Lack of Foreign Language?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hi there CC!

I am a current junior, and I have a dilemma concerning my (upcoming) college applications.

As of right now, I only have one semester of college foreign language done, and I am unsure if I should continue it next spring semester - when I am a senior (so early 2020).

From what I understand based upon the course’s description, Italian I is, learning-wise, worth 2 years of high school foreign language squished into six months, while Italian II (what I’m going to be skipping) is worth another year. Credits wise, it will only count as 5 per semester and will not be transfer credit unless I attend a UC/CSU school here in California.

I will be applying to mostly Ivy League colleges over the upcoming summer, so on my college applications to these schools it will only show that I have only completed Italian II, and have yet to take Italian II (which I am planning to during Spring 2020 - beginning on the last half of my senior year).

For those curious, I plan on taking it next year instead of continuing it in the upcoming (2019) spring semester is lack of time:
I am currently in four AP classes (namely APUSH, AP Chem, AP Stats, and AP Language & Comp), cabinet of six different clubs, and founder/regional officer of two other clubs. Not only that but I am working two jobs in order to help support my family of four in which only my father is the other one working, as my mom recently immigrated from a foreign country and thus is unable to work yet.

M/W/F/Sat/Sun I am working, and on Tuesdays/Thursdays I have been attending my Italian class directly after school for another two hours. I’ll admit that this schedule has become extremely detrimental to my mental health.

My grades in all of my high school classes are fine, and right now I am have a 4.8 GPA with a class rank of 1/780.

However, what I am sacrificing for those grades is sleep. I am averaging three hours of sleep a night, which my mom deems to be “unhealthy” since I am working several hours a week and need rest or else my body would eventually give up on me. I talked to my counselor and she agreed that I have to cut something off so that I could maintain my mental well-being.

With my SAT and AP exams coming up, she also suggested that I should focus on those and should forego on taking Italian II, since my final for Italian II if I took it this year would clash with my AP exams, and the time that I would allocate to study for my SAT and AP subjects would be eaten up by my Italian class.

Right now, I’m really conflicted as to whether or not I should continue Italian II this year or next year. Does anyone have any insight for the best course of action I should take, with Ivy Leagues (and how they would react to the lack of Italian II during the time I submit my application) in consideration?

2

Your bigger issue is that you will plan to apply to Ivy League colleges with only Italian 2, where the most competitive applicants with have level 4 in progress or completed, and all of these colleges “recommend” 3-4 years. So you won’t be competitive.

But to answer your question. No college has the expectation that any courses need to be complete by the time you apply, just by the time you graduate. You list your senior year courses on the application, and colleges will expect you to complete them.

3

As I mentioned, from what I understood, Italian I in the college is equivalent to 2 years of high school, so would that not be equivalent to level 2 high-school wise? (Italian II requires an individual to finish Italian I OR 2 Years of high school Italian, then from that I assumed Italian I = 2 Years of high school).

Also from what a previous poster said to an old post of mine, any semester after the first college semester is worth one year in high school, so would that put me into Level 3 Italian after taking College Italian 2 in terms of high school years? Or is my logic completely flawed?

4

I think typically 1 semester of college level = 1 year of high school level, from what I understand. I could be wrong, or maybe your course is more intensive than typical?

5

I did a quick edit; from the course description from Italian II, it mentioned that one needs to take Italian I OR 2 Years of High School Italian to qualify for Italian II. By that I assumed that Italian I = 2 Years worth of high school Italian.

I’m genuinely confused as to what it converts to now, haha.

6

@myos1634 can weigh in on this, since she made the initial comment, but here’s my take: In general 2 college semesters of a Romance Language is roughly equivalent to 3 years of high school. But there is no standard metric of what is covered in a typical HS Italian I class vs. a typical college Italian I class and an AO is not going to dig to find your course syllabus; s/he will just see Italian II. I suppose if you had a 650 on the Subject Test, the college might buy the 3rd level argument, but you would not be able to show that by the time you submitted your application.

Now if your HS is giving equivilency credit, and for HS transcript purposes, college Italian II translates to HS Italian III, then you’d be OK with the 3rd level. But again, most applicants to Ivy League colleges will have level 4.

7

Having only the equivalent of high school year 2 (that your college Italian 1 course is equivalent to) is likely to be a significant disadvantage when applying to colleges that expect high school year 3 or 4.

Also, while the UC and CSU minimum is the equivalent of high school year 2, UC recommends the equivalent of high school year 3 (so taking college Italian 2 would count if that is how it is listed as equivalent), and many UC campuses and divisions and other colleges have foreign language graduation requirements that are higher than the equivalent of high school year 2.

But, yes, senior year courses are reported to colleges, so they would count in terms of what colleges want to see you take. You obviously need to complete the course with sufficiently high grades (verified by your final high school transcript) as a condition of admission.

