I’m currently a sophomore and I’m taking French IV Honors, which is the highest level my school offered. I was able to test into it, and I find the class like really easy. I started teaching myself Italian, and I was hoping to test into Italian IV Honors next year. I’m also taking an Independent Study in French V Honors. I think I want to double major in a language (most likely French) and STEM, and I’m planning on taking both the French SAT II and the Italian one.
I was just wondering if this is going to look good on college applications, assuming I receive good grades in both and on the subject tests. So far, doing both concurrently has not caused me any problems, and the language classes at my school are fairly easy so I don’t think there is going to be that much of a problem. So, basically, just based on admissions, does it give an advantage or not?
Perhaps the OP likes learning Romance languages, or may find them useful in what s/he intends to study in college or otherwise (e.g. French may be useful for math students at the highly advanced (graduate) level).
The rule of thumb I’ve been seeing frequently on this website is that you should build your course selections around the requirements of your targeted universities. Unless the colleges you would like to attend recommend four years of two different foreign languages, having both French IV and Italian IV would probably not have a significant impact on admissions (although it would look “nice” and would be rather impressive).
That being said, I disagree with the notion that foreign language classes are generally pointless, especially in the United States. If you are interested in both French and Italian AND you are able to fit everything else you want/need in your schedule, then I would applaud you for taking both, although, as I said before, don’t expect this to be what gets you into the college of your choice.
Americans greatly undervalue the importance of being multilingual, a skill highly valued basically everywhere else… including in the global marketplace. There are many jobs where knowing two or more languages is a critical skill.
OP keep learning languages if you enjoy it. Also, I can’t help but think that it will stand out among all the applicants with only two or three levels of a language.
If you think you might want a foreign language major in college, then taking multiple languages in high school makes sense and would help in admissions. Just make sure you aren’t skipping any other requirements to take the extra languages.
My son applied to colleges having maxed out two non-native romance languages and with 1 year of a third foreign language. Several colleges where he was accepted referenced his strong language profile. He was able to skip the language pre-reqs in college for his major, and go right into upper levels courses.
Admissions impact is going to depend on the rest of your app. Not just courses and testing.
And the point of asking you to study a language isn’t simply to see you test into a high level. There’s more to learn than test points, reading lit or independent study.
Lots of kids have multiple languages. What are doing to use this beyond academics?
Just to clarify a few things brought up:
1 )My main reason for learning multiple languages is for personal edification. That being said, if there were some benefit within admissions for doing so, that would be great. It is a personal goal of mine to be multilingual in the future, though no one in my immediate family fluently speaks a second language.
2) I want to test into Level 4 because I am a very fast learner, and I feel I would get bored if I were in a lower level Italian. Even now, I get bored in French 4.
3) My only language-related EC is French Club. I’d participate in Italian Club, for example, but I have a busy schedule with cheerleading. I was hoping to volunteer abroad this summer and also get an opportunity to use a language in a real setting.
With your interest in languages you should look at the NSLI-Y program sponsored by the State Department. It doesn’t include French or Italian, but languages considered “critical” to the U.S.’s future, like Russian, Arabic, Chinese and more. It’s very selective, but if chosen you are sent abroad to be immersed in the target language, either for a summer or an academic year.
But like I said, it is very selective. Getting in would be quite a coup and the experience of a lifetime for someone who aspires to be polylingual.