<p>I'm a transfer student and I dont have a second language on my transcript (long story)....I was going to take the SAT 2's in German because they said that would suffice, but they aren't offered until June...long after I apply....</p>
<p>Is that it for me then? :*(</p>
<p>It should not be. You have to satisfy the language requirement by taking a placement test during Orientation week. If you pass it (of if you have 600 or above on your SATII) you will be exempted. If you don't, you will need to take one full year of a foreign language. So the timeline is fall of your first year.</p>
<p>So there is still a chance of getting in w/ out that language...given everything else is good, and I can pass the test during orientation week?</p>
<p>This is to specific for these forums, just call the admissions office and get your question answered 1 shot.</p>
<p>In the Harvard brochure they say at least 3 years and 4 years of a second language is preferred. (College-speak for required. Unless your primary language is not English and you have had courses in your native language.)</p>
<p>When Harvard says "preferred," it really is making a distinction with "required." That's how Harvard responds to surveys based on Common Data Set questions. No courses are absolutely, positively required by Harvard, just as Harvard doesn't require a high school diploma. Harvard wants to have flexibility to build a great enrolled class. </p>
<p>That said, it is both expedient for admission and a good idea for a sound education to have a background of foreign language study. Some applicants to Harvard are native speakers of some other language, and learn English as a second language. I wouldn't advise a high school student to be resolutely monolingual unless the student is doing something truly AMAZING with the time freed up by not studying a language.</p>
<p>So basically they won't let me in w/ out that language?</p>
<p>Does it count at all that 4 different languages are spoken in my family (sometimes simultaneously)?</p>
<p>If you have studied any of the languages formally, it would "count". Or if you are truly fluent in them. From your profile scores, I would really recommend you consider schools that have a mid-range (25%-50%) SAT that matches yours. Harvard's is 1390-1590.</p>
<p>Well....we'll see...sometimes it's not all about grades, and I have a few accomplishments up my sleeve.</p>