<p>I'm currently thinking of applying to Harvard next year. I have an issue, however. My school doesn't offer French IV, and Harvard requires 4 years of foreign language. Will H reject my application automatically because of this? If not, will it hurt my chances a lot?</p>
<p>I'm currently taking French II in junior year. My school DOES have French III which I'll take in senior year. The school doesn't recognize credits taken during the summer (which is irrelevant b/c they don't have French IV for next year anyway).</p>
<p>Thanks for reading this.</p>
<p>From Harvard's FAQs:</p>
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Are there secondary school course requirements for admission?</p>
<p>There is no single academic path we expect all students to follow, but the strongest applicants take the most rigorous secondary school curricula available to them. An ideal four-year preparatory program includes four years of English, with extensive practice in writing; four years of math; four years of science: biology, chemistry, physics, and an advanced course in one of these subjects; three years of history, including American and European history; and four years of one foreign language.</p>
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<p>they don't require it, they just say it's ideal</p>
<p>i couldn't fit AP french V into my schedule this year (i took french I in 8th grade, and II through IV in 9th-11th grade), but i couldn't fit my 4th year in because i wanted to take classes i wanted to take this year</p>
<p>harvard will understand this.. and they don't have a 4-year requirement; a 2 or 3 year requirement is probably what they have; they were just saying 4 years in a foreign language is "ideal" for what they've listed above</p>
<p>and if your school doesn't offer it, then it's not your fault; there are many other things to a harvard applicant than having 4 years of foreign language</p>
<p>Lol, you already have 4 years of foreign language (I, II, III IV). French V is beyond the "ideal" already. What are you whining about?
Oh and the European History... I'll most likely have a less than stellar grade in it since history isn't my arena. It's offered at my school though. If I don't take it, my app will look even worse, right?</p>
<p>they said their school doesn't offer French IV, not French V.</p>
<p>and no, it won't necessarily make your app look bad as long as you've had at least three years of history. i mean, my school only offers euro G1, which is basically a euphemism for the hallway-walkers. so obviously, i didn't take it. it won't make my app look worse, though.</p>
<p>they look at high school credits, not middle school (my French I credit)</p>
<p>i wasn't whining; i was trying to prove my point by saying 3 years is probably enough (since i opted not to choose french V, my would-be fourth year of HS language, over a course I wanted to take)</p>
<p>and since you will have 3 credits (I, II, and III), that'll be fine</p>
<p>Yeah, thanks for info. I just sent them an email regarding this. They should reply soon.
I have some doubts about your situation though, which is a bit different from mine. My school doesn't offer the 4th credit while yours does.</p>
<p>I'll post here once I receive their reply.</p>
<p>if your school doesn't, then there's nothing you can do, so i'd assume harvard wouldn't hold that against you</p>
<p>I hope so. Now the one that I'm most scared about is History (no silly pun intended).
My school only offers exactly 3 history courses : World, American, and European.
Seems like I MUST take European History then. I sooo suck at History and have no clue how to study for them.</p>
<p>OP: Was it known to you that your school won't have French III and IV and is there a FL that is offered at your school up to 4 years?
If both of the above is true to you then you can score some negative point. I visited the campus during the summer and asked the admission officer clearly that can I take a different language as I've take Spanish till III year and had a gap year so would prefer to take a second language. But I was told that they prefer to see 4 years of the same language not necessarily in the high school so a students taking 1 year in middle but 3 years in High schools are fine.
But taking up to French II knowingly that school doesn't offer II and IV can go against you as the School profile will give them the information if there is any other FL at your school that is offered thru 4 years.</p>
<p>well i took spanish 4 last year but never took ap...now i dropped spanish to take another AP class. i hope this doesn't hurt >.></p>
<p>you should be fine. alot of people take that path.</p>
<p>^are you talking about me? :)</p>
<p>Remember that there are many opportunities to take any class beyond the walls of your high school. Students in our high school take classes at local community colleges, through a local private alternative high school, online, at summer programs across the country, and at our local flagship public university.
It is irrelevant whether your high school will give credit for the class...just send the transcript generated by the second school in addition to your regular transcript.</p>
<p>I didn't take French 4 my senior year of high school and I got in last year. I just didn't like the program and decided it wasn't worth another miserable year. Ironically I'm taking French at Harvard this year.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks WhiteRabbit. You made me feel ten times better.
Did you take European History? How many history courses did you take?</p>
<p>I didn't take European History, it wasn't offered at my school. I did take four years of history in High School though. I also took the AP Euro test cold my sophomore year for fun. I passed, but didn't do that well because I hadn't taken a class in European History. I will be possibly be a History concentrator here at Harvard.</p>
<p>If you look at Common Data Set information, it's correct to say that Harvard does not "REQUIRE" anything. It recommends a rigorous precollege course of study in secondary schooling that is not available to many students, and it waives one aspect or another of that ideally rigorous curriculum for applicants who bring something else in their applications. Make the best use of your available resources to challenge yourself, and don't worry about it.</p>
<p>I was wondering will they hold it against me if I only have 3 yrs of spanish as well…it wouldnt fit my schedule cause it was either AP spanish or AP Biology.</p>
<p>I know that if you master a language you can show them by taking an AP tests or subject test on that language. If you get a high enough score (4-5 AP, or high 700+ subject) they’ll understand that a fourth year is not that vital.</p>