<p>I'm going to be scheduling for next year soon, and I'm not sure how important it is to take a foreign language for 4 years in terms of getting accepted into college. I'm looked at some college websites, and they say they "recommend" 4 years of foreign language. So.. would it be bad if you didn't or do they really not care that much? I'm going to be a senior next year and I'm in French IV Honors right now, I've taken French all 3 years so far. I do fine in that class but it doesn't interest me at all, and I'm going to major in something science-related or engineering, so it doesn't really seem I'll have much use for French. I was thinking about taking AP Chem instead of AP French, something far more useful and interesting to me. Any thoughts, anyone?</p>
<p>AP Chem would be better for you than AP French. </p>
<p>Four years of a foreign language is plenty; if you aren't interested in french, then don't take it over something else that you're interested in.</p>
<p>I quit Spanish after my sophomore year.</p>
<p>I could have gone on to Spanish IV and V, but I did not enjoy the language.</p>
<p>So I dropped the class.</p>
<p>If you're going to be in a scientific background, I'd drop the foreign language and go for AP Chem.</p>
<p>My college also recommended 4 years of foreign language, so I did it. Then again, I really like Spanish -- even though I am a prospective engineering major. </p>
<p>But I had to take history over the summer to keep Spanish in :/</p>
<p>It's very important, althought not essential. </p>
<p>For practicality reasons. We live in an increasingly globalized world. Traveling across the world is not so much unheard of, and more and more American/English corporations are industrializing across the world. Not to mention the affect of the world wide web. Knowledge of a second language is almost necessary in the business world today. Furthermore, the United States does not have an official language, and the incentive to learn English is not so high in major cities such as NY, Boston, Chicago, LA, Miama, where Spanish is almost as widely spoken as English. </p>
<p>Furthermore, learning a language increases your worldliness, which is important. If you ever want to travel abroad in college or otherwise and venture into provincial areas or less populated cities, fluency in a second language is absolutely necessary. Also, learning a language increases your sense of grammar, and English perspective, hones your listening skills and writing skills. </p>
<p>In short, learning a second language should be required.</p>