I took French II my freshman year and I’m currently taking French III my sophomore year. French is a very challenging class and I have no intentions of learning the language, but I hear that to get into a prestigious school, I need to take at least 3 years of that language. If I drop french for a class owed which I feel is more important and will be more useful for myself, can I still get into a prestigious school with only two years of language. In addition to that his, I already know how to speak 1 other language at home.
If you finish French III, you have reached level 3 in a language which is 3 years not 2 years. If you are targeting to elite schools than up to level IV (4) is recommended.
What do you consider as an elite school?
Harvard, Yale, Princeton etc…
You stated “prestigious” in your original post.
Look at the course requirements for any school of interest and it should state the recommended number of years for Foreign Language.
- if you speak another language at home, can you get that level certified through a cultural center or external test?
- in foreign language what matters is level reached. Stopping at level 3 sophomore year will not look good for any top 25-30 national university or LAC * unless * you have external certification in your heritage language. If you have external certification plus level 3 then you’re strong for any college in the country. If you don’t, take level 4.
- keep in mind most colleges have a foreign language placement test during orientation and a foreign language graduation requirement, the number of units depending on how well you do on the placement test.