<p>I'm planning on self studying a language and I'm most likely not going to be fluent in it. If i just learn how to speak and listen to it and not read or write it, how much will i need to know? Do I have to take an SAT 2 or Ap test for that language before they will even recognize it? Or is it already good to just write that i know the basics of that language? Any other help about how learning the basics of a new language can help me get into college is appreciated.
Also, how basic can i know to be considered able to speak that language?</p>
<p>well college don’t know what u speak. but some required high school course…</p>
<p>Sent from my LG-VM696 using CC</p>
<p>Check the requirements on their website and then test out of that number of courses at your high school.</p>
<p>Most colleges these days want to see that you have taken the same language for all four years of high school. If you want to get credit in college you will need to take the AP exam, if you are good it may be beneficial to take the SAT II as well. That being said if you are planning to self study a language in high school instead of taking one for credits you may experience issues when you go to apply to college.
You could mention it on your resume, under a skills category. Something along the lines of “Proficent in _____.”</p>
<p>Do you mean in order to meet admission requirements, or as another bump for your application?</p>
<p>Another bump. I’m already taking Spanish and planning on taking it for three years in high school. That also leads me to another question. I already took Spanish 1 in middle school so when i stop i would have already finished taking Spanish 4 and I really don’t want to take Spanish 5 senior year and would rather take Zoology. Is that a good thing to do? or should i finish taking Spanish 5?</p>
<p>I’m already taking Spanish and took it 2 years in middle school and planning on taking it until Junior year so i’ll finish Spanish 4. I want to learn either Vietnamese or Japanese so how well do i need to know it before I can list it as “proficient” in my skills category? Also, I already know Mandarin and Cantonese so would that be considered as two languages? and can i say i’m fluent without taking the SAT 2 or AP test since i can’t read or write it?</p>
<p>I would say it is probably not a good idea (though I don’t know where you are applying), you really should take the same language for all four years of high school. Again I recommend you take those exams to prove your skills, but it is not necessary. Personally I consider somebody proficient when you can comunicate with native speakers. Yes, you can list that you are fluent, but make sure that you are truly fluent before you put that on your resume.</p>
<p>By Spanish 5 do you mean AP Spanish Language & Composition? You usually do not need to take an AP foreign language for minimum admission requirements. Stopping at Spanish III or Spanish IV is what most people do. Although, taking a foreign language all four years in high school might give you a leg-up on your high school transcript.</p>
<p>So i should take Spanish 5 (yes it’s AP Spanish Language and Composition) just to have all 4 years of the same language. Will stopping at Spanish 4 junior year and only taking 3 years of Spanish in high school make me equal to another student stopping at spanish 4 senior year?</p>
<p>It depends on the college, but most schools would favor the student that took Spanish 4 as a senior. Again it depends what schools you are looking at, but most prefer that you take the same language for all four years of high school. For example I am currently in Hebrew 5 (I took Hebrew 2 in 8th grade), but I am going to take Hebrew 6 next year (my senior year), even though I already have four years of a language so that I have four years of a language in high school…</p>
<p>To ArtsyGirl: Some of the Ivies do, but other than that, colleges just want two or three years. At least from what I’ve seen.
Granted, if you want to show off your language capabilities, I’d recommend taking four years.</p>
<p>I’m looking at Engineering schools like UCSD or Berkeley. So i have another question. Is there a level under proficient? Or is that knowing a language so little it won’t even be important to colleges so shouldn’t even be considered?</p>
<p>[University</a> of California - Admission requirements](<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/index.html]University”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/index.html) <— 2 years will do for Berkeley. I’d say that’s a good rule to follow for most engineering schools, although I took three to be safe.</p>
<p>מגניב ArtsyGirl! את בבית ספר יהודי? </p>
<p>I only took 2 years of Spanish and was fine. I also wrote that I was fluent in Hebrew but never took the SAT II to prove it (it was my first language though, so that might be different). I didn’t apply to any super rigorous schools though, so only having two years was not a big deal. I think it really depends on the caliber of the school you are applying to.</p>
<p>All UCs only require two years, and most CA high schools require two years to graduate (so that they’re minimums are the same as the colleges, thus taking away any room for error on the students part of not taking the required classes).</p>
<p>Yeah I know Hebrew but have never taken it in High School. I went to a private school K-8 so I took in 9 years and I’m fairly proficient, so do I need to take the SAT II to prove it?</p>
<p>The problem with the Hebrew SAT II is that it is catered towards native speakers. And even then there are ridiculous questions many natives don’t know. For example: האש a. אמיתי or b. אמיתית. Since there’s no plural for אש, it’s hard to know what the answer is (b). There are lots of questions like this that require a detailed and thorough knowledge of Hebrew. My sister, also a native speaker, took the SAT II and said that had she just taken it with no background knowledge in Hebrew, just k-8 classes, she would have done poorly. This is not to discourage you from taking the test, just letting you know that it’s really hard and just being proficient in it might not be enough to do well.</p>
<p>@Scutrules (my school recognizes the program/gives me credit, I’m not sure how to say that part in Hebrew). לא, אני לומד עברית אחרי בית הספר</p>
<p>I have heard the same thing about the subject test, there was a girl in my class who was basically fluent and barely got a 600, our teachers recommend we don’t take the exam. You don’t need to “prove” your skills in a language, it is just a good idea to a subject test or two, so if it is a language one that is reasonable (so not Hebrew), you should take it. That being said, just don’t lie on your resume and you will be fine. Also from my understanding you are an intended engineering major, so it won’t matter that much (as opposed to if you where an intended major in linguistics or one of those languages).</p>
<p>הייתי מתה לזה… לקחתי סמסטר בעיברית ב תולאין (Tulane) ואכשאב אני לומדת ערבית ומזה קשה לי!</p>