Hi, I’m a junior in high school and wondering if I should take a fourth year of a foreign language. Right now, I’m taking Spanish 4 standard at my high school and wondering if I should go on to take the fourth year. I really don’t like foreign language and would rather take AP Environmental science instead, as I plan to major in science. Am I shooting my self in the foot here?
Background
I want to go to pretty selective schools, Dartmouth being my number 1, but also schools like Duke, Northeastern, maybe Colgate.
3.9 unweighted
35 composite ACT
Will have 6-7 AP courses by end of high school
Sports year round
Many clubs/ leadership roles
Many community service hours
Is not taking a fourth year of a foreign language going to keep me from getting into the schools I want to go or may want to go to?
Not in the slightest. Especially if your intended major has nothing to do with a foreign language.
For example - from Dartmouth’s website:
Does Dartmouth require specific high school courses?
No. Dartmouth does not have any set academic requirements. For instance, four years of a language are recommended but not required.
We carefully review your high school’s curriculum. We look for academic rigor; you should be taking the most demanding courses available to you.
yeah my intended major will probably be some sort of physics/chemistry combo
If you have completed Spanish thru level 4, regardless of whether you take it in senior yr
are you saying that i have already completed the recommended “4 years”
@johnnohj3737 If Dartmouth is your first choice then I recommend strongly that you take an additional year of Spanish. While the information that @phoenixmomof2 pulled off the website is true, it is not the complete storey. Dartmouth may not require 4 years for admittance but it does have a language requirement for graduation. You will be given the option of testing out of the requirement once you are accepted.
My daughter graduated with a background of Spanish from 1st through 12th grades. She is fluent, was acknowledged by the professor who conducted her verbal evaluation as being fluent. However she tripped up on a fairly obscure bit of grammar during her evaluation. The result? She was required to take a term of Spanish. She was placed at the highest level but that did little to alleviate her irritation and disappointment at having to take the class.
Unless your language skills are very strong and you feel that a gap of a year between taking a class and sitting for the evaluation will not put you at a disadvantage I would continue on with Spanish.
Many selective school recommend 4 years of the same language. To be competitive, I’d say try to take 4 years of the sam e language. Most applicants will have done so and schools are more global than they used to be.