Hello I am about the start my senior year this september and I will be applying to school at the end of this year. I took spanish 1 in middle school and got one spanish credit. I then took spanish 2 in 9th but i got really bad grades in the class and did really really bad.So I didn’t want to repeat the class in 10th grade so I looked at the options and saw that if you took 6 technology class I could satisfy the requirement to get an Advanced Diploma in my state. Only thing that i didn’t know at the time is that a lot of colleges say they require 2-3 years of a foreign language while I only have one!! I am an AP student and I took honors and other difficult classes throughout high school. I really do not want to take spanish 2 in my senior year because i think it will bring down my gpa and I would do bad in it again. Will these colleges deny me admissions because i don’t meet the Foreign Language requirement?
You can google the “Common Data Set” for each college you want to attend. It’s a uniform report and there is a section that shows what class requirements they have. A school my son is interested in requires three years but recommends five years of foreign language. Most of the schools he is considering want at least two years. Why can’t you take Spanish 2 this year? I presume you are more mature this year and if you NEED another year to get into a school you want to attend do it. Wouldn’t an A in Spanish 2 this year be averaged against the failing grade you currently have? It would help your GPA a lot. If a college requires two years of foreign language, they aren’t going to make an exception for you; yes they will deny you.
Maturity had nothing to do with my grade.I find spanish a hard language for me to learn and i didn’t understand alot of the fundamentals. I don’t know though I heard many admissions officers would overlook it if everything else is good. Thanks for your reply
Like Osprey said, it all depends on the sorts of schools you’re targeting. This IS a deal breaker to selective programs. Not one for less selective ones.
Be sure to apply to schools that do not have a foreign language requirement. You MAY get lucky with one school for which you do not have the necessary courses but don’t count on it.
Also look at the colleges’ requirements for graduation because some require foreign language credits for that.
Well I guess I am screwed because most colleges require 2 years.
Could you take a different language at a community college?
I don’t know i would have to check. It would count if i took it at a community college?
Compared to what other language?
Yes.
By “bad grades” in Spanish 2, do you mean D or F grades? If you got C or higher grades, most colleges will see you as having completed two years, although many more selective ones prefer to see applicants who completed level 3, 4, or higher.
Also, one semester (or summer course) in CC would be equivalent to one year (level) in HS.
What tier of schools are you aiming for? State Us? Privates? Top 50? Also, what are you looking to major in?
Some learning disabilities make it difficult to learn foreign languages - especially when those languages are taught the way most high school foreign languages are taught. Students with those disabilities who get specific waivers for foreign language study from their school systems don’t have any problem with college admission. Is that your situation?
If not, then you should identify places that do not absolutely require that applicants have a specific number of foreign language credits. Read all of the websites very carefully. Most places “recommend” rather than “require”. That is because students can’t always fit everything into their schedules, and not everyone is a wiz at the same subjects.
I’m applying to mostly state schools and some private schools. I am going to major in Computer Science. I don’t have a disability and almost any decent school in my state says in their common data set they require 2 years.In my state New York in order to get an advanced regents diploma most students have to pass a foreign language exam but they also have instead of the foreign language you can take 5 technology classes and you would get the advanced diploma and thats what i am doing.
Did you get C or higher grades in Spanish 2?
no