<p>I'm a junior in high school right now, and I'm definitely hoping to go to UChicago. I took German I as a freshman, and German II as a sophomore. However, I did not take German III as a junior but took Honors Physics in its place (I thought an extra science class would be more important than a foreign language since I wanted to go into pre-med) in addition to AP Bio. </p>
<p>I just realized that UChicago might want more than two years, but I'm not sure, and I'm getting really anxious. I'm loaded up on AP's, my GPA is a 4.388, I'm ranked #2 in my class, and my ACT score is a 32.
Could UChicago actually reject me because I don't have a third or fourth year of foreign language? Wouldn't it be more important to take more science classes?
I'm planning on taking all AP's next year including: AP Physics B, AP English Literature, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, and AP Gov/Econ. I have no room in my schedule for a third year of foreign language, but should I make room? </p>
<p>Please tell me! What should I do? I'm freaking out!!!</p>
<p>You do realize that ,regardless of your major, to graduate from Chicago you have to prove knowledge of a foreign language, don’t you? From the Catalog-</p>
<p>"Language Competence
Students in the College are required to possess understanding of more than one culture and to demonstrate competence in a language other than English. The language competence requirement must be met by demonstrating reading, writing, and (where appropriate) listening and speaking skills equivalent to one year of college-level study. For information about which languages are currently being taught and which may be used to meet the language competence requirement, visit timeschedules.uchicago.edu.
Students who matriculate in or after September 2009 may meet the language competence requirement in one of the following ways:
• passing a College-administered competency examination;
• completing (with a quality grade) a first-year language sequence or higher-level course offered at the University of Chicago;
• receiving a score of 3 or higher on an AP examination in French, German, Italian, Latin, or Spanish.</p>
<p>I’ve been searching on the internet and I ran into a bit of confusion on the “recommended” and “required” wording on their sites. So I am going to call the Admissions Office tomorrow morning, but I’m really anxious now.
Of course I’d be willing to take a foreign language in UChicago, I just need to get in there! </p>
<p>So two years of a foreign language would not hurt my application - considering I’d graduate HS with six years of science, including three AP Sciences: Physics, Bio and Chem, and then all the rest of the AP’s? Right?</p>
<p>Logic tells me that science is more important in the area I want to get in. I didn’t drop German because I was failing it or out of boredom - AP Sciences were a bigger priority. (I got A+'s in both years).</p>
<p>“So I am going to call the Admissions Office tomorrow morning”
honey, save the call until after May. You wont’ get anyone in admissions who can answer your question this month, so relax. Everyone in admissions is now in the middle of making admissions decisions for this years applicants.
re: recommended vrs required- you should read “recommended” as “required”, if you want a better "chance of acceptance.</p>
<p>and re this:
“Logic tells me that science is more important in the area I want to get in.”
This may be true for colleges like MIT or CAl Tech or Mudd, but Chicago has “The Core” and values a well rounded student whose academic strength is in many areas- the Humanities, the Sciences, the Arts. All students must take the Core, and the purpose of those classes is to provide a true Liberal Arts education that can prepare a student for any future educational goal.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks for your replies. So now, would you advise me to take a third year of German next year? The deadline for changing schedules is coming up, so that’s why I ask.</p>
<p>Find out from your teacher if the German 3 class at your school prepares you to do well [ at least a 3] on the AP German test. Ask what other students have scored who have taken that test.[ maybe that info is on your school profile] If it does, and you have the time to take it, then yes, do so[ maybe you can refresh your memory this summer bu reviewing your old books? or taking a german immersion class?]. Not having to take a full year [ 3 classes out of 9 in one year] of foreign language at Chicago will give you a lot more flexibility that first year.
[Chicago offers intense Summer language classes for HS students, fyi. ]</p>
<p>Thank you menloparkmom. Would not taking a third year of German in high school really put me at a huge disadvantage when applying at UChicago. And on their website, it doesn’t even specify a minimum - just “a study of a foreign language.”
