I’m a junior and I’m not taking a foreign language this year. Here’s my dilemma.
In middle school, I took Latin 1 in 8th grade, which is the first year (not sure if that’s the right word) for Latin. When I went to high school, I found out my school doesn’t offer Latin so I took it online. I finished Latin 2 and 3 with an A but after Latin 2 and 3, the course choices goes directly to AP Latin. I didn’t believe that I would be able to do well in AP Latin, so I opted to stick to 3 courses of foreign language.
So now here’s my question:
Should I take AP Latin my senior year or will it be too late? I don’t need the credit to graduate but will it look better to have four years/credits for a foreign language, even if I skipped a year in between?
Thank you to anyone who replies!
Yes, level 4 or AP level looks better than level 3 for the (usually more selective) colleges that care about that. Not all colleges care that much; see the web site of each specific college. But note that colleges often have foreign language graduation requirements, so completing a higher level in high school can help you finish those requirements in college more quickly.
If AP Latin is the course that is supposed to come after Latin 3 which you earned an A in, why would you not be ready for it?
It depends on the college. If you have an idea of the colleges you’re interested in, take a look at their foreign language requirements (will be on their website as noted above).
Some colleges require 2 years, some 3, etc.
“It depends on the college”
Exactly. One daughter got into the university that she wanted, with merit scholarship, with 3 years of foreign language. She also got in nearly everywhere else she applied.
At most schools you will be fine with 3 years. Some might want 4. I think that @chercheur pretty much nailed it: Take a look at the foreign language requirements of the schools that you want to apply to.
I took Latin 2/3 online, and I didn’t retain any information that I had learned from them. I’m also not going to take Latin in college, probably Mandarin since I speak it at home.
Really depends on the schools which you are applying to and what your intended major will be. If you want to be a classics major, well it’s obvious you’ll need Latin. An English major, maybe not. Some schools want 4 years of major subject and some do not.
You probably want a college that offers Mandarin courses for heritage speakers.