Before I suggest that she do that, could someone else chime in to say whether they agree or disagree? I’m a little worried that the first communication will be raising a red flag. And I’d expect the answer to be that it’s hard for the admissions office to comment without knowing her full background - and that they will review her application holistically.
If everyone thinks this is a good idea, though, I’m happy to suggest that she do it.
One other thought is for her to write to one of the schools she’s less passionate about and get their feedback under the assumption that the other schools will probably feel the same. If she’s raising a red flag at a school, it may as well be one that’s not on her super short list.
Not a red flag. They’re going to see it anyway when she applies. It’s not like she’s telling them something they otherwise would not notice. And, no, not all admissions offices will treat it the same.
I know a student who was planning to take AP Environmental Studies instead of physics senior year. She decided to contact her first-choice school to see if that would be a problem for admissions. They said, yes, it would not be looked upon well. She switched to physics. She now happily attends that school.
The College Counseling office should either know the answer or take care of that phone call for her and put it in context. Is that an option? I know the resources vary from school to school for counselors.
^^^You mean her HS “college counseling” office? They’re the ones who told her in the first place that she didn’t have to take a language after her AP Japanese exam. Besides, I would never rely on a HS guidance office for this because the answer varies from college to college. Better to get a direct answer.
What she could do, actually, is ask her GC to call his/her contact at three or four of her top college choices and ask the question. If you trust her GC.
Merit money is now a reality. Look at Macalester, which will strongly fit her major interests. Grinnell also likes high test scores. Both schools are associated with Earlham’s excellent Japan Study program so she could take advantage of that if she wants. Like other schools on your list, both also really like it when potential students show genuine interest in the college.
Her contacting colleges to ask about the foreign language issue is a good way to start the interest showing process! Suggest that when she gets a (likely) positive response, she can follow it up with an enthusiastic request for an interview.
Thanks for all of this feedback. BTW, I checked one of the schools my D was interested in (Colby), and it actually addressed this question.
"Recommended High School Courses[…]
Three years of a single world language*
*Scoring 640+ on a foreign language SAT Subject Test or receiving a score of a 4+ on an AP foreign language exam or scoring a 6+ on an International Baccalaureate foreign language exam will also satisfy the foreign language requirement."