How essential is 4 years of Foreign Language?

Applying to College
1

<p>I've taken 3 years of foreign language, 2 of which were in high school but I'm at the French 3 level. I don't want to take a 4th year...but a lot of the colleges I'm interested in "reccommend" 4 years of a foreign language...I really liked the looks of Columbia, but am also interested in places like U of Michigan and UNC Chapel Hill. On its website, Columbia reccommends 3-4 years...I'm not sure if this means all in high school or at the 3 level.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if I really need to take a fourth year of foreign language, or is it alright for me to stop at 3 if it's something I'm not all that interested in continuing?</p>

<p>The other thing about all of this is that I'm considering trying to learn an a different language on my own. Would that be something they'd take into consideration?</p>

2

<p>4 years of foreign language is not required. Most schools require 2 but reccommend 3. I did 3 and I ended up at UCLA</p>

3

<p>I took 5, 2 in middle school. I considered taking level VI spanish but, like you, I prefer some kind of change...</p>

<p>If I were you, though, I'd take another year. 3 years looks pretty basic level to many schools. About 4-5 gives you moderate speaking/listening fluency.</p>

4

<p>Michigan requires 2</p>

5

<p>if i took spanish 9th grade i would have been at level 3(but that was just my public school year) this year everyones in the same class so i have no idea what leevel im in(im in 10th but i feel at the right level where i left off in 8th)</p>

6

<p>I only took two years of high school Spanish and still got accepted everywhere I applied.</p>

7

<p>"I only took two years of high school Spanish and still got accepted everywhere I applied." Where'd you apply?</p>

8

<p>Yes, 3 is probably the recommended level, 2 is the least. </p>

<p>I'd take a 4th yr. just cause it looks better. </p>

<p>I took 4 yrs of Spanish, would've taken the 5th yr. this yr. but I wanted to try out some different elective courses in business to see if I had interests in those.</p>

9

<p>I would take at least 2 years in high school. but thats all really.</p>

10

<p>don't forget to check the colleges requirements for their students. UCLA has a foreign language requirement for students in the College Letters & Science, so if you don't take it in HS, you have to take it in college. Other colleges have language requirements as well.</p>

11

<p>Not too big a deal, I don't think. Princeton "recommends" four--I took three, but still got in.</p>

12

<p>I'm going to weigh in against the tide here. The most selective schools strongly prefer 4 years of foreign language. My kids' private high school strongly recommends continuing through 4 years as a result. My older son did not take a 4th year of language - he was asked why in two college interviews. His counselor's recommendation specifically addressed why he chose not to go on to the 4th year of language. (Just to give some color as to how important this issue can be.) I wouldn't underestimate this if you are looking at the most selective schools. It's not a killer (as evidenced by the post immediately above), but in a competitive environment I'd think twice about easily passing on the 4th year of language. (My kid chose to take another AP instead of the language AP; he couldn't bear another year of Latin.)</p>

13

<p>Pre-high school years of language don't count (by that measure I will have taken 7 years of French...). As long as your transcript is otherwise strong you shouldn't worry about it. Don't take a class you'll hate just because you think it'll look good. If you don't mind it, though, it can never hurt.</p>

14

<p>confused_student, I don't know if this applies to you, but I hated learning Spanish until this year (fourth year). Like actually despised the class and everything about it and didn't want to continue at all. But this year I love it. I think in general there's a huge difference between third year and fourth year. Last year I just regurgitated and it was so basic and not fun at all and this year... I just understand the language so much better and really really enjoy it.</p>

<p>Again, don't know if that applies to you because you say you're interested in learning another language. But if the reason you're dropping French is because you don't like it/have difficulty with it I think the fourth year is when everything clicks and just makes a huge difference.</p>

15

<p>do those 3 years count the ones that you took in middle school? Because i'm finishing spanish 4 but i did spanish 1 in middle school</p>

16

<p>Meatlovers, if you have taken through Spanish 4, yes I think the middle school year counts.</p>

17

<p>so that counts as 4 years?</p>

18

<p>I really don't think they count middle school. Colleges will realize that you're advanced in your level but they'll only count it as three years, I believe. I'd continue to AP if I were you, but I dunno.</p>

19

<p>yea they count. I did the same thing as you did.</p>

20

<p>I think the colleges look at the course you are taking - if it's a true 4th year language course (Spanish 4 or whatever), I think does the trick. You should talk to your school's guidance/college counselor to see what they think. It might depend on how the courses work at your school. My kid took Latin in 7th and 8th grade (that counted as one year), then 9th and 10th, but chose not to take Latin 4 which was AP.</p>