<p>I'm asking this for my niece. What happens to a student who attends a public high school that does not offer foreign language, so she will not have taken one when she graduates? Yes, they do exist in the US, very small district out west, only 14 in her class. She said that she knew the counselor had contacted a school that had turned down her friend due to no foreign language, even though she had a 4.0. I also told her to make sure the counselor includes a school profile with her college applications. Any other advice? Will a big university (ie: the Big Ten) really bother to look beyond the transcipt at someone like this? I want her to have the best opportunities she can.</p>
<p>See if she can take classes at a community college. Then atleast it shows that she is willing to work out of school to fulfill the requirements.</p>
<p>Community college is a good alternative. There are also plenty of distance learning programs available. Your niece might be able to arrange with the school to give her a period where she can work on a distance course; she wouldn't even have to worry about travel or finding the time to do a course outside school. My son attended a school that lacked some of the courses he wanted and was able to do this.</p>
<p>I don't see why a school would have a problem with either. I would hope that it would try to accommodate the needs of its students. (Now, PAYING for it is a different matter. We had to pay for my son's outside courses -- I've heard of luckier folks.)</p>
<p>Another alternative is to find an intensive language program during the summer she could take. </p>
<p>She could even self-study and then take a test (SAT II, AP, or CLEP) to demonstrate her proficiency.</p>
<p>Since kids can and do go beyond what their individual schools offer, I don't know that a school's deficiency will make up for the absence of required courses, particularly if the colleges are up front about what the requirements are. But I am only speculating -- best would be to contact admissions for potential schools and simply ask them.</p>
<p>Thanks. I should have remembered the community college option (although I don't think there's one very near by, as not much is very near by). The thing is I'm not sure if she's "driven" enough to do any of these options (CC or distance learning). She's a good student, but probably not the "exceptionally gifted" student (3rd in a class of 14). My guess is the colleges in that area of the country are familar with such situations, but she's talking about wanting to get further away, so she's not tempted to come home all the time as she has seen others do. That's when my concern about how colleges will look at it plays into the picture. I can only do so much long distance, so hopefully she'll have some good guidance there. Listening to her and her father, it sounds like the really top students are the ones that are hit up heavy by the military recruiters. That is one way of getting out of that environment, but I don't think the only one, and I don't want her to be thoroughly persuaded by a smooth speaking ROTC recruiter. I'm not knocking it; just want to make sure she's looking at all options.</p>