<p>Our middle school offers the option to receive high school credit for hs courses taken in middle school, such as first year language or algebra1. If credit is given then the course appears on the hs transcript. I’m not sure if the student can progress to the next course if they don’t take the credit.</p>
<p>When planning her senior year classes, D wrote to the admissions departments of two of her top school choices to ask whether she should take four years of foreign language or if three years would do as long as she had completed Spanish IV as a junior (which would mean she wouldn’t take AP Spanish but could double up on science instead). The two schools gave her completely opposite responses. </p>
<p>Having finished AP Spanish is good enough for any college. Your son better takes something more useful than starting a new language.</p>
<p>Placements tests are what the words state. They are only used to place students who wish to continue with the same foreign language in the appropriate course at the college/university attended. A student meeting a college’s foreign language requirement will not need to take these tests. For example, at UW-Madison a score on the placement test will place the student in the level of UW course that when completed will give retroactive credits for that language. A student completing 4 years’ worth of a language may only place into level 2 or 3, getting college credits for 1-2 semesters of the language. However, most students will not bother taking the placement test because they can use the time to take 4 credits in something different and getting the retroactive credits is usually not helpful in finishing college in four years. Obviously a student planning to major in that language would want as much of it as possible.</p>
<p>College prerequisites- different as stated. If someone has heard of any college where taking a foreign language past level four if finished with that junior year is required/preferred- let us know. I have heard some colleges will test for proficiency in a foreign language, via a placement test or equivalent. There is nothing wrong with starting a new language to meet a university’s requirements instead- it was nice to add German to my HS French for my Chemistry major (eons ago before everything was translated into English). The personal note is to point out that science students can and do take many nonessential courses for a well rounded college education.</p>
<p>Again- bottom line- see post # 42.</p>
<p>I am trying to help this thread set some kind of record for number of posts discussing a question where there is a clearly correct answer with no controversy whatsoever that was adequately covered in the very first answer, and thoroughly exhausted two or three answers later.</p>
<p>For a while Harvard had language on their site that made it clear that they preferred you to continue with the same language as long as possible. They had a long explanation for why it was good for you to get past the learning the language stage to the learning the literature and culture stage. They’ve since removed it - I think it was freaking out kids whose schools didn’t offer APs or kids who had legitimate reasons to not take a language senior year. </p>
<p>Like JHS, I am 100% sure that having an AP under your belt (and with a good score to boot) is more than enough for any college admissions office.</p>
<p>There’s a difference between telling OP her son is fine after completing AP in junior year (the max his hs offers) and all this confidence everyone knows what adcoms expect and how they will certainly react, when less is achieved. </p>
<p>Here’s an anecdote that may provide additional comfort. My son was taking French 5 his senior year of high school. He was accepted by Yale SCEA, and later decided that he’d like to drop French his second semester. I told him it was OK with me, but that he should call Yale admissions and see if it would be a problem. I was sure they’d tell him that they prefer continued foreign language, etc., etc. They told him that it was no problem, and he dropped the class. My daughter didn’t take any foreign language her senior year of high school at all, and had no issues with admissions either.</p>
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<p>@wis75 Some schools would also use placement test for credit purpose even for students not continue to take that language in college. In some cases, one may the placement exam result instead of AP score to obtain those credits. UMich CoE is one example.</p>