Hi everyone,
I am a senior right now in high school and am looking to apply at some of the Ivy Leagues and other more selective schools. However, I have only taken 2 years of Spanish in high school. I’ve seen a lot of threads recently warning that having only 2 years of a foreign language compared to the recommended 3-4 can be really detrimental in the application process. There were a lot of scheduling conflicts my junior and senior year as I took a lot of higher level courses which were only offered one or two hours in the day so I wasn’t able to fit Spanish onto my schedule again. Will this be a problem? Is there any way to fix this now or is it too late?
(also if I am somehow able to take Spanish at a local CC, which class (101, 102, etc?) would be the equivalent of a high school Spanish 3 course?)
Thanks!
You will notice that these institutions use the term “recommended” rather than “required” when describing what they expect students to have covered in high school. That is because there are cases like yours where things simply can’t be fit into the student’s schedule. Provided you have the grades, test scores, letters of recommendation, etc. not being able to fit any one particular course into your schedule will not be the thing that keeps you from being accepted.
So, if you want to twist yourself into a bunch in order to fit in another year of foreign language, go ahead. If your schedule is already overloaded, skip it.
As for which class you should take at your local CC, that is something to ask the Spanish department there. They may require you to take a placement test in order to determine what is the best level.
@happymomof1 thank you for the reply! I was just freaking out a bit because of all the recent threads about foreign languages making them sound like an extremely “make or break”-ish part of the application. So would it be beneficial to note in the Additional Comments section the scheduling conflicts?
Also can I get anyone else’s opinion?
This would be something that your guidance counselor could include in his/her letter if you don’t want to write about it yourself.
The CC should have a placement test to see which level you are at. One semester at CC is equivalent to one year in HS.
I agree with @happymomof1 Colleges will not hold it against you for a situation outside of your control. However if the reason for the schedule conflict is trying to fit in 3 science classes (as an example), then it’s not something that’s outside of your control; you made a conscious choice. You would be well served looking for oppy’s outside of school if you can’t fit in Spanish; the cc can work with you on appropriate placement.
@skieurope I see what you’re saying and to be honest that is the reason of the scheduling conflict. However, I do what to do something like biology/chemistry and possibly pre-med in college so I have taken AP Bio, AP Physics C, AP Chem, and AP Calculus BC as well as a 4-year biomed program. I also had to take a fine arts class this year to meet credit requirements. Like you said, it may have been in my control but I was just trying to do what I thought was best. 
The 3d year is recommended, not required, and no, it’s not ‘make or break’ despite what some people on here imply. I have yet to see any evidence from admissions at any school with ‘recommended language requirements’ that when reviewing two equally qualified candidates, they choose one over the other because one had 3 years of a language and another had only 2 years. It’s usually about overall academic rigor of which years of a foreign language is just one rather minor component. Sounds like you know where you are going - sciences - and a 3d year just isn’t that relevant. Unless you are applying to schools that ‘require’ 3 years or more of a language, don’t fret over such a tiny factor. This is where people start trying to control for minutiae because they feel like they can’t really control the important things like why one person gets chosen over another. (‘Must be my lack of a 3d year of language’ is not going to be the reason you don’t get in somewhere.)
I’m sure some school will appreciate your dedication to the sciences over FL. It just may not be an Ivy.
Sometimes, a school make it strongly recommended instead of required to allow some flexibility in accepting certain students (e.g. athlete recruitment) without violating their policy. Note that “recommended” is NOT interchangeable with “optional”. It certainly has some weight in the evaluation process. For a competitive school with highly competitive applicants, that may end up to be the make it or break it factor at the end. If you don’t have a hook, don’t take the risk.
Also, that may give them flexibility to admit disadvantaged students or those whose high schools have limited offerings. Non-disadvantaged students in high schools with high college-going rates may not be looked at as favorably if they skimp on “recommended” preparation.