I encouraged my son to try Latin in middle school, largely because the teachers are invariably a bit eccentric and often way more fun than other teachers. (I’m also not a big believer in school-based language learning.) My son now really seems to love Latin, and assumes he will continue in high school. I’m a little concerned that this choice will be looked down upon by colleges and more importantly I’ve heard the AP is a bear. I don’t think my son is gunning for a top school, but just curious if anyone has any insight on this choice of language.
my D took Latin in HS and did not go past Latin 3. We never saw it as an issue, and as a matter of fact, a plus. It helped with ACT/SAT. Plus Latin being the basis for all other languages. It is not an easy language and I think colleges appreciate those who take it.
I think Latin is an academic plus. If he likes it, I say go for it.
Short answer - no.
Longer answer - The reality is that a college AO will spend 10-12 minutes reading an application. They will not use that time wondering why a student opted for one language versus another, IMO. If an applicant from the Punahou School, for example, presents an exceptional application package, no AO is going to say, “Darn, I would have admitted him if only he didn’t choose to spend 4 years studying a useless language like Hawaiian.”
I agree with @intparent - if the kid likes it, he should continue. I also concur with @sdl0625 , it will help for standardized tests.
I doubt that many students who are taking any AP exam and is not a native/heritage speaker would say it’s a walk in the park.
My D21 also takes Latin. Her classes are small, the teachers are great. The kids tend toward quirky, and are good students . She knows the Latin kids in the grades above her as they tutor the younger kids, and they consistently go on to colleges in the top 30-40. No one from our high school gets a 5 on the AP Exam, but plenty of 4’s and I’ve never heard of that being a problem.
It will help for standardized testing. I think it’s a positive.
Latin certainly helps with standardized tests; beyond that, it makes learning other Romance languages easier and provides a connection to the ancient world and a deeper understanding of Western culture, which many people (not all) would view as good things.
I don’t think colleges look down on it; on the contrary, it can be a distinguishing factor. Only 2,363 students took the SAT II in Latin last year, and getting a 760/770 meant you were in the top 10% of test-takers: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/sat/pdf/sat-subject-tests-percentile-ranks.pdf . He might want to think about developing his interest in ways that will make him stand out.
While true, I’d read nothing into the percentiles.
It is important to understand that for several subjects, the percentiles are depressed because so few colleges request Subject Tests, that the ones that do are the ultra selective ones. As a result, it is the high achieving kids taking the tests. No AO is sitting on the floor cross-referencing scores with percentiles.
The students that take a particular subject test are very self-selecting; just look at the percentiles for M2, Chinese, and Korean. 
Thank you all for the informative replies! One more question - I guess I’m wondering if most colleges top 100 schools want to see you take the AP (or the SAT) in your language. Again, my son is almost surely not a top 10 or perhaps even top 25 child.
That question cannot be answered in a vacuum. Most top colleges want students to challenge themselves with some AP’s. most top colleges also want 3-4 years of a language, but the ultimate course does not have to be AP, if the balance of the schedule is sufficiently rigorous. This is true even for the tippy-top schools. Just because a HS offers AP is every subject does not always mean that a student needs to take an AP in every subject.
But really, you are getting way ahead of yourself - the kid is still in middle school. If you or he wants to ask again in a couple of years before he has to decide on AP Latin, that is the appropriate time to ask.
I’m asking because we have to decide whether to stay with Latin in high school, or start fresh with a new language.
In which case, the question is: what does he want to do? It will really make no difference to colleges. Getting to level 3 or 4 or AP starting in 9th grade or starting in MS makes no difference to them.
I think he’d like to continue. And I would too. I just don’t want him put through a stress grinder like I was. And it just seems like the brightest kids are taking it.
@ruthstoops, do you know any kids/parents in High School Latin? It might help to talk to them and get a sense for how it works. My D is actually not good at languages or memorizing and Latin is a definite challenge. However, a lot of your grade at our High School comes from homework, class participation, Roman history and Mythology. She is great at those things so she is still able to do well. It is not a pressure cooker class at all.
My son started Latin in 9th grade, so never took the Latin AP, and I didn’t even know there was a Latin subject test! He must have thought that he would not have been prepared to take the SAT II after three years of Latin instruction, even though he received some sort of award each year for the Latin National exam. (I have no idea if that is of any significance.)
He took SAT IIs in four other subjects and had ten AP scores by graduation, so not having a Latin score did not seem to impact his admission outcomes.
As @3SailAway suggested, I would ask around to learn how rigorous the Latin instruction is at his HS, and also look up scores on the Latin AP.
I will add my two cents to this, as both of my kids are taking Latin. I am also not a believer in school based language learning, and we felt that the Latin would potentially boost language skill in general. Neither child expressed desire to take another language; had they, we would have certainly supported that decision.
Our D is taking AP this year and although she has struggled to get B+/A- grades, she has appreciated the smaller classes and the teacher she has had throughout high school. Latin (at least in our district) seems to attract a small but very bright following, and in a very large high school, D always appreciated knowing that this class would not include “knuckleheads”. Latin teachers in district have typically been highly regarded across the board as opposed to other language teachers.
In addition, her GC strongly suggested that she stick with the AP this year; my understanding was that the continuity would look more impressive to schools(and there was no Honors class as an alternative). She will never be a language major, but I think she has enjoyed the class and has no regrets, whether or not she is able to get college credit. She is headed to Tulane this Fall
Son is 9th grader and is taking it in an accelerated program in his prep school. He is one of a few kids who started in middle school and although it is also not his strongest class, he is enjoying it.
D took Spanish in high school, and started with Latin in college. She regrets not having taken Latin in high school, as she believes it improved her writing skills significantly.