I am a junior and am have taken 3 years of Spanish, but I really don’t like it and wish to take AP Computer Science next year instead. I am unable to fit Spanish into my schedule next year due to my other AP classes. I also intend to major in a scientific field, like computer science or engineering.
I’m just wondering, would not having that fourth year of language make a real difference at highly selective schools (schools such as Stanford or Caltech)?
well, having that 4th year is better, but if you replace it with AP CS, it wouldn’t REALLY hurt you as long as everything’s tiptop. And of course, considering you’re applying to universities that turn down almost all qualified applicants, make sure you start by finding schools you like, can afford, and are sure you can get into; then look for schools you think you can get into. Once you have a few in each category, add as many reaches (such as Stanford and Caltech) as you wish or can afford.
Well, a prior CS background is helpful for any engineering major. Plus, not many schools offer the course, so it definitely wouldn’t do any harm on your transcript. But if you’re going to be a computer science major, you should at least take the APCS exam.
What level of Spanish did you achieved? Three years of Spanish in high school may reach level 4 if you started Spanish 1 in middle school which is quite common. If that is the case, you have the 4 year foreign language already. If you don’t like taking Spanish 4, you should not take it anyway. Don’t force yourself to a class just because that may help the admission a little bit (and that may not even be the case). AP CS is a relatively easy AP course. It will get you some foundation in coding and may potentially get you credits for the introductory programming class at college. However, it is also not essential even for engineering or CS major. There are quite a few top schools recommended 4 years of the same world languages but they still accept many students without that.