How important is it to continue to take foreign language in HS after finishing requirement?

DD is a rising junior at a prestigious prep school. She is done with her requirement with French honors, and wants to take other challenging electives during her junior and senior years (she is interested in a wide level of area including math, science, social sciences and economics). However the college counselors say it is really important to not drop French and continue taking It…I was not educated in US high schools and don’t really understand why…Why would the colleges want the kid to take it all 4 years irrespective of the level already completed instead of trying other electives? Thanks for sharing any thoughts/ opinions/ experiences…

That statement is not correct. If a college requests 4 years, and a student has completed level 4 in 2 years, as an example, then the recommendation is met for 99%+ of colleges. For more discussion, see:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1802227-faq-foreign-language.html#latest

Top colleges may ask for 3-4 years of foreign language study in HS (or completion of level 3-4), regardless of HS graduation requirements. Most colleges outside of the top will only want 2. So, part of your answer depends upon the colleges DD is targeting. If DD is planning on applying to a college without the minimum recommendations, that does not mean that the application will be trashed automatically, but the vast majority of applicants will have completed them.

Also be aware that many colleges have a foreign language requirement for graduation. So the more one takes in HS, the (theoretically) fewer one needs to take in college.

Thank you @skieurope. That was really helpful…looks like many others have been at the same point and asked the same question before. It is too early to say what colleges she would want to apply to…but I think it is accurate to say, we want her to have her options open and not be at a disadvantage for applying to any colleges including the selective ones, if she wants to…

From the discussion I gather, some colleges would want level 4. As she is doing level 3 honors right now…it would probably be better for her to stay in for another year and do level 4.

It s really hard to see how can one do many AP courses by Jr year, with all these expectations. Seems daunting if not impossible…

Colleges don’t expect more than a total of 8ap/de/ib/aice classes total.
For a student gifted at languages, that can include a foreign language AP (generally seen as level 5).

8 APs… I imagine by senior year… ? Since the AP exams are actually in May…the AP scores won’t be available by the time they apply to colleges…

This is a great question…DS is in French III, but also taking classics for a classics diploma. There is a bit of conflict in his schedule and he may have to sacrifice either a year of French (for which he really wants to take AP) or the actual classics diploma. He really doesn’t want to lose either. He’s signed up for French IV and Latin II next year but junior year is where the struggle lies…time will tell.

^ for students who are really into languages, there’s Concordia language villages and community college dual enrollment (a student who took high school level 3 should take college 3/ rule of thumb, adjust depending on the college ). Concordia language covers 1 High school level (2-3-4) over a summer and dual enrollment during the semester speeds things up too, for instance if you had high school level 3 take college level 3 and 4 during the year and you will have completed roughly the equivalent of AP level.

My daughter is taking AP foreign language this year as a junior. Her prep school has allowed her to take one AP science in 10th grade and five APs in junior year in all subjects. She will be taking beyond APs in some subjects as a senior and have rest of APs. @Sush2016 you should let her take AP language in next year. More important than tough class is pursuing extracurricular activities in and out of school.

In one’s entire HS career.

AP scores carry little weight in the admissions process for most colleges; they are primarily used for credit/placement at the college one attends. AP **classes/b are important because they help show stretch of course load.

Also note that no college that requires/requests level 4 of a foreign language requests/requires that the terminal class be AP. If the schools offers a IV-H option, that is perfectly acceptable, assuming that the balance of the schedule is sufficiently rigorous. Of course, if the kid wants to take the AP version, and can handle it, she should.

As most of you know fully well that elite prep school offers so many courses beyond APs in mutiple subjects. It is not humanly possible to take beyond APs in all subject’s as a senior. Therefore it is better to accelerate and try out one or two subjects where student is thinking to pursue his or her career.

@skieurope Do you have any idea first how many kids typically take most rigorous course load in all subjects (APs or APs equivalent or Independent Studies like Andover offer Chemitsry which is beyond APs) like taking all three AP science, Multi variable calculus, APs in Histrory and English also. Or is it most kids are lopsided and take beyond APs in STEM subjects but honors level course in humanities; or vice versa they excel in humanities but take only honors level course in STEM. just curious.

‘lopsided’ usually means 450 math/700 English - not ‘all AP junior year, 2honors+3 post AP senior year’.
:slight_smile:
So, your child would be 100% fine with honors for subjects of general interest and post AP courses for subjects of particular interest.

@MYOS1634 My daughters are fine. They did this AP subjects tracks without repeating the grade.

I am asking how maby kids are like that. As I see if kids are taking Mutivariable calculus and Independent study in science (beyond APs) very few are found who willl take APs also in Histroy, Foreign Language, Arts. And if someone take beyond APs in Language, History and Foreign language then those kids do not take AP math and AP sciences. Vey few kids take AP track in every subjects and do well in it.

My question: "What percent prep school kid take APs in all subjects strating 11th grdae? "it that is what I am asking. Being a non native speaker I have language limitations.

@infinityprep1234 I think you are conflating some ideas, specifically, how many people take APs/post-APs across multiple subjects vs for how many the GCs check the most rigorous check box.

For both questions, no, I do not know. Specific to Andover, they do not offer APs in history (although they do offer in other social sciences) or English (although English 300 and History 300, which all students take (or a similar version for some first-year intl students), is certainly at AP level). Regardless, many students do take AP exams in those areas. I would say that taking all 3 core science APs (bio (which is not officially AP at Andover)/chem/physics C) is rare - 2 is more common, but far from universal. I would say that at many schools, the offerings, even if not officially called AP, are at that level or beyond. So, it would not be uncommon for STEM kids to have AP-level humanities courses and vice versa.

As far as the percentage of students are rated as having the “most rigorous” schedule, I imagine it varies by school, but the ratings probably follow some type of bell curve, so 10-15% would be my guess.

thanks @Skieurope, appreciated your answer. Sometime I can not express what I want to say. I am pretty familiar with Andover as one daughter is there. Thanks again.

Thank you all for very good information and discussion. I am sure DD will end up taking several AP level courses although her school has made a decision to stop designating any course an AP course. I wonder if this is a new trend…

Choate no longer offers an AP curriculum, but any student can sit for any AP exam they wish. Years ago, Choate felt pressured by parents to offer an AP curriculum even though those courses were never the most rigorous available. Taking “all APs” would have meant choosing the substandard courses and would not check the “most rigorous” box in any subject. During our son’s time there, the new headmaster began the campaign to educate parents as to why an AP curriculum was not necessary at most of the New England boarding schools as these are the schools the APs were developed, in part, to measure against. The AP program wasted school resources, and more than one teacher indicated to us that it was the ones who drew the short straw who had to teach them. No one benefited from teaching or taking a teach-to-the-test course at a school whose education mission is the opposite of that.

I hope this trend takes hold at every school where the the AP curriculum is not the best the school has to offer.

Do the scores carry any weight for admissions? Is there a place to report the scores on the common app, or do colleges otherwise ask or allow for the scores to be reported?

Yes. AP scores are self reported. An official score report only needs to be sent to the school one is attending for credit/placement. Sending official AP score reports with applications is a waste of money.

As far as the scores themselves, well, a wall of 5’s will be viewed more favorably than a mix of 2’s and 3’s, but IMO 13 4’s and 5’s is not more impressive to admissions than 5 4’s and 5’s. School differ on AP policies, course restrictions, offerings, etc. And then there is the socioeconomic conversation regarding cost.

@ChoatieMom many of the schools we had looked at are gravitating toward that stance for the very same reasons. Apparently the kids do well on the exams, but the schools can provide their own, usually more challenging, course plans.