Hi guys!
I’m a rising senior and I’ve been looking at a lot of college admissions stats and information the past few months and do you guys think that taking only 2 years of foreign language will affect my chances of applying to high ranking schools? I’m really hoping to apply to Columbia ED, but their website says that they “strongly recommend” taking 3-4 years of foreign language for Columbia College.
I took French my freshman and sophomore year but I was not able to fit in my junior year schedule (I had to drop it to take AP statistics) and I’m not sure if I will be able to fit it in my senior year schedule.
Let me know what you guys think!! Thanks 
For top colleges I really recommend taking the languages all the way through hs. Is there anything you can drop senior year? An elective or something?
I might be able to drop my computer science elective, but I was really hoping to take it. If I take French next year, would 3 be significantly better on my transcript?
I highly recommend taking foreign language in your senior year. While Columbia “strongly recommends” taking 3-4 years of foreign language, I would take that as a requirement. It would be in favor to take another year. Definitely squeeze it into your schedule somehow, even if it means dropping a class in order to take it. You’ll want your transcript to match up to Columbia’s recommendations and requirements as much as possible, especially if Columbia is your top choice.
Foreign language is usually seen as part of the college-prep academic core, while statistics and computer science are usually seen as academic electives. So your choices may be seen as a “defect” in your application, particularly since it was not due to circumstances outside your control (e.g. your high school stopped offering the language after you completed only level 2).
The usual saying around here is that when a highly selective college says “recommended”, treat it as required if you do not have any situation like high school does not offer the course, or you are first-generation-to-college attending a high school where few graduates go on to attend colleges besides the local less-selective or open-admission ones.
Columbia University’s College has 4th semester of college foreign language as a bachelor’s degree requirement. For French, each course is 4 credits, so 16 credits are needed if you start from the beginner level; an AP French score of 4 also counts. The higher the level of French you complete in high school, the more likely you can start in a more advanced course and have to take fewer courses to complete the requirement.
Okay, thank you so much!