I only took up to Spanish 3H because my school got rid of Spanish 4H and only had AP Spanish (with not the best foreign language department). Instead of AP Spanish, I took 5 other AP classes so I don’t know if this is really a problem. Someone please clarify if this will hurt my chances of admission.
https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/choosing-courses
Harvard recommends four years of a single foreign language. As every high school is different, Admissions doesn’t recommend an honors class, over an AP class, over a regular class.
That said, if a high school student takes AP Spanish and scores a 5 on the AP Spanish exam, they are exempt from Harvard’s foreign langue graduation requirement. So in a sense, AP Spanish is more highly valued than honors or regular. However, a student can also be exempt from Harvard’s FL requirement by taking a placement exam before matriculation, or by scoring a qualifying score on the SAT Subject Foreign Language Test or an IB test. See: http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/current/chapter2/language_requirement.html
Bottom line: You should try to take four years of Spanish at your high school. And if your HS offers AP Spanish, you should take it. And that recommendation is not just for Harvard, but for all selective colleges.
Will it hurt your chances if you don’t take 4 years of a single foreign langue even though your high school offers that option? Not really, but it certainly won’t help your case if you don’t, as all selective colleges look for students who have taken the most rigorous academic classes available to them at their HS.
This really depends on the other things that you do that might make you an interesting candidate. https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/what-we-look
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/?_r=0
Are you applying to Harvard solely on the basis of academic performance for instance?
Your guidance counselor can write a note with your transcript that the school no longer offered Spanish 4H.
If not taking AP Spanish allows you to focus on classes or activities that you are interested in, then as a candidate for “holistic” admissions, you may be fine. You can always call and ask if it makes you feel better. I think you should do what you want to do regardless of Harvard, honestly…Have a great senior year.
Taking language the first year at Harvard is no big deal, and many students do.
I assume that you’re speaking past tense, that you’ve already foregone the the opportunity to take AP Spanish. From an admission point of view, I agreen with gabby, it would have been better to take AP Spanish to complete 4 years of one language.
If this is still a future events, and you still have the opportunity to take a fourth year, even if it is an AP-level course that you don’t prefer.
By itself, the failure to take four years of a language will probably not be fatal to an application, but things add up. And something will be the straw that’s too much for the camel. Harvard wants you to enter college with a passable grasp, written and spoken, of a foreign language. Don’t disregard their strong preferences lightly.
Harvard wants to see that you maximized the courses available to you. If your school offered AP Spanish and you didn’t take it despite having three years of prior Spanish, it doesn’t look great. Looks like you gave up. As others have said, this isn’t fatal in itself, but when you’re applying to Harvard every bit counts.