<p>[removed personal information - Mod JEM]I currently am in eighth grade. I have an interest in screenwriting and am beginning to look at some college options. Even though I have a long time until college, I would still like to look because I am so interested in screenwriting and would like to learn to write professionally. I do have some learning disabilities like having Tourette Syndrome and being foreign language exempt. Would something like being foreign language exempt prevent me from being able to go to college? I am deeply worried that because of my foreign language exemption, I will not be able to attend college. Many of the schools I have looked into require that you have taken at least 2 years of foreign language in High School.</p>
<p>Thank you for helping me and I hope you have a nice day,</p>
<p>You will have to contact each of the colleges that are interesting to you, and ask them how your foreign language exemption will affect your admission prospects. Each college will have its own policy. Some won’t require you to have a foreign language in HS because of your exemption, but might expect you to take it there because it is required for graduation. Others will honor your exemption in college as well, and won’t require a foreign language to graduate. Some don’t require it at all, so those would be good options for you.</p>
<p>If they do require a foreign language, you need to ask what the options for meeting that requirement are. Will they count American Sign Language? Can you take your language in a non-academic setting (such as through a private language school like Berlitz, or by living in another country while doing a student exchange program) and then take an exam that evaluates your fluency? Just exactly how much language do they want you to have?</p>
<p>The human brain is designed to learn language. You have managed to learn English, so clearly you aren’t missing your language-learning abilities. You need to look around for courses that are focused on “communicative methodology”. These classes do not emphasize memorization or translation, rather they focus on using language in real-life contexts.</p>
<p>There are colleges that do not require language training; focus on those.</p>
<p>The easiest approach is that suggested by toadstool, but you can also apply to schools that recommend a foreign language. You can also apply to schools that have a foreign language requirement for graduation.</p>
<p>My son had a foreign language exemption in HS and was admitted to a number of schools (including NESCAC and Ivy) that recommend 3 or 4 years of foreign language in high school. I called several schools and asked and they said that foreign language was a recommendation and not a requirement. They expected that if he didn’t take a language, he’d do something else that was academically challenging (rather than just play video games, I guess). If he did so, they said, he’d probably have to disclose what he was doing and why.</p>
<p>So, in my son’s application, he explained that he was dyslexic. He was partially home-schooled and in the section on the objectives, I explained why he wasn’t taking a language in the traditional manner and what we planned to do (an immersion course). At the schools he was considering after he was admitted, he asked what the procedure was to request a waiver of the foreign language requirement and whether that waiver was likely based upon the neuropsychological test data he’d given to the head of disabilities services. He got near-affirmative answers (e.g., “A committee has to decide but I would recommend the waiver and so I can’t promise but the committee looks to me as the head of disabilities services”).</p>
<p>Thank you for your response. It is always very helpful to hear of a person in my own shoes. Thanks again.</p>