I’m currently a sophomore in high school planning my next two years. I’m taking Spanish 2 right now and I’d say I’m pretty good at the language for a white suburbs non-native speaker; I have an A+ in the class and can retain the knowledge quickly and for awhile (photographic memory is a blessing). I’m taking Spanish III next year with dual enrollment to cover the basic college foreign language courses, but I’m struggling to choose between Spanish IV with dual enrollment or AP Spanish Language and Culture for senior year. I’m planning on doing a minor in Spanish in college, I love the language, and I think it’s important (and a goal for myself) to be bi-lingual in it for the job market and beyond. I think AP Spanish would be good for immersion and getting those extra Spanish minor course credits, but I’m worried that I’ll waste my time if I don’t pass the exam and/or that the the workload would be too much along with: AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP
Microeconomics, (maybe) AP Calc AB, English, clubs/volunteering, and college apps. With Spanish IV I know I’d get some extra college credit with dual enrollment since I’m a driven straight A student and spanish comes easier to me, but I’ve heard mixed interpretations of AP Spanish from non-native speakers. Would it be worth it to risk not getting any college credit with AP, or would I be cheating myself out of furthering my knowledge by taking Spanish IV instead? If I take Spanish IV I would probably try to self-study AP Spanish anyway, but I’m not sure which class is going to do my knowledge and GPA better (both are weighted classes).
I’m also worried that taking Spanish IV instead of AP might tell colleges I shied away from the ultimate challenge, but I don’t want to hurt my GPA if I do take AP and can’t handle it.
It won’t. This is literally six of one; one half dozen of the other. Colleges will not care.
You’re worrying about inconsequential things. One course’s impact on GPA is a pimple on an elephant’s ass.
Your basic question, though, remains unanswered, because nobody here knows the content of your DE Spanish course. In theory, it should be equivalent to AP in content, but not having a syllabus, not knowing the teachers, I can’t say which one is better for improving your Spanish.
My son doubled up and took Spanish 3 and 4 junior year. One first semester the other second as it was offered at his school. He is currently taking AP Spanish. His Spanish 4 was more vocabulary while his AP Spanish is culture. Check to see what the specifics are at your school. If you want more of the intense language then take Spanish 4.
Is dual enrollment at a real college? Would you be taking Spanish 202 (or equivalent?)
You don’t need to take both statistics and calculus - choose depending on your chosen major or choose calc if you think you can handle it fine.
DC decided against AP Spanish and did Spanish honors IV instead and is now happy with that choice. With AP Bio, AP Calc AB and AP Lit, the workload is already intense. I think if you are taking three other APs then don’t take AP Spanish. I read that schools only want to see that you are taking 4 years of a foreign language so talking Spanish IV is ok.
Since Spanish 4 is a dual enrollment / college course, you may want to check how the college sees equivalency of AP Spanish scores to its courses, which can help you determine which is more advanced.
But if you take Spanish 3 as a dual enrollment / college course before that, then it makes sense to continue the dual enrollment / college course path in Spanish 4.
AP tends to be more standardized and more likely to grant college credit. Idk about your school but at my school, AP is more rigorous than our community college DE courses.