8

I appreciate everyone’s replies!

This question has been something I’ve been wanting to know for ages, and getting answers from this community is something I really appreciate.

I forgot to mention that the community colleges in my area only have up to Italian II, so if I wish to pursue a higher level of Italian to max out to the four year equivalency for application competitiveness, I would need to either go 40 miles away to three towns or take it online, and since I don’t have any viable transportation, taking it online would be my best bet.

Does anyone have any insight about taking it online for credit?

And I have no idea if this helps or not, but my native language is not English. From what my counselor told me, my school/district offers some sort of test for my specific foreign language (Tagalog/Filipino) that would grant me high school foreign language credit without having to take classes. I will be back tomorrow with the information regarding it after asking my principal.

9

It doesn’t matter how your comm college describes the course as equivalent to this or that. It matters what Ivy adoms want to see. And if all you have taken is one college semester, that may not be enough. It’s difficult when someone will only take the next level in spring of senior year. When you apply, that’s projected, not completed. (Yes, many kids only take something important in spring, but your situation is you’re already behind.)

Columbia, eg, asks for “three to four years of one foreign language.” Typically, kids could get that 3 year min by the end of junior year, on a standard US hs schedule. (Are you in the US?) The only (sometimes) escape is when there’s a schedule conflict with much higher level of math/sci classes, for a highly qualified stem major, with various accomplishments. That’s not being on the board/founder of 8 clubs. It may look like you diverted your attentions.

Working two jobs is admirable. We don’t know what the clubs are. Or if they relate to your possible major and/or some responsible community service. Maybe you reconsider the time spent on them, keep the best, reduce time spent on others.

Whew, sorry about that. So, what major? It isn’t a weighted gpa that matters, but actual grades/rigor in cores and those courses that relate to your possible major. Try looking now at what various top colleges say and show they value and look for, the attributes. Along with the hs preparation they recommend. You haven’t mentioned what courses you plan for senior year. I’m assuming your hs doesn’t offer any Italian, but could you do the next level at cc in fall?

10

1° Focus more. Your Spring junior year and senior year should show that you’ve started figuring out what matters to you. Also, that you understand “balance”. You don’t NEED to work 2 jobs AND do so many clubs. Since you need to work to help pay rent for instance, cut on the clubs. Holding a necessity job is considered a strong EC). Select the lucky 2 clubs where you have the most impact or where there’s external recognition. Colleges want to make sense of what you do outside of class but it’s quality/intensity/impact >>>>>>> quantity.
Note: Fewer than 7-8 hours of sleep for a teenager actively damages your health (it actually hurts your brain). You should be getting 8-9. (It’s like being a teenager who needs 2,500 calories a day and eating only 650 calories).
2° if you’re taking Italian I at the CC right now, take Italian II at the CC in the Spring. A core class should take precedence over clubs. This would meet the minimum of 3 units of Foreign Language. Then I’d advise you take College Italian III online in the Spring of 2020 if offered - that would typically be considered equivalent to HS4. Foreign Language is a core class and you’re aiming for top 25 universities/LACs. You can’t afford a deficiency in a core subject.
3° Do take the Tagalog/Filippino test. No matter what it’ll be useful to have.

11

UCs may accept such foreign language certification (check the details at https://www.ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/e-language/index.html ) for its high school foreign language requirement, but that does not apply to highly selective private schools.

Whether highly selective private schools give any consideration that English was a foreign language for you may not be obvious, and may depend on when you started learning it. If you started English by attending kindergarten in the US coming from a home where another language was spoken, that may not be very unusual, as it is a common “heritage speaker of another language” situation. But if you had to start learning English in middle or high school after your family immigrated to the US then, that may be more notable.

12

They still need to see foreign lang study. With all the fierce competition for an admit to an Ivy or other top private, it’s too easy to filter based on who neglected FL.

On the Common App, Tagalog will show as the first language. It’s not additional study. It really isn’t enough to say you now live here and took the usual English courses everyone else does. Plus, so many people from the Phillipines do learn English there and speak it well.

I think maybe MYOS meant take Italian2 this coming spring. Then, yes, I agree you can move to online. (I’d suggest, this summer.) Not only doess it provide further instructtion, it shows you understand the importance of continuing.

13

My D studies Chinese online through a high school consortium. Online language learning has its challenges, especially if you don’t have anyone to practice verbal skills with face to face (which she does). With online language learning, you really have to manage your time well and be willing to practice without having a teacher hanging over you. You need to be an independent learner.

I would definitely recommend getting more language credit. The level of competition is so high, why give a school a ready-made reason to turn you down?

14

Yes, I meant: you’re taking Italian I now at the CC, take Italian II in the Spring (2019), then and only then should you take Italian III online (Spring 2020)