Hey all, next year is my senior year and I’m listed to take AP Spanish. I feel a little regretful towards this decision, because I was originally going to take AP Gov but then I last-minute changed it because I felt pressured to. All my friends are going into AP Spanish to look competitive for college admissions. For the past three years, I have taken Spanish 1, 2, and 3 Honors and haven’t gotten anything less than an A-, but I don’t really like Spanish that much and I feel like AP Spanish will be difficult for me, especially in the first marking period. How much do colleges care about 4 years of a foreign language? Should I just stick it out for AP Spanish? (It’ll be hard to change my schedule at this point but I could make it work). I would just like to note that I am applying to top colleges, like Penn/Columbia, JHU, Cornell, NYU, etc. Any opinions welcome!
You need to check the web site for each college in which you are interested. Some only want two years of FL. If they recommend or require it then you really need to take that 4th year. Does your school have regular Spanish 4? That should be less difficult than AP.
@“Erin’s Dad” My school does have regular Spanish 4, but I would rather take AP Gov than that to have the AP credits. At this point, it’s more of a decision between AP Spanish (hard language class) and AP Gov (easier, chill AP).
I think you should take 4 years of a foreign language if you have the opportunity to do so. It is expected in some cases and AP Gov is not
My D took AP Spanish but not AP Gov. Never regret as she got much more credits from AP Spanish.
Looks like I’m sticking with AP Spanish. Thanks guys! Wish me luck, that class is gonna be tough…
My kids did not take 4 years of foreign language. One is at MIT; the other will be at Univ. of Pennsylvania.
@sbjdorlo That’s comforting to know! I guess 3 years of a foreign language isn’t a rejection then? lol
My school counts 7th and 8th grade spanish as a year of high school foreign language and I only took spanish in 9th,10th, and 11th grade.
@2016senior Oh I see, I don’t think my high school counts 7/8 as one year or else that would mean 4 years of Spanish for me too. What course are you taking your senior year that replaces Spanish?
@shadyconcepts AP Psychology. Spanish is also my worst subject and the two options for senior year spanish were Conversational Spanish which is a joke and AP Spanish which would of destroyed me.
@2016senior Same!! It’s either regular or AP for me. I am also taking AP Psychology next year, what a coincidence. I think I’ll stick it out for AP Spanish but I’m just praying it won’t ruin my GPA. I guess we’ll see in the first few days (I can always switch out in the beginning).
@shadyconcepts What is the reputation of AP Spanish in your school? In my school its a little harder than pre AP which I took this year and got my lowest final grade in high school an 83 (got a 69 on the final which is harder than the actual spanish AP test)
@2016senior AP Spanish at my school is kind of notorious for being tough, definitely tougher than Honors though Honors was no cakewalk either. The teacher is pretty bad and expects like native-speaking levels from all of us. I just think I need to study a lot for the class to maintain at least an A-. Spanish has always been kind of rough, even maintaining an A- in junior year was kind of a miracle lol (very close to a B+)
I know of many kids that dropped out of the 4th year of a language at the beginning of senior year and got into top colleges. Do what feels right for you.
It depends on your school district whether to have Spanish 1 in middle school. Sometimes they split it into 2 years in middle school. For our school district, you need to get B+ or above in the Spanish 1 offered in 8th grade to be counted for the credit in high school.