I am currently a high school sophomore taking Chinese 4 Honors. However, I only started taking Chinese at my high school starting freshman year by testing into Chinese 3 with my previous experience attending Chinese classes at a local Saturday school. ( I have attended this school for roughly 7-8 years) Additionally, I took 3 years of middle school French prior to the change.
My initial reason for testing into the Chinese track at my high school was because I had planned to take the AP Chinese test in 10th grade through the Saturday school mentioned previously, and thought that having more exposure to Chinese on a daily basis would improve my language ability (which I thought was lacking at the time). Currently, I am still planning to stick with my initial plan to take the AP test this May, and believe that I will be able to score at least a 4 or 5 the test through the combination of Chinese 4 H and Saturday school
However, the high school I am attending also offers an AP Chinese class after Chinese 4 H. Considering I do get a 4 or 5 on the AP Chinese test, would not taking the AP Chinese class Junior year affect my chances of admission to selective colleges?
Additionally, would taking Chinese 4 H as a sophomore (year 2) in high school be considered 2 or 4 years of foreign language in college admissions? (Would taking Chinese 4 H as a sophomore satisfy the 4 year prerequisite at most selective colleges?). My high school counselor recently informed me that it would only count as 2 years. Could this be confirmed? If so, how much of a disadvantage would this be? If I do get a 4 or 5 on the test, should I continue with the AP Chinese class in school in order to get to the 3 years foreign language benchmark? (Although I would likely have to drop another AP class).
As a side note, both my parents are Chinese, however, I was born in the US, and have never lived China. My only exposure to Chinese language and culture has been through my parents, Chinese school, and a week long vacation to China when I was in middle school. (Does than make me a heritage speaker?)
Obviously, your GC’s opinion matters more. Some here will say level 4 is enough. But if you have top colleges in mind, it’s too easy to nick a kid who stops foreign lang study after soph year.
Depends on the college. Level completed is probably what matters for most colleges, but some of the more selective colleges may prefer to see both a high level completed and a larger number of years of study.
If you earn a 5 on the AP Chinese test after taking Chinese 4, then taking the AP Chinese course afterward would look like grade-grubbing for an easy A. If you want to take the AP Chinese course, then wait until after that to take the AP Chinese test.
If you earn a 5 on the AP Chinese test after taking Chinese 4, but are concerned about some colleges wanting to see more years of high school study in foreign language despite having completed level 4, would you consider taking French, if your middle school French would place you in a higher level than French 1 (so that you can take two years of French reaching level 3 or higher)?
Which other AP course(s) would taking more foreign language courses displace?
A heritage speaker would be one who frequently used the language at home since early childhood.
Do you know know which colleges may want to see both the high level completed as well as a larger number of years physically learning the language?
Most colleges I have looked at seem to require 3-4 Carnegie units of foreign language as a requirement for freshman admission. According to the Carnegie Foundation (https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/faqs/carnegie-unit/), wouldn’t I need to physically sit through 4 years of classes in order to meet the freshman pre-requisite for 4 Carnegie Units?
However, if so, this would contradict what most people are saying on CC, that colleges (including more selective ones) are looking at the level completed rather than the number of years of study in regards to freshman admissions.
Could this be clarified?
You should assume that all colleges that say “N years of foreign language” want to see level *N/i completed (i.e. N level 1 courses in different languages will not fulfill if N > 1). But some may additionally prefer to see N years in classes.
If you are unsure about a specific college, ask its admissions office directly.
You have 2 choices: tze Chinese through AP at your school and take the test then; or, take the test this year then take French 3 next year with the subject test to demonstrate mastery.
This way pure covered regardless.
@MYOS1634 Thank you for your help. Unfortunately, I do not think I will be able to back out from taking the AP Chinese test this May, as I am currently enrolled in an AP Chinese course through my local Saturday school. However, I would also prefer not to continue French (I would be placed into French 2) in junior year as I would have to drop another class. (I am currently planning to to take AP Calc AB, AP Bio, AP Lang, APUSH, Physics H and Art II H; All classes that I think will be enjoyable).
That being said, do you think it would be a good idea to simply continue on the path I am currently on: to take the AP Chinese test this May through a combo of Saturday school and in-school Chinese 4 H, and drop foreign language in junior year? (Considering I get a 5 on the test).
\Would the path I am currently on limit the number of colleges I may be able to apply to in the future? Would it hurt my chances when applying to more selective colleges?
If so, do you see any other possible options?
Once again, thank you so much for your time and help!
It might. You really don’t know for sure, especially since those highly selective colleges typically list their high school preparation as recommendations, and they evaluate your academic strength subjectively and opaquely. I.e. replacing one of your other courses (none of which appear to be “fluff”) with French 2 may be a net positive or a net negative, and it may differ from one highly selective college to another.
If you know any insiders at admission offices of colleges of interest, or you attend a high school whose college counselors are well connected to the admission offices of colleges of interest (e.g. an academically elite prep school), then you may be able to get better information for those specific colleges. Otherwise, you may want to see what the colleges recommend on their admission web pages (and what they say when you ask directly), considering the context of your entire four year schedule. Do not be surprised if what is helpful for one college may be harmful for another college.
One other consideration about your course choices (foreign language or otherwise) to ask your counselor is whether the choices will affect whether s/he will give you the “most demanding” rating for course rigor and “one of the top few I’ve encountered” for academic achievement.