<p>Hi. This is my first posting and it is regarding the Latin SAT II</p>
<p>My 13 year old is taking Latin. He is pretty good at it but does NOT enjoy it and it is taking him many hours per day to do it. He is currently in the first half of ECCE Romani book 2. My wife would like him to take enough Latin to do well on the SAT II for Latin so that he can demonstrate what he knows and what he can do for college applications. Both of us agree that he will not likely be using Latin in a future career and both of us agree that he is doing Latin mostly because we told him that this is part of his curriculum. </p>
<p>Questions:
a) How much latin study does it take to do well on the Latin SAT II? Will he need many more years of latin or is he close to completing what he needs?
b) Do colleges actually value a test score in an area where a student has no interest and where a student is doing something just to look good?
c) If colleges do value a good test score in Latin and he continues to study latin for years (spending 25-30% on the subject compared to all of his other subjects), is this a worthwhile investment? Or is the return on investment so low that he should focus on other studies?</p>
<p>I don’t know any Latin, but I might consider taking it in college because it just sounds cool.</p>
<p>It is better for your son to take classes and spend time on subjects he does enjoy. You don’t need a good SAT Latin test to impress colleges. A majority of students who get into the top colleges don’t take Latin. Most stick to math, science, and english or history SAT IIs. Latin does help with the Critical Reading section of the SAT Reasoning test because of the roots. </p>
<p>It would be to your son’s overall well-being to pursue subjects that he enjoys and can do well in. Colleges value your son’s interest and personality more than the test score. Most of the top colleges aren’t really concerned with foreign language, as long as your son takes 4 years of a foreign language. Most of the top colleges expect an SAT Subject Test in math, science, and humanities (english, history, or foreign language). Some of the top colleges value science and math much more than humanities, so look into what the colleges you plan on your son applying requires.</p>
<p>I’ve taken latin since 8th grade, go a 5 on the AP junior year, and got a 600 on the SAT II for latin. I wouldn’t continue to take latin for the SAT II score but it does look good to continue through level 5.</p>
<p>Colleges value high scores; they don’t care as much about whether or not you’re going to major in the field you tested on. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, I don’t think you can score very well (750+) on a subject that you’re not interested in. At the very least it would be very difficult to; I can’t imagine trying to work extremely hard in a subject that I don’t care for. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that Latin, like all the language tests, is also one of the hardest subjects tests. </p>
<p>Are there any subjects your son is more interested in that he can test on? </p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that certain colleges like a lot of SAT Subject Tests from Homeschooled students. I took four myself (I am homeschooled).</p>
<p>I posted a response to your question in the Homeschooling and College forum, esek64. My daughter took the SAT Subject Test with 3 semesters of Latin (homeschooled) and got a 680. In her case it was a very good choice. But I answered in more detail on the homeschool board.</p>
<p>I took the Subject Test after two years of high school Latin, using Wheelock’s Latin, a textbook distinguished for the clarity and thoroughness of its explanations.</p>
<p>I walked away with a 780.</p>
<p>Please stop using Ecce Romani. It is notoriously bad.</p>
<p>a) How much latin study does it take to do well on the Latin SAT II? Will he need many more years of latin or is he close to completing what he needs?</p>
<p>In my experience I needed only two years. Normally, the first two years of high school curricula cover grammar, and the last two literature. Since there are a number of rather lengthily reading comprehension passages and questions on the Subject Test, an additional year’s experience with unadapted literature would certainly help. So, three years of high school Latin would suffice.
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b) Do colleges actually value a test score in an area where a student has no interest and where a student is doing something just to look good?**</p>
<p>I don’t understand this question. How would colleges know whether son likes or dislikes Latin? I’m not sure how your homeschooling works, but are you implying that Latin won’t be a formal part of his homeschooling curriculum, that you have designated it as an extracurricular pursuit, so to speak?</p>
<p>c) If colleges do value a good test score in Latin and he continues to study latin for years (spending 25-30% on the subject compared to all of his other subjects), is this a worthwhile investment? Or is the return on investment so low that he should focus on other studies?</p>
<p>Well, a mastery of Latin grammar and a comprehensive knowledge of the Classical authors does impart one with a particularly strong grasp in English grammar and composition. If that’s what you mean by a worthwhile investment. It’s a worthy a pursuit as any other school subject. I like Latin, he likes History, she likes the Sciences, etc.</p>
<p>Wheelock’s is very good, but it’s not well-suited to self-teaching. I used it when I took Latin many years ago, and considered it for my daughter, but it’s not really a very good option for learning outside of a classroom and without a teacher and all the structural supports that go with that. I do not have any real familiarity with Ecce Romani, so can’t speak about it with any first-hand knowledge, although I know many people who do use it. Like most high school Latin books, as far as I understand, it does also cover all the essential grammar in the first two years.</p>
<p>Thanks for reply and good questions. I think I am thinking about the opportunity costs. If he really does not have a personal interest in Latin, would he be better off spending his time learning Spanish? (we are in California where it is expected that 50% of the population will be Spanish speaking in 20 years) or would he be better served pursuing studies that he has a passion for? Thanks all for your replies.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry if this is out of line, but this poor kid is 13 years old. I feel bad for him that he’s spending hours per day learning something he’s not interested in for the sake of a college application. My only suggestion would be to not worry about these things just yet. He will excel at some things, and he won’t at others. It might turn out that he develops an interest in mechanical engineering and wants to study that at college. Or he might want to join the Air Force marching band. His options are wide open at this point and he will change so much between now and when he applies to college. Again, I’m sorry if any of this sounds rude, that’s not my intention at all.</p>