<p>I took one year of Spanish during freshman year (hated it). Didn't take any during sophomore year. I'm a junior now and at a different school which offers Japanese. Since I'm Asian, I figured, why not? I'll be taking Japanese next year too.</p>
<p>How much is it going to hurt me during college admissions? I found out recently that most colleges recommend at least three in the same language... Is there anything I can do to make it up?</p>
<p>On a side note, I'm Chinese so I can speak Chinese, but can't read/write well. Will that account for anything?</p>
<p>Well, this being MIT, it can't possibly hurt you strongly if the rest of your coursework is strong. Check around for summer classes if you can, though.
I'll have to say that the fact that you speak Chinese will do absolutely nothing for your application. I believe the point of taking foreign language classes is to LEARN a foreign language, not grow up in a bilingual household.</p>
<p>I think the point of the foreign language requirement is that we live in a global society, and speaking more than one language is part of being an educated person. Being fluent in a language you learned at home or learned by living in another country is much better imo than speaking a limited amount of some language you took a class in.</p>
<p>(someone I know was accepted to MIT and has no foreign language at all. It won't make or break your app. And a foreign language is not required to graduate from MIT, unlike most colleges.)</p>
<p>i got accepted and only had 2 in progress my senior year, 4x4 block schedule, it doesnt matter as long as you can prove yourself in other areas and are a diversified person</p>
<p>In our district, they stress language from early in middle school. I've been taking spanish since the 6th grade, but...... I don't know how that will influence any opinions in committee.</p>