<p>Hey guys, I have a question that's been bothering me for a while.</p>
<p>I've already taken two years of foreign language at my high school (Spanish 1 and 2). I'm currently a junior and I opted not to take Spanish 3 this year. I was just wondering whether not taking a third year of French in senior year would stick out badly in my application or does it not matter that much?</p>
<p>Most schools recommend 3 but require 2, so I'm basically just wondering how important this recommendation is.</p>
<p>Also, the UC system recommends 3 consecutive years of foreign language. There's not much I can do about it now but will it matter that much if I took language freshman, sophomore, and then senior year? Or am I just looking into it way too much?</p>
<p>(The reason why I'm so opposed to taking Spanish is that I dislike the teacher and I would rather not have to deal with a class that gives out participation points, since I'm absent from school quite a lot. Additionally, I would have to take a waiver exam over the summer because I want to skip Spanish 3 and go directly into Spanish 4... which means a whole lot more studying and stress, something that I could really do with less of.)</p>
<p>Well having 3 years or even 4 years of a language is always better. I personally take Latin and Spanish (4 years each) and I love it, and would suggest everyone take languages in high school. I would suggest taking Spanish a senior rather than French. However, taking French is better than not taking any language. I am not sure where you want to apply to, but the three years of a foreign language is important at the top schools, unless you have other electives that interfered with it. For example if you took many art courses or music classes that left no room for a third year language class. You could have your guidance counselor comment on this as well.</p>
<p>Schools that recommend 3 years are obviously going to take that into account when they make admission decisions. If someone is a strong enough candidate with 2 they’ll still get in. But for competitive schools having only 2 can be a deciding factor when your app is on the fence and the other apps they’re looking at have similar courses but 3 years of language.</p>
<p>If you skip Spanish 3 and go directly into Spanish 4, not only would this count as 3 years, it would probably be impressive to colleges. Depending where you go to college, you might even be able to satisfy the foreign language requirement and not have to take a language in college. At UCLA, for example, if you take the AP exam and get a 3 or better you’re done! See <a href=“http://my.ucla.edu/dprfaq.htm#18[/url]”>http://my.ucla.edu/dprfaq.htm#18</a></p>
<p>“I would rather not have to deal with a class that gives out participation points, since I’m absent from school quite a lot.”</p>
<p>Take this issue up with your guidance counselor. If your absences are for reasons that the school considers to be legitimate, there should be a way to work around this.</p>
<p>^^^ That is a thought. If three years in HS means no foreign language once you get to college, it may be worth your time to fulfill the requirement now.</p>