Would the extra sciences and AP’s balance my application out? </p>
<p>There is no admissions-requirement need to take the 3rd year of German-- so long as the courses you will take otherwise are academically rigorous and you will do well in them, your course choice is up to you.</p>
<p>^^I was only letting him know that unless he tests out by 1] having an AP score of 3 [which would be hard after not taking 3 years of German or 2] does extremely well on the language placement test at Chicago, he 3] will have to take a year of FL at Chicago, and 4] being top heavy [ 6 years of classes] in Science in HS will not necessarily balance out taking only 2 years of Foreign language, when he could have taken 1 more year.</p>
<p>Three out of twelve classes, not three out of nine.</p>
<p>menloparkmom is right that not having language requirements frees up a lot of space your first year–space you could use to take classes that are undoubtedly far more interesting than anything offered at your high school.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Many, many kids get accepted at Chicago and other elite colleges with only two years of foreign language classes in high school, notwithstanding that most of them “recommend” more than two years. Chicago at least isn’t hypocritical by recommending more.</p></li>
<li><p>High school foreign language classes, on average, suck. Just an enormous waste of time, which is tragic, because American students (except the ones who grow up speaking other languages at home) are incredibly deficient in terms of their ability to understand other people’s languages. I would be shocked and amazed if any high school’s German 3 class prepared students for the German AP test. In general, Any Language 3 seems to be about the nadir of American high school education.</p></li>
<li><p>Menloparkmom’s point about getting flexibility at Chicago if you place out of the language requirement is a really good one, especially if you want to be a pre-med, to major in a lab science, and to apply to medical school straight from college. Doing all that and completing the Core really clogs your schedule during the first three years, and adding a year of language study pretty much means that you will have hardly any opportunity to take electives until your fourth year. Which is not how you want to structure your college education.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, one way or another, you will thank yourself if you find a way to learn enough German (or any other foreign language) to place out of the requirement at Chicago. You don’t need the AP test to do it – you can take a (much, much shorter) Chicago placement test during Orientation Week – but the level of competency required is about the same.</p>
<p>Maybe you can think about it this way: Which is more valuable to you?: a year of science in high school, or a year of science in college. I think almost certainly the latter. So maybe you should give up a year of science in high school to put yourself in a position of having more open slots for science in college.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies everyone. So either way, if I take a third year of German or another science class, this won’t affect my chances of getting into UChicago. And I think I might take German III just so that I could score well on the Chicago placement test.</p>
<p>I would say if you want to major in pre-med, your 3 ap science classs would be more important. Just make sure you get good grade in your senior year</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There’s no such thing at Chicago (or any other elite college) as “majoring in pre-med”. If you want to go to medical school, you make certain you are taking the courses you need to take in order to qualify for medical school admission, do some extra-curricular activity (such as research, or public service) that medical schools like to see, and take the MCATs. Your major is irrelevant. It can be English, or Art, or Theater, if you wish. Most pre-meds major in biology or some other laboratory science, because that’s what they are interested in and the pre-med requirements also count towards their major. But you don’t HAVE to do that.</p></li>
<li><p>If you plan to be a pre-med in college, high school AP science courses may not be useful at all. They don’t satisfy medical school admission requirements, so most pre-med wind up taking the introductory courses again in college. They may take honors sections, or things like that, but you don’t necessarily need an AP to get into them if you are otherwise well-prepared and willing to work. (The exception is that Chicago has a special section of introductory bio for people who got 5s on the bio AP, and that apparently is a great course if you really like bio.) Physics B, which isn’t calculus-based, probably doesn’t do you any good at all, as long as you can demonstrate that your high school curriculum was highly challenging without it. (And AP Gov? It may be a great course – it was at my kids’ school – but take it for that reason, not because it’s “AP”, because that and a buck will get you coffee at McDonald’s.)</p></li>
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<p>To the OP–if you take German III and still don’t pass the AP test, all is not lost. You could still pass the UChicago competency test, or if you don’t totally place out, only need one or two quarters to satisfy the requirements. There are also some study abroad options that allow you to satisfy the language requirement.</p>
<p>Ok, I definitely decided to do AP Physics instead of German III. I’m not interested in pursuing a third year of language in high school because it is simply a joke. People get over a 100 and nothing is learned. I’d rather take it at UChicago and actually learn the language. Furthermore, I WANT to take all of these AP courses because I love to challenge myself. I LOVE science haha Besides that, I want to have a schedule that would most impress UChicago - one with all AP’s, and that would prove that my senior schedule was the hardest and most rigorous that I was able to take. </p>
<p>Moreover, I called admissions, they said that there’s no requirement - just whatever your high school needs for me to graduate. They sent me an email saying that they “would like to see three years, but that there is no requirement.” </p>
<p>I do have the option of taking an extra class in the morning before school starts - that could be German III, along with all my other AP’s, but that would just kill me, especially because I’d probably be up till 1 AM studying. I can’t do five hours of sleep everyday. </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>And I forgot to add this earlier, and it may probably have helped.
I do speak Arabic at home and I am extremely knowledgeable in it. I’ll probably pass the UChicago test … so does that make a difference on whether to take German III? I already am “knowledgeable of a foreign language”</p>
<p>oh, well, THAT[ speaking Arabic] may make a big difference if you can read it too.
If you can ,and if they will let you take a test in Arabic during Orientation week[ I don’t know if it is one of the languages in which tests are offered], then you may be Golden…
whatever you do, get enough sleep your Sr year!</p>
</p>