How important is it to have 3 years of foreign language?

<p>I took chinese 1 and 2 during my freshman and sophomore years. I opted out of chinese 3 during my junior year. Now, im faced with the decision of either taking chinese 3 or another AP class for my senior year. Since i was born in china and am basically fluent in chinese, do you guys think that colleges will let me off the hook for only having 2 years of language? Will it significantly hurt my chances of getting into top colleges?</p>

<p>Top schools really like 3-4 years of a foreign language. That being said, if you are fluent in a foreign language you can often test out of taking it in college. I personally would take the 3rd year.</p>

<p>Since what they’re really looking for is having four years of foreign language, having only two will be a detriment.</p>

<p>Taking a language you already speak fluently as a foreign language–especially when it’s your native language–is taking the easy way out and won’t be looked upon favorably. The point is to take a new language, not a language you already know but that is classified as a foreign language by your school.</p>