Right now I am a sophomore taking Spanish 4, but I don’t want to take AP Spanish in junior year and instead am going to be replacing it with classes more related to my field of interest. Will colleges think I don’t want to challenge myself and see this badly?
it depends on what that would be replaced with. if they are more rigorous (if you’re applying to top schools) then yes! you’re already pretty far in with Spanish so go with ur gut but remember there are a lot of factors to consider like a specific college’s preferences. As a pre-med/healthcare applicant I did AP Spanish which they preferred over the Anatomy I was going to take instead bc being bilingual+ is a huge advantage in medicine so…
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I plan on replacing it with a biomedical class, not sure if it is more rigorous but it is something I definitely am more interested in.
If it’s something you’re truly interested in, go for it. It really matters where you apply though but you shouldn’t take a class you don’t want to just bc it would look better haha
I’m currently in Spanish III, and I hope to take Spanish IV (Lang) (AP) next year. I’ve been advised here that Spanish Lit is not for the faint of heart. I plan to replace it (if possible) with Human Geography.
No, do not force yourself to take the class that does not interest you. Most accepted to selective schools have probably never taken a AP language.
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Completing level 4 of a foreign language is sufficient for any school.
The impact on rigor depends on what course you take in its place.
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I would suggest getting your counselor’s opinion on this. Some of D’s schools required taking 3 years of a foreign language during high school. I am not sure if reaching Spanish IV by sophomore year would satisfy the 3-year requirement for all of those schools. It should, but perhaps your counselor would know? Cornell, for instance, would waive the 3-year requirement in that case but I’m not sure how common that is. College and School Admissions Requirements | Undergraduate Admissions
You’ll be okay in terms of entrance requirements. You may have to review a bit before you take Spanish in college because there’ll be a lot if time between sophomore year in HS and freshman year in college, but since you reached level 4 you should be done in just 1 semester.
Note that Foreign language is a core class, biomedical science would be an elective, so what would the rest of your schedule look like?
Can I choose to do a different language in college? For next year, my schedule looks like
AP lang, APUSH, AP stat, AP chem w/ lab, ap com sci principles and biomedical science.
Have you completed precalculus and calculus already? Or does your school slide AP Stats in between precalculus and calculus, or between algebra2 and precalc?
Your schedule looks fine otherwise.
Yes, you can choose a different language in college (many do, because high schools sometimes only offer Spanish, whereas most colleges offer a greater variety from French, Italian, and German, to Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, to even rare languages… but you’d likely have to complee 1-3 semesters of the new language.
Note that taking a foreign language course in college is certainly not a universal requirement. From 2017:
Here’s what the survey revealed. Of this sample of American college graduates, 61 percent reported that, when they enrolled, their institution had no language requirement, and 39 percent reported that a foreign language requirement was in place. Students at institutions where it was required took an average of three semesters of a foreign language, while those at institutions that didn’t require it took a little more than one semester
I am taking calculus bc this year. Thanks for the information.
You’re good for Math too, then!
Wrt foreign language requirement to graduate college, often it’ll depend on how selective and “prestigious” the university is. Tufts has the most in-depth requirement I know of! HYP have a certain expectation of fluency or cultural knowledge+habit of the mind. State flagships will have higher expectations than directionals. The most selective LACs may have more extensive requirements while small local LACs may have zero requirement because they lack the instructors.
It also depends on major: Most Engineering majors who have completed 3 or 4 years in HS have the requirement waived, whereas a Liberal Arts/Business student may need to take one or two more semesters after Level 4 in HS at their state flagship. Some universities waive it altogether for all with an AP score of 4 or 5, some waive it for 4 years in HS, some require one extra semester anyway…
The “general” situation at most selective 4-year colleges is 2 or 3 semesters but HS level 3 and 4 waive a level or 2, or completion of 2 semesters as part of a larger Humanities requirement which could be replaced with 2 Literature or Comparative Literature courses, for instance.