<p>Question: My daughter is an honors sophomore student. She is planning on taking her AP coursework next year. Currently my daughter is in Spanish 4 and has been on this accelerated track since middle school. My confusion lies in the idea that she is already ahead of many of her peers and is in a [...]</p>
<p>I think schools can vary on this. I know when I was looking into this on behalf of my oldest son, some schools told me they only counted years taken while in HS, even if the student got HS credit for taking it in middle school. A typical exception was if the student completed the AP level class in the language before completing enough years of study in HS. </p>
<p>That said, it also depends what the student wants to study, and what else they’re taking instead. My son got a number of acceptances at very selective engineering schools with only 2 years in HS culminating in French 3. In his case his lack may have been mitigated by his counselor’s explanation that it was impossible to fit additional French classes into his schedule as they conflicted with his math and science AP classes.</p>
<p>Colleges may tell you that they expect all the years of language study to be during high school, but–in reality–the admission folks realize that Spanish 4 is Spanish 4, whether a kid takes it as a sophomore or as a senior. Also, the kids who apply to the most selective schools are also the ones who are most likely to start high school foreign language and math in middle school, so admission officials have made peace with the fact that they’re forced to accept those credits.</p>
<p>Do you know if most schools view Latin as a foreign language equal in caliber to Spanish?</p>
<p>Latin is most definitely viewed as a legitimate foreign language at all colleges.</p>
<p>^Yes, but I believe a number of colleges want to see the kid in the same language for three or four years. My daughter is in Spanish 3 as a sophomore and wanted to switch to Latin next year but she was advised against it for that reason.</p>
<p>You’re right. The snazzier schools want 4 years of the same language rather than 3 + 2. Their contention is that students don’t really know a culture until they’ve read its literature in the original language, which is typically not encountered until year 4. But I don’t buy that. You can’t truly know a culture until you’ve spent time among its people, no matter how much literature you’ve read. I think that 4 years of one language vs. 3+ 2 is a wash … both have benefits. But I don’t rule the admissions world.</p>
<p>My son was in a French Immersion program from grade 1, and completed Accelerated Honors French IV by sophomore year. He then transferred to a school with no course higher than French IV. He did an independent study in French junior year, took the SATII in French to demonstrate mastery, and did not take any more languages in Senior year. It has not held him back from the schools that wanted 4 years in HS. Can your daughter take either the AP or SATII test to show mastery of Spanish?</p>