<p>Hello everyone. :)
I am a freshman and am currently taking French II and Latin I. I have come to enjoy both and would like to continue through to French V and Latin IV.
Would eight language credits stand out in a college application process? Enough to make it a worthwhile endeavor? Again, I would like to continue with both, but it would certainly be nice if my languages could act as a sort of hook. :)
Thank you.</p>
<p>Well it would be a positive aspect of an application, but not exactly something that will "wow" admissions.</p>
<p>No one here knows what does/does not stand out to college admissions officers. Since you are a freshman, no one can predict how your apps will look in four years and how those apps will look to colleges. As a senior, the best advice I can give you is to be yourself, rather than trying to impress. Do what you love and this will make your high school years much less stressful. It seems to me that you love languages. By all means, continue your study if you are interested and do what you can to truly stand out in your classes, etc. establish good relationships with teachers. If there is some way you hope to improve your language study, devote the time and do it. If you shift completely away from languages and instead fall in love with science or history or some other subject, dedicate yourself to that. It's not worth getting worked up now over apps. Use the next 2 and a half years to define yourself and explore what you want to do. </p>
<p>I hate the notion that high school students have to have some set path for colleges. If you do everything to conform to standards that someone else sets, then what will you have learned? That in order to succeed, you need to follow some formula? Some of the most important developments in the world were made by nonconformists and creative minds. They found their solutions because they thought differently about things than others. In two years, find a mix of colleges of varying selectivity that will be a match for your personality so you will be happy no matter what and then cross your fingers. In the mean time I would recommend staying away from this site until junior or senior year. You'll just get addicted and will constantly compare yourself to others on here. Focus on your own intellectual education rather than others' and you will be most happy. </p>
<p>OK, end of my hippy post now. :-)</p>
<p>If you enjoy it then of <em>course</em> it would be a worthwhile endeavor. However, many of the very competitive language-based applicants to elites will have something similar on their apps in terms of high school courses taken. You need to learn as much as you can in school while also finding ways to pursue languages outside of school.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how you'd do that - I'm a math/science person and I only barely made the minimum requirements for Spanish.</p>
<p>how about if some one -me- was fluent in four languages and learning two more ??
is that a hook?</p>
<p>That is obviously a hook. </p>
<p>I'm surprised you didn't notice.</p>
<p>That is a very respectable achievement, but the degree of awesomeness depends on the language. If the four languages were English, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic, that is very impressive. If they were related Romance languages, the achievement is still amazing, but to a lesser degree. Not many people know four languages to begin with anyway. :p</p>
<p>All you need to know is English and Chinese. </p>
<p>Chinese because there are a bazillion of us and we shall take over the world! ... as soon as we can figure out how to use electricity in the rural areas that is...</p>
<p>But seriously, Chinese has got to be the hardest language to learn. If I weren't Chinese, I would never have learned it. No alphabet, nothing. You just have to memorize all 3000+ words. -__-</p>
<p>And for your question: anything you enjoy doing is worthwhile.</p>
<p>It is a hook, I think, but if you're going to use your languages as a hook, then you should take it to the next level.</p>
<p>English, French and Latin. That's three languages. It's not that impressive. I mean, it's better than three or two, but a bunch of people go to bilingual schools and take a third language. And then there are the kids who speak 4 or 5 or 6 languages because they were born doing so. </p>
<p>Like, I guess it's good, but it's not fantastic.</p>
<p>I meant to post this last night, but the servers crashed: if you are interested in taking your language beyond the classroom, I would recommend an immersion summer program. Many people do this abroad, but it is possible to find superb (and much cheaper) programs here in the USA. Try looking into Concordia Language Villages, a group of summer camps in Minnesota that specialize in offering immersion language courses. (they have a lot of languages too, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, German, Russian, Spanish, French, Arabic, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, and I think they are introducing Portuguese.) The courses vary in length and you can even take classes for high school or college credit. The camps try to immerse students in culture as well as language and you will do a lot of great stuff such as singing, ethnic dancing, folk art, and watching some great movies. You will eat cuisine that is native to the speakers of your language. Plus, you will also get some great normal camp activities in. The quality of the teaching is really great too and most counselors and teachers are native speakers. Try searching the summer thread for "concordia language villages" and you will see my post about my time in the 4-week Russian program. It changed my life. I met people who shared a love of learning and a passion for languages and cultures and I am still in touch with some of them, a year and a half later. </p>
<p>You may find similar programs through your state governor's school, if it has one. I know VA does immersion programs in the languages that are taught in schools and several friends have attended and had really good experiences. Also, many universities offer intensive summer language programs and some allow high school students to participate. Do some research if you are interested.</p>
<p>If you love the languages, go out of your way to find ways to use them. Get a job working with immigrants or enter contests. This is a great way to learn and show your dedication.</p>
<p>I personally am skeptical about the "learn 5 languages as a hook" approach. It's fine and dandy if you already know several languages fluently, but I would personally focus on learning a couple of languages very well. We all learn differently, of course, but you don't want to be taken in too many directions with languages. Probably your time would be better spent studying one or two in great depth and once you have mastered those, study more. I am no expert, but I can't imagine that self-studying 3 or 4 languages all at once will take you anywhere near mastery, at least not when you are juggling other advanced courses in HS. </p>
<p>You sound like a smart person, so I am sure that no matter where you end up, it will be great. I am sure some people on here can speak 4 languages fluently, but I am also sure that many of them were raised in a bilingual or trilingual household. I think it is fantastic that some people have these skills, but at the same time, they may not have had to devote too much time to learn the languages, whereas you may have been raised in an English-only household, but have studied your butt off to master another language or two. I think that you should ignore this perceived need for a "hook" and focus on mastering the subjects you love. Show commitment and I am sure that that will help you stand out in your own right.
[/long winded lecture]</p>