I took Latin I in middle school (and got an A after a heroic effort in the class) and like an idiot I listened to the new guidance counselor who said that I should start a new language (terrible idea). I then took Spanish I freshman year and Spanish II sophomore year and hated it. My grades in both classes were mediocre but not bad (A-/B+ respectively). I ended up taking 5 AP classes junior year and no foreign language that year. Now I am senior and realized that I am royally screwed for extremely selective universities because of my lack of foreign language. My goal is to major in engineering however I am not sure what I should do now. Should I take more Spanish senior year after my one year hiatus? I will not be able to do any courses over summer and if I take the Spanish courses online I can do both Spanish III and Spanish IV Honors my senior year. Should I take more Spanish or increase the number of AP courses I’m taking senior year? How much will it impact my admissions chances to selective schools if I just stop after my minimum 2 years of foreign language?
Sure, take Spanish as a senior. Elite colleges like three years of foreign Lang, I believe. But realize that you probably not get into Stanford. 96% of people don’t.
well, your default realization should be that you’re not getting into Stanford. 19 out of 20 applicants don’t. That means you, too.
If you do get in, it’ll be because on top of having eveything they want, you’ll also be exceptional in some way, AND lucky.
Stanford (and other universities) are very clear on this: it’s not a game of who has the most Ap’s wins. Taking an AP class should never come at the expense of a core class. So, take Spanish IIIH, or III Online and IV at school, or Spanish 2 at community college (counts as HS Spanish 3) and College Spanish 3 (if you can). Reaching level 3 is a minimum, level 4 is better.
What other classes would you be taking?
@MYOS1634 AP Chem, AP Physics C, AP Human Geo, APES, English IV Honors, Civics Honors, Calc III/DiffEq. I understand that I will most likely get rejected from Stanford. It’s only an example. The only thing that makes me hesitant about continuing is that the years of foreign language would not be continuous.
Like you, i only had 3 years of Spanish with a hiatus junior year. Waitlisted to Stanford, accepted to Yale, Princeton, MIT. I think the 4 year language recommendation is flexible
Drop either AP Chem or AP Physics C - taking both together is really, really difficult as AP Chem is one of the most time-consuming Ap’s, and AP Physics C is the hardest conceptually.
If you really really want to punish yourself thus, drop APES. But I’d take either AP Chem or AP Physics C + APES + Spanish, over your current schedule.
In any case, make sure you get to Level 3 in Spanish (4 is better but 3 won’t get you cut in the first round, unlike 2 which is only acceptable if your high school doesn’t offer more and there’s no way you can take a higher level through CC or virtual school.)
@MYOS1634 AP Chem and AP Physics C are taught by the same teachers I took Honors Chemistry and AP Physics 1 with. I got high A’s in both classes so I know what to expect and it’s not easy. Neither is engineering or anything else in life. I emailed my counselor and told her that I want to take Computer Science Honors 1st semester and Spanish III Honors 2nd semester, both online. That way if I don’t do so great in Spanish senior year, it won’t effect my college chances (I will make sure not to do so poorly as to get my acceptances rescinded). Not only that, I am interested in computer science and wanted to take a non-AP intro course in the subject anyway so it’s a win-win situation all around.
Make sure you start the physics for engineers sequence with your classmates - some will have taken Physics C.
Will Spanish 3 2nd semester cover a full high school level?