I’m going to be a freshman at a competitive boarding school in the US next year, and I need to decide between finishing the 6th year Chinese course (which is the highest class already, since I’m Chinese) or taking a new language (French/Spanish/Latin).
The school advises to take a new language for 3 years so that it can appeal to colleges, but does it really matter? Would it be better for me to take 1 year of Chinese, get a 5 on AP and then take more science/math classes sophomore and junior year? Does taking a new language really mean anything to colleges?
What do you think? Especially if you have experience with the college admissions process. Thanks!
Most colleges do want to see 3-4 years of high school courses in a single language. Getting a 5 after a single year of a foreign language won’t satisfy that requirement. Start a new language. At some point you may be able to study for the Chinese AP on your own or double up on language classes for a year.
No. Do what. the school advises. No college thinks that it is “better” to specialize in HS at the expense of other core courses. Their preference is that you.start to learn a language in HS or MS, not take 1 year of a heritage language. You can still take the AP Chinese exam and study a new language.
If I’m reading your post correctly, a native/semi-native speaker taking one year of the language and the AP exam isn’t going to impress any college admissions officer. They are looking for students who challenge themselves with rigorous course selection, not taking the easy way out.
Also if you are a native speaker of Chinese nobody will be impressed by you getting a 5 on the AP Chinese exam (or for that matter an 800 on the SAT II) Colleges look at foreign language as an academic subject learned in a classroom setting so I would follow the advice you have been given at your boarding school and start a new language.
If you are targeting the most selective colleges, and your heritage language proficiency is already higher than what high schools in the US offer, it may be best to take a new language to level 4 in high school. You can still take the AP and SAT subject tests in your heritage language to show proficiency.
If you know for certain that the colleges you are targeting only care about proficiency level (which can be shown by AP and/or SAT subject tests) even for heritage speakers, or do not require or recommend foreign language at all, then you may not need to study a new language in high school. But, as a 9th grade student in a “competitive boarding school”, it is unlikely that you know this.
Upon reading your other post, I see you are an international student, so I was incorrect in calling Chinese a heritage language; it’s your native language. So my guess is that your abilities far exceed the level-six placement, so taking Chinese will definitely be viewed as the easy way out. The good news is that for college, you’ll almost certainly be exempt from any foreign language graduation requirement.
Your school knows what they are talking about. You can take the Chinese AP without being enrolled in a course, but if you are a native speaker there is really no need as you can just take a placement exam at the college where you matriculate. That’s what I did with French after I took a gap year in France.
Challenge yourself and take another foreign language.
The AP Chinese test has the reputation of being the easiest test to earn a 5. My ethnic Chinese kid who can’t speak the language without sounding like an American tourist since he can’t figure out the tones got a 5 on the test from attending weekend Chinese school and self-studying.
Your other post says you’re an international student but you claim to be Asian American. Do you have US Citizenship? That will matter for future college admissions.
The high percentage of 5 scores on the AP Chinese test is due to the high percentage of heritage speakers taking that test.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2018/Student-Score-Distributions-2018.pdf shows AP score distributions for the foreign language ones for “total group” (all test takers) and “standard group” (those who did not indicate regularly using the language outside of US high school). For the Chinese test, the total group had 66.1% scores of 5, while the standard group had 20.4% scores of 5. The standard group was only 24.4% of the total group.
Note that other AP score distributions are also affected by selection effects. Compare score distributions for calculus AB versus calculus BC, for example.
Just to play devil’s advocate here, how would a college know what an applicant’s native language was? You certainly can’t tell from the last name - many ABCs for example don’t speak any form of Chinese language at home. So although it’s never a bad idea to learn another language, doing so because “admissions wants you to challenge yourself” is disingenuous.
Also, you don’t have to take 3 or 4 years of a language - if you’re at say a level of a 4th year language, then you’re considered to have taken 4 years. AP generally would be considered 4th or 5th year. The vast majority of schools operate this way.
So my vote would be to take the AP class, get the foreign language requirement out of the way, and take more interesting classes in science/math, or even a different language.
“doing so because “admissions wants you to challenge yourself” is disingenuous.”
Are you (mis-)quoting me? What makes you believe this choice/advice is “Not noble; unbecoming true honor or dignity; mean; unworthy; fake or deceptive.”
“…how would a college know what an applicant’s native language was?”
Easy. The Common App asks about your languages.
Common misconception that they just want to see the highest level. They want to see the study. This isn’t about proficiency alone. It’s about the nature of language study. 4 years means 4 years.
Plus, the idea is not to be unilateral.
OP, just pick a new language that you can study at that hs for 3 or four years.
Putting down that you speak a language at home really tells nothing about fluency, or ability to read and write, or to speak in public. All it means is that you can communicate with Dad and Mom and maybe Grandma. An adcom would be silly to make these assumptions.
Every student will have to take some class that meets a requirement. Playing devil’s advocate here, I don’t see the difference here between someone needing to take English classes that they can’t stand, and taking a foreign language class that they’re good at - both fulfill a requirement.
Even easier - the CA asks for your address. OP indicates in another thread that s/he is international. With a home address in Qingdao (that’s not, AFAIK, his/her address; I’m just picking a random city), the AO may make certain assumptions (which is different from what they will know). Evenif OP attends an international school, s/he’s speaking Chinese to people other than the family.
The OP is attending a prestigious BS, and is being placed into level six, which is above AP, and most places don’t even have post-AP Chinese classes. I’m all for heritage learners perfecting that language first, but that does not seem to be the case here to me, and likely AO’s will feel the same.
Along the same lines, one of the advantages of such a BS is that the counselors are able to provide more individualized attention/recommendations based upon what they know about the student and what they know about college admissions. Unless there is a valid reason, which the OP has not presented (and more math/science is not a valid reason), I would go along with their recommendation.
The goal in submissions asking for 2-4 years of foreign lang isn’t about “fluency.”
OP can look at what various colleges recommend in the hs course array.
I agree that, sometimes, when a family doesn’t speak (or read/write) at a high level, it can make sense to study it formally. But OP is just starting hs, and can pick up another.
The idea, for selective 4-year colleges, is proving you can learn a foreign language. Taking an AP class as a freshman can be explained by (for instance) a K-8 immersion school, or living abroad with expat parents.
But a native language is not a foreign language.
The recommended path for those aiming at top 40 universities/LACs would be to register and take the AP test but start a new Foreign language for 4 years.
Btw, taking “more math or science” is not a tip. No advantage in itself. Certainly a disadvantage if taken instead of a core class (such as foreign language history, or English).
OP- The guidance you will be getting at a competitive boarding school is going to be top notch. My advice to you is to listen to them. They know what they are doing.
a native language is not a foreign language.