I check About.com/education and the college admissions expert did say that it would be beneficial if one takes a foreign language for at least two years. Those elite colleges of the Ivy League, which are also some of the most prestigious universities I will try applying for in the next years, recommend more than that. They require three to four years of a foreign language. It’s always a remarkable thing to master another language because it demonstrates interest and knowledge in another country’s culture, and surely it would bolster an application. Right now I am a freshman and I am taking French. What happens if I take it for two years and move on to Spanish for junior and senior years? Will that hamper my application for these colleges? They are saying three to four years in ONE language, so I don’t know if two languages in high school is going to hurt me. Thoughts? Comments?
If the highest level you complete in either language is high school level 2, then it will not be seen as good as completing one language to level 4 or higher.
Now, if you have previous knowledge of French (from an immersion program in elementary school or as a heritage speaker) and your two years of high school French are levels 3 and 4 (or 4 and 5, or the highest levels in your high school) based on proper placement using your previous knowledge, that is a different situation. In that case, completing high levels of French (possibly the highest possible in your high school) and then starting Spanish should be fine.
@ucbalumnus I’ve never taken french during elementary school because we could not pick what language to take. I think the only language that was offered was Mandarin. My current French course is French 1, and next year it’ll be French 2. The Illinois State Board of Education requires at least two years of a foreign language, so that means I can move to Spanish 1 and 2 after tenth grade. However, in that case you could be right-it’s not a good thing to the eyes of an admissions officer. By the way I already know Chinese, so I could soon become trilingual.
Good knowledge of French or Spanish typically requires more than high school level 2.
If you really do know Chinese, you may want to prove it to colleges on the AP test and/or SAT subject test, in addition to taking French to level 4 in high school.
@ucbalumnus I was born in Taiwan and grew up int he country for seven years before coming to America. If I take the AP or SAT subject test, isn’t that cheating?
@ucbalumnus What happens if I take French for three years and move to Spanish for one senior year?
@lzpare Imagine the number of people who are in the same position as you. It’s definitely not cheating, so go ahead and take the AP exam in Chinese. However, I highly recommend that you take at least 3 years of another foreign language.
No, it is not cheating to take an AP or SAT subject test in a native or heritage language. However, such testing is best used in addition to any other high school foreign language or required SAT subject testing (i.e. if a college wants you to submit two SAT subject tests, the one in your native or heritage language should be the third SAT subject test). I.e. treat it as a bonus beyond any other academic credentials, not as a substitute for any that a college asks for.
Taking French to level 3 does not look as good as taking French to level 4, regardless of whether you also take Spanish.
@ucbalumnus How hard is the AP French exam?
AP French is typically a level 4 or 5 high school foreign language course.
http://french.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/placement-guidelines/ suggests the following:
(HS L_ = high school level _; Csem _ = college semester _; AP _ = AP score of _)
Csem 1 = HS L3
Csem 2 = HS L4 = AP 3
Csem 3 = AP 4 or 5
It’s worth checking the specific policies from school to school. I’ve seen some schools that require 2 years of a foreign language, or a year each of two different languages for college courses. The equivalent high school courses would be four years of a single language or two years each of two different languages. In general, it’s better to complete 3-4 years of a language in high school. But that may not be the case for everyone.
Some people overthink things.
It depends on the policy of the university. The UCs specifically set the cutoff at high school education. So if you have never attended HS in Taiwan than you are perfectly free to take Chinese. To meet the 4-yr of HS language you could take a community college course or even a placement test at a 4-yr university.
The good thing about the AP French test is there won’t be as many native speakers messing with the curve which is an issue you will see on the Chinese test.
Generally speaking grades are just a prerequisite for admissions. They in themselves will not get you admitted into a university. So if you can knock off foreign language with Chinese then that’s that and you can move onto other more pressing matters. Like good ECs instead of studying a lot.
@bomerr I am eligible to take Chinese. Thank you for your explanation!
I don’t think so, in this case. In looking at schools for my daughter we saw that a number of colleges prefer 4 years of the same language. She was slightly accelerated in Spanish and had Spanish 4 as a junior, but declined to take Spanish 5 this year. It didn’t seem to hurt her on admissions but we did worry a bit.
I don’t know if it’ll hurt you but if you apply to schools that strongly recommend or require 3-4 years of one, I think you should at least take another year of French. I had this same dilemma with Spanish and Chinese. I wanted to do two years of Spanish and two years of Chinese. In junior year, I realized colleges really want 3 years of one language, so instead of taking Chinese in senior year, I am now taking Spanish 3.