My high school sophomore son has missed a lot of school due to health issues and will graduate high school with the bare minimum number of credits for our district. When the health issues aren’t impacting him he’s a pretty average student, getting a mix of B’s and C’s in combination of on level and honors classes.
For the past few years, he’s been very clear that he wants to major in something computer related, and work with computers. He’s not a strong math/science kid. He won’t have calculus when he graduates high school. I see him as more likely to do something with IT or networking, rather than programming or software engineering.
Right now, he doesn’t have 2 consecutive years of a foreign language. He’s took a language freshman year, and barely passed, but continuing in that language isn’t an option. When I look at the websites of colleges that I think might be a match, some of them list 2 consecutive years of a foreign language as an admissions requirement, and other say it’s recommended.
We could fit in 2 years of Spanish, but it would take his only 2 electives.
If he doesn’t take Spanish, he would probably take physics and AP Computer Programming, both of which feed directly into his intended major. I worry that he won’t get in without the Spanish, but I also worry that without physics and programming experience in high school, he’ll drown when he hits those subjects in college.
What would you advise your child to do in this situation? Which would you prioritize? The classes that might get him into college, or the ones that might get him through college?
You need to find out what the foreign language requirement is for graduation from his high school. Then worry about foreign language requirements for college. It really is OK to pick up the phone and call the admissions offices about this. The word “recommended” is used for just this sort of situation. Not everyone can fit two years of the same language into their schedule.
We’re set for graduation requirements. Either pair of classes will count towards the 2 electives he still needs.
I can only find admissions requirements for a handful of the schools we’ll probably be looking at. If we can’t find them, should we assume that they don’t have specific requirements, or should we call and ask? I’m trying to figure out how common a foreign language requirement is, and how many schools it would rule out.
Call and ask at each college. That is the only way to know for sure. A lot of schools require two years of foreign language for admission, and recommend three.
But there are likely some colleges that don’t have a HS foreign language requirement at all.
My bet is if you list a school or two here, someone will be able to tell you about THOSE schools and their admission requirements.
Since he’s a sophomore, so we’re in the early stages of looking at schools. I’d love suggestions. We’re in DC and he’ll probably need to stay close enough that he can come home for a day to visit specialists, I’m going to say 3 or 4 hours tops, less would be more. My guess is that he’ll do better with a school that is smaller and has more individualized attention. He wants a school that has an IT major, but is also a kid who loves tech theater, so a school that offers opportunities to continue with theater would be great.
Here are some of the websites I’ve browsed that seem like they might be a fit: Stevenson (requires foreign language), Frostburg (recommends but doesn’t require it), Shepherd (recommends but doesn’t require it), McDaniel (couldn’t find it).
Quick question…you say he is not a strong math or science kiddo, but might want to major in computer science. Maybe it’s me…but I see a “disconnect” here.
Also, until he has his SAT or ACT score, it’s very hard to give reasonable suggestions.
He won’t have an SAT or ACT score until we need to make the decision about what courses to have him take next year.
The math/comp sci disconnect is why I think he’d do better with an IT major, rather than a computer science one. IT majors require less math, as far as I can tell.
IT is typically a business based major; probable math requirements are a semester of calculus and a semester of statistics. It is mainly about managing computers and software, not designing or developing them.
Lots of four year colleges will want to see some level higher than 1 (sometimes level 3 or level 4, or other proof of similar or higher competency) of foreign language completed. If not done in high school, another option is to go to community college and take the needed foreign language (usually around 2 or 3 semesters in college, if required by the target four year school) there while preparing to transfer to a four year school.
Remember that many colleges have foreign language graduation requirements higher than foreign language requirements for frosh admission.
I think he’d be fine with some calculus and statistics in college. He should be on track to start those freshman year. I don’t think he’ll want a degree that requires many math courses beyond that.
The issue isn’t that I don’t think he can learn a foreign language, or don’t want him to learn one. His poor performance freshman year was due to the fact that he missed the entire unit on the alphabet freshman year, and never really caught up. So, I don’t have a problem with him taking a language in college. I’m just struggling to find time in his schedule for him to take it before then.
We are struggling with that foreign language issue as well, for health reasons also. I have found several colleges in the south that either will accept the 2 years of latin my son will have earned before HS graduation, or don’t have any set of “required” HS courses. Now, these are 2nd/3rd tier small colleges, so we aren’t shooting for Ivies at my house. And we are definitely looking for B.S. degree that doesn’t require a foreign language in college. There are some out there.
