<p>Are there colleges that require four years to gain admission? Will having three years or three and a half years hurt in admissions process?</p>
<p>I can’t think of any college that requires or even recommends four years.</p>
<p>Really? My high school actually requires four years (years, that is, as in credits).
I’m sure that having three or three and a half, however, won’t hurt you much, as long as you used the extra time to take productive courses.</p>
<p>Harvard -The study of history for at least two, and preferably three years: American history, European history, and one additional advanced history course.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley - 2 years history or history/govt combo, including American and 1 year World</p>
<p>However, this is a minimum, and most competitive applicants to these universities have 4 years of social studies, including (but not limited to) History.</p>
<p>Oh, that’s interesting! I guess my school is just abnormal - funny, since it’s usually nowhere near competitive. :)</p>
<p>The study of world, European, and US History pays dividends for the rest of your life. Anyone who’s been busy explaining the Ukraine situation to friends and coworkers knows exactly what I mean. Do it, just do it.</p>
<p>My son will miss a year of social studies for various reasons, and he is targeting Ivies as well as other top schools. None require four years of social studies. I don’t recall taking social studies in 12th grade (US I and US II were 10th and 11th grade for me), and I went to an Ivy.</p>
<p>There’s “minimum” and there’s “expected”. 3 years is the minimum. 4 years will be expected. So, if you don’t have 4 years (history, economics, government all “count”) you need to compensate in one way or another, for instance by having doubled up in science.</p>
<p>^Exactly. Substituting social studies for a second science or a second foreign language is fine. Substituting for basket weaving, not so much.</p>
<p>My local public HS requires four years of SS to graduate so check the graduation requirements at your HS carefully.</p>
<p>I would bet a good majority of High Schools require 4 years to graduate. </p>