<p>I'm a junior and registering for my senior classes.
I am debating whether to take AP Spanish (for four consecutive years of the same language) or AP Computer Science.
I took a year's equivalent of French in middle school, and I'm on my 3rd year of Spanish in high school. I also have 2 years' equivalent of Chinese credits from Chinese School.
The Spanish department at my school is terrible (big mistake for me to choose Spanish in freshman year; I would have taken French but the French program was cut), and I wasn't planning on taking the AP Spanish test next year if I were to take the class. It would also be a huge waste of my time and I'd rather spend that time learning something.</p>
<p>Additional info: I will have taken Orchestra for 4 years, which counts for my occ. ed. requirements (have not taken any real occ. ed. classes), but would definitely prefer to take AP CS over AP Spanish. Most of the colleges I'm interested in recommend 3 or 4 years of language. I love languages and I am interested in studying more of them in college.</p>
<p>I think that you should take AP CS instead of AP Spanish. Especially with the Chinese and French backgrounds - they’ll look awesome on your college apps. I made the commitment to Spanish and decided to take it for six years and I regret it completely, I rather have taken AP CS or AP Psych because I’m much more of science person. It all worked out in the end (Intel finalist!), but I definitely recommend taking the class that you’ll enjoy more. It looks better to study things that you love (french and cs) instead of taking a language that you don’t enjoy studying.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! But I’ve also heard that a few years each of a lot of different languages looks not as good as many years of one language, which is what worries me about not taking 4 consecutive years. I know that 3 languages looks good, but does the lack of 4 years of the same language outweigh that? </p>
<p>Is the computer science course any good? If the teacher has a track record of preparing students for the AP exam, go for that one. If it is a business teacher who knows more about computer applications than programming, skip it. My 11 son is now a comp sci major in college but his AP comp sci teacher was worthless. After a year of being the top student in the class he scored a 2 (jr yr) - did not help his college apps in the least. A 4th year of Spanish might help you test out of a college level.</p>
<p>AP CS is a really dull class. I’m currently enrolled in it. I can’t stand it. If you enjoy arts and are somewhat creative, pass on AP CS. I plan to become a music major and AP CS is like banging my head against a brick wall.</p>
<p>The AP CS class at my school has a very good reputation, and many of my friends have scored well on the AP test.
I wasn’t planning on taking the AP Spanish test unless I study a lot for it outside of class. None of my friends taking AP Spanish this year plan on taking the AP exam because the teachers of previous years and this year have not prepared them.</p>
<p>Check the admission and graduation requirements in foreign language for each of the universities you are considering. (Are you a heritage speaker of Chinese? If so, can you get a 5 on the AP Chinese test? This may help you if there are any university admission or graduation requirements or recommendations greater than level 3 in high school foreign language.)</p>
<p>Check whether AP CS is actually worth anything at the universities you are considering.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if there is a large difference in how much you like each course, that may override the above considerations.</p>
<p>“Check the admission and graduation requirements in foreign language for each of the universities you are considering.”</p>
<p>Agree.</p>
<p>Some colleges really want to see the four years of a foreign language. The 780 in Chinese SAT2 is very solid, but if you tkk AP spanish (and took the AP) you would look really hot to the Adcomms. I don’t think AP CS adds much, but if you love it, go for it.</p>
<p>Stay with Spanish. If the admissions committee can see your devotion to a language, then especially for places like Columbia and UChicago, in which they institute a Core Curriculum, it’ll most likely see you as someone who wants to pursue a well-rounded education.</p>
<p>I take AP Computer Science, and it honestly doesn’t mean much except being another elective.</p>
<p>I dunno about your school, but at mine AP CS is mind-numbingly dull. All it does is teach you some coding concepts, but not how to apply them. Actual programming is considerably more fun.</p>