<p>I've heard that Ivy Leagues prefer French over Spanish to be taken as a foreign language in high school because it is commonly considered harder. Is there any truth to that? Also I have also heard that they require three years of the same language. Is that true?</p>
<p>I've never heard that. They want you to take a foreign lang, but it doesn't matter which one it is.</p>
<p>And I speak Spanish and ... from what I know about French, it's not really that much harder... you just have to worry about spelling.</p>
<p>and yes, 3 or 4 years of the same language is preferred.</p>
<p>Having studied both, I think that French is considerably harder than Spanish, but I can assure you that colleges don't care. Now, if you're taking Chinese or ancient Greek, THAT would stand out as a challenging class, but between Spanish and French, take your pick and stick with it for four years.</p>
<p>My school only offers 2 years of french and 2 years of spanish- thats the only languages. Does that matter ??</p>
<p>You will never be punished for your high school's academic failings. Colleges know that's not your fault. That said, if you have an opportunity to continue your study in the summer or at a CC, you should take it.</p>
<p>It seems like Spanish would be more useful. As far as difficulty goes, I wouldn't say either is more difficult than the other.</p>
<p>They don't care whether you take French or Spanish. What they care about are your grades in the language and whether you've pursued any additional activities related to the language. Doing the latter is not necessary, but since relatively few prospective humanities majors apply, having a demonstrated interest in foreign languages could be a big plus in admissions.</p>
<p>I am fluent in both French and Spanish, and I feel that Spanish is considerably easier, but that could be because I learned Spanish after having already known French...</p>
<p>really, Northstarmom? I love foreign languages! I'll be taking advanced spanish literature and intermediate japanese classes at University of North Texas in the fall. I'll be sure to emphasize that on my application.</p>
<p>On the flip side...I got an amazing rec from my French teacher who said that I became fluent after only two years (took the SAT II, got 800), blah blah. I also got a special cultural grant from the French gov't based on my language skills that paid for a 2 week trip in France. That plus everything else I had (see the RD decisions thread if you care) landed me a prestigious spot on the waitlist.</p>
<p>I do think that being good at languages could help set you apart a <em>little</em>, but not really that much at all. Then again, I have absolutely no idea how admissions operates.</p>
<p>I took Spanish I and II at school, but the Spanish department was so horrible at my school (even though it is a very good school), that I took Spanish III, and now Spanish IV, over the summer at another school. Will this be frowned upon by colleges?</p>
<p>Btw, I took challanging courses in Computer Science to replace Spanish.</p>
<p>i don't think it will be frowned upon because u've kept up with it. i personally think it's great that you took the initiative to go to another school to continue ur foreign lang study.</p>