Some colleges may not have a requirement but to be competitive for admissions HS courses are needed. This can mean that even if only 2 years of a foreign language are required most will have had four. But it sounds like your son will be looking at a different tier of colleges.
I suggest that you and he- it’s his life, he needs to be involved- look at the course requirements for IT and other computer related fields at several colleges. Once he knows what is required for this type of major he could be motivated to study harder in the needed courses at the HS level to have the background to do well in them in college.
Hopefully your HS guidance department can give suggestions. They should also be giving aptitude/interest type tests to their students to give them ideas for beyond HS. In your son’s special case his guidance counselor should be able to discuss what may work best for him. Be sure he makes an appointment for that. Also, because of his special issues I would talk to the GC as a parent.
Schools where applicants with no higher than level 2 or no more than 2 years of HS foreign language are eligible for admission are not necessarily small and obscure. For example:
Often the foreign language recommendation or requirement is not written in stone. If it is not required by the high school for graduation, I wouldn’t worry so much about it. Many colleges will require that their students satisfy foreign language requirements once on campus, however- but not all.
It would be a shame if you are choosing colleges for your son based on this one detail that may not even be the obstacle you are thinking it is.
Calling admissions to ask is a good idea. The guidance counselor can always write a note explaining the reasons your son did not finish the two year sequence at the high school. Other options might include a summer class, dual enrollment at community college, or an online French class during the year or during the summer (check out Virtual High School).
I am concerned that your son is not being adequately accommodated at high school. Does he have a 504 plan? He should have accommodations such as excused absences, with class notes and materials provided, at home tests, extensions on papers, and so on. If he is homebound for periods of time, he is entitled to tutoring. You should be able to have the teachers at school fill out a form every single day with homework assigned, what was done in class, notes and materials attached, any grades missing (so he can keep up and stay organized). If he is able to function at any time during the day, despite his health issues while out, he should have been able to keep up.
Once he gets in to college, he needs to visit the disabilities office for accommodations there. That office usually provides a letter that the student takes to professors at the beginning of each semester. Reduced course loads can be helpful and do not affect financial aid, even if the reduced course load results in an extra year or more on campus. Make sure that you have tuition refund insurance. And be aware that a medical withdrawal is always available and that the academic record can be cleaned of bad grades from a semester of bad health, if your don does withdraw for health reasons.
He might also need accommodations at the SAT’s. It can take 6 weeks or more from the time of application. Also, there are many schools that do not require SAT or ACT at all: http://fairtest.org/university/optional
"For the past few years, he’s been very clear that he wants to major in something computer related, and work with computers. He’s not a strong math/science kid. "
-Math / scince is relevant to engineering, it has no relevance whatsoever to CS. This is from someone who switched in my mid 30s from EE (after working for 11 years as an engineer) to CS. Hated the first, loved the second. Not because of academic preferences ( I loved math / science, and was strong in these classes), but because of the nature of the job. CS is plainly exciting!!! Love it, glad that i swithced. Absolutly no math / science, I have no idea why CS called science, they may as well call it game, because that is how you feel when writing software, pure fun!!!
…btw, he can attend any UG for CS, it does not matter, most IT departments hire locally anyway. I was attending our local UG becasue my employers were paying my tuition.
Miami, what’s an UG? I am afraid I don’t know that abbreviation.
If there’s no math in Computer Science, why are there so many math requirements for the degree? When I look at course sequences I see multiple courses in calculus, plus discrete math and other classes.
It is absolutely false that computer science doesn’t take substantial math. Reputable BS/BA CS programs require 2 semesters of calculus, a semester of discrete math and a semester of probability/statistics. Many require a third semester of calculus and linear algebra. In addition, many upper level CS classes rely heavily on the thinking skills learned in math if not directly on a traditional “math” subjects. Programs focused on IT do tend to be less math intensive. Learning to program is only the beginning of a CS degree even if it is what some people with CS degrees spend all their time doing on the job.
To get back to the OP’s original question, maybe the boy could get through two years of a new foreign language using the summers. Our state offers an online school, not just for kids who flunked, but also for kids who want to do something extra. You pay for it, but it’s not exorbitant (maybe $500 a summer for one course). He could do, for example, French 1 the summer after 10th and French 2 the summer after 11th. He would still be able to use those in-school electives for the physics and comp sci, and he’d be able to list two consecutive years of foreign language on his transcript.
I don’t think the online program is as good as having a great classroom experience with an inspired foreign language teacher who has lived abroad, etc. I might not recommend it for somebody who wants to major in foreign language in college. But if you’re just hoping to “check the box”, be able to say you did it, and move on, as OP’s kid seems to be doing, it works.