<p>I currently take Mandarin Chinese III (I am a junior right now). My high school only requires 3 years of foreign language, so I was thinking of dropping Chinese for my senior year and taking two science classes instead (AP bio and Anatomy Honors). I have also been a bit weak in the sciences throughout high school so I wanted to show my interest by taking 2 classes senior year. However, I do love Chinese and am actually quite good at it.
As a nursing student, what do you think Penn values more in a prospective student? 4 years of foreign language of 2 sciences senior year? </p>
<p>@lilac00 that’s definitely a tough one…Penn really likes to see students take 4 years of foreign language if it is offered at the high school. However, both AP bio and anatomy are classes that a lot of nurses here took in high school. I took AP bio my junior year and anatomy my senior year but I also took Spanish all four years. I would probably continue with Chinese and take AP Bio. Most people here took 4 years of foreign language in HS because Penn really puts an emphasis on learning another language/culture. That’s why there’s such an extensive language requirement–4 semesters if you place into the beginning level! I know many people who took 4 years of one language in HS and then started taking a completely new language at Penn for the language requirement. It’s pretty cool!</p>