<p>My son is now a senior and is unable to take AP Spanish at his school due to scheduling conflicts. The only other option I could find was Keystone online, however, his GC said that this would not appear on his transcript. She also told him that since his intended major is mechanical engineering that he would be okay without the 4th year.
The schools on his list at the moment are
Stanford
Duke
Rice
WUSTL
USC
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UC Davis
UCSD
Boston U</p>
<p>My understanding is that as long as you didn’t drop it to make room for easier classes, you’re fine.</p>
<p>The typical requirement from selective colleges is 3 years of one foreign language, and with 4 recommended. This doesn’t necessarily mean “taking” 4 years of that language but achieving (through placement) that equivalent level.</p>
<p>My opinion is that of the universities on your list for which the 3 years rather than 4 years may make a difference are Stanford and Duke.</p>
<p>While a lot of colleges do like to have that fourth year of a foreign language, since the decision is based on a scheduling conflict, you can have your son’s guidance counselor mention in the material she sends to the schools he’s applying to, that he wanted to take the fourth year, but was unable to because of a scheduling conflict. From what I’ve heard, colleges are understanding of scheduling conflicts. For example, I was unable to take the highest level math courses in my school because they ran the same period as other AP courses I wanted to take.</p>
<p>^Four years of foreign language means COMPLETING the fourth level course. Whether or not you finish Spanish IV in your sophomore year or your senior year still fulfills that requirement.</p>
<p>On another note, NOT completing these 4 years could actually have a detrimental impact on your application. dd1993 is partially right in saying that if you drop it for harder classes, you’re fine, but he’s wrong in that if a college is comparing two students transcripts and sees that Student A took Spanish IV and Student B only finished with Spanish III, Student A will be preferred (assuming same classes throughout high school/same grades, except for foreign language).</p>
<p>Remember that top schools aren’t looking for the typical smart student. Dropping Spanish IV for, let’s say, AP Statistics may actually look bad on the applicant. Colleges want well-rounded students who can contribute to the university in other ways than test scores and how well they can solve a Calculus equation. Foreign language is a great way to portray yourself in a worldly, well-rounded manner that will give you an edge over other applicants who stopped after levels II or III. I hope this clarified any doubts/concerns.</p>