High School Foreign Language and Financial Aid...

<p>My Latin teach told me years ago that if one takes a full four years of a single language in high school that one will also recieve pretyy nice financial rewards. I am wondering how much most colleges (like the University of Wisconsin: Madison) will offer for four years of a single language (Latin) and for three years. We are starting the second semester, and I would kind of have to mess up my schedule a lot to get Latin 4, since they messed it up and I didn't get it in the first place, even though I'd signed up for it. I am wondering, if I were to not take the second half of Latin 4, if it would significantly reduce the amount of financial aid I may achieve.</p>

<p>Thanks very much!</p>

<p>Sorry-- but I would also like to add that I got a score of 34 on the ACT. Can I get some sholarship money for that? I imagine I should be able to. Sorry, but as far as all this stuff goes, I'm a little clueless... I feel like I need to get an agent...</p>

<p>Your ACT score has more likelihood of netting you merit aid at some schools than four years of foreign language which many colleges recommend taking for all applicants. Are you an in state resident in Wisconsin? If so, check their financial aid/scholarship info on their website to see if there are any scholarships for instate students with your ACT score. I would guess that with a 34 ACT, you would get some kind of merit aid, and perhaps honors college admittance, but I honestly have no first hand knowledge of U of W. If you are from out of state, you need to keep in mind that most flagship universities FIRST provide scholarships to their instate students. But some also have scholarships to attract out of state students as well. Also, keep in mind that these merit scholarships are based on multiple factors...ACT scores, GPA, recommendations, essays and sometimes special applications.</p>

<p>Your teacher was full of it. Many, many people take four years of one language.</p>

<p>Thanks, guys... yeah, he made it sound like it would just automatically take thousands of dollars off of our yearly cost. Maybe he meant over a full four years total, but even so...I mean, I think he said around $4,000 or so, which seems off. Anyway, I think I'm going to just deal with not having the second half of Latin 4. If anyone has any more info on why to or why not, though, feel free to tell me, I could use all the advice I can get! Thanks again!</p>

<p>By the way, I'm a Minnesotan resident (about 4 hours away from Madison) and I believe that means I'm kind of an in-between applicant; I pay a little more than a Wisconsin...ian... but less than a Californian or someone.</p>

<p>Wow that is a good deal for tuition.</p>

<p>hey Gabe--wanted to let you know that if your school has kids take the Nat'l Latin Exam, seniors who take it and get a Gold Award are eligible for some scholarship $. it's contingent on taking Latin in college, but it's easy $ all the same.
good luck to you!</p>

<p>Yup, exactly! My son is hoping to get a Gold Medal on the NLE this year (had them 10,11), so he can apply for the scholarship. It's not a lot, but every little bit helps. He taught himself Latin, too!</p>

<p>Your best bet to find financial opportunities for taking Latin in HS is to do some research on the internet (google = "scholarships + "latin" + "hs" or whatever). I think maybe your teacher was stretching the truth a bit, but I am sure there is an obscure scholarship out there for learning Latin. Since you're still in HS, maybe you should talk to him/her (the teacher)? They might have a good connection or opportunity and fill you in.</p>

<p>Like the above poster said, you are more likely to get scholarships based on your ACT score and other academic achievements (GPA, LOR, so on). So, good luck and keep looking around.</p>