn't matter much if at all.</p>
<p>Yeah don't sweat it! The 4 years of a foreign language are ONLY a sample schedule of what a strong applicant might take. It is NOT required! I would replace the FL class with an AP</p>
<p>Yes, this is a concern for me too. I will only have two years of Spanish by graduation and there is nothing I can do about it. I've heard that you don't get the top score in admissions for a strenuous curriculum unless you've had a FL every year and I'm worried.</p>
<p>Novah, I wouldnt worry about it too much. I only took 3 years of fl and still got in. If you think about the huge number of factors that determine admissions decisions (sats, grades, ecs, essays, recs, etc) do you really think that whether you took 2 or 3 or 4 years of a language can possibly make much of a difference? I think not. While its prolly better if you take 4 years, its nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>I only took 2 yrs FL in HS (9th &10th) and I got in. I wanted to continue Spanish in 11th and 12th but I had scheduling conflicts with AP Chem and AP Phys. I just explained my situation in one of my Duke essays..</p>
<p>In my why Pratt essay: "...Following my interests and in continuing to challenge myself, Ive taken the highest level math and science courses available in high school, with AP Chemistry and AP Physics winning out over courses like Spanish in the unfortunate event of scheduling conflicts...."</p>
<p>And I also ended at Spanish III (I had HS Spanish credit from MS but it dont think it was on my transcript)</p>
<p>In contrast with all these other applicants I went beyond AP-level Spanish. I took an Independent Study Class where I did extensive study of Don Quijote as analyzed from a Veteran's point of view (Cervantes was a veteran of the Battle of Lepanto and lost his hand) and compared it with the Vietname war. I did as much research as online resources and the UC system would allow(I had access to UCLA's library). I think that if I were to extend this and turn my 20 page paper into a 100 page one, I could easily turn it into a thesis for a Ph.D on sociology or cultural anthropology</p>
<p>I ended with Spanish III and I regret it. You'd be suprised how much you forget senior year...and remember, you'll need anywhere from 1 to 3 credits to graduate.</p>
<p>If I take a Community College class at home via distance learning, do you think it will be considered a FL class, since it is the equivalent of Spanish 4?</p>
<p>It may, but issue really isn't college credit since you'll have to take at least one semester of a FL. You want to make sure you remember the language and the information...Spanish is the hardest FL at Duke.</p>
<p>I just mean will t count as a fourth year of FL? BTW, I want to study German or Russian at Duke for my FL class.</p>