<p>Re out-of-state male. Had first sit-down session with 10th grade son and guidance counselor. Grades, scores, extracurriculars are all excellent for his level. Announced without hesitation that W&M was on his list of top colleges. Curriculum dilemma: He is on track for 4 years of French, which he enjoys. His current AP History teacher dearly wants him to take debate/forensics next year, with the probability of his becoming captain. It is a curricular course. He likes the idea of the challenge and leadership. Problem is that this would conflict with French 3. What is the better choice? (My instincts and readings suggest that 4 years of a language are almost essential for admission.)</p>
<p>Is there anyway to participate in debate and forensics as an after school activity?</p>
<p>Unfortunately not. The program is curricular in this high school, although it involves a lot of out-of-school time too. Many of the arts programs are set up the same way with a curricular aspect so that there is consistency and responsibility in the programs. There is a possibility of taking French at a local university, but that raises its own set of questions.</p>
<p>From the website:
It would be too bad to pass up an activity he really likes, such as debate, if he can take French 3 another way. Could he complete the equivalent at a CC or area college this summer?</p>
<p>How about online classes…</p>
<p>Does your school district offer language online?</p>
<p>We do recommend four years of a single foreign language if at all possible. You might want to explore the possibility of doing either French 3 or debate as an independent study. Some schools do allow this when scheduling conflicts exist. That way he could stay on track to take French 4 as a senior.</p>
<p>Normally, we do not recommend dropping an academic class for an elective class but the possibility of becoming debate captain is certainly something we’d encourage your son to pursue. You could also explore taking French 3 over the summer either through summer school or at a community college.</p>
<p>It is really liberating not to have to take a language in college unless one has a special interest there, and it opens up lots of choices for pursuing other courses/interests. </p>
<p>D took a semester of language at our Community College in a “hybrid course” that only met once a week, but she also had to travel to the campus for tests.</p>
<p>Given that, your son still has a tough choice…good luck to him!</p>
<p>Thanks for this practical advice. We will explore these options. Do I understand then that W&M would recognize the credit from a local college? I am not sure if the HS official transcript would reflect this or count it in GPA (currently 3.9 UW, 4.4 W). An interesting coincidence is that his current French teacher (private school) is an adjunct faculty member at the local university. Whatever the options, we want the choice to be his and not ours!</p>
<p>gulfcoast, we would recognize the college credit even if it’s not on his high school transcript. He would just have to submit a transcript from the college. Assuming he gets a C or higher and the course is a traditional college course (example: Spanish 101), we would give your student credit for the course.</p>
<p>In the application, your son could simply let us know that he took the course at a community college in the additional information section of the application.</p>
<p>Decision: Honors French III. His statement (unsolicited): I want to stay with my language class; debate is a good challenge, but I might not enjoy it in the end. My response (solicited I think for approval): You thought it through and did the right thing. You are fine with the ECs where you excel, the ones that you know you enjoy.</p>
<p>If your your son at all believes he’d like to continue debate, we would encourage him to ask his debate coach/teacher if there’s a way to be involved without taking the class. If he’s ready to leave debate behind, he can just immerse himself more in his other extracurricular activities</p>