I plan on applying to selective colleges (most with acceptance rates of 30% or below) and I was going to take German for all four years of high school BUT beginning of my second year of taking German, I had a new teacher who was HORRIBLE and made me hate the class. Taking it again would be a waste and extra stress for me that I don’t need- especially since I will take AP classes. Should I just deal with it and take it for all FOUR years of high school? I will be a junior and I don’t want to take German III
@areyouahuman Well, it really depends on the selective colleges you speak of. If you haven’t already, check their websites and see what language prerequisites they recommend. If they don’t specifically look for 4 years of a language, I think you already know your answer 
You really should try to get at least 3 years, but I guess it depends on what college you want to go to and how selective they are.
For sure 4. 2 years is usually just the minimum and it’s always better to go beyond the minimum requirement for competitive schools
I would say for the really selective schools you should at the very least take German III Junior year. Schools want dedicated applicants. A bad teacher isn’t a good enough reason to not take at least three years of a foreign language. I would advise you to take German IV or AP German senior year if you can, but if not at the very least you should take German III next year. I’m not necessarily saying that it would be a deal-breaker if you don’t take German III, but most applicants will have taken a minimum of three years of foreign language.
All schools and colleges have ‘bad’ teachers or teachers with difficult personalities, and looking ahead to the real world, all jobs will have difficult people that you struggle to get along with. You need to be able to deal with these kinds of people, and succeed by working out these difficult relationships. I would strongly advise that you take German III, but in the end it’s up to you. Good luck!
Consider taking it online or at a cc over the summer if the problem is the teacher at your HS.
2 years only will be a significant weakness in your resume. You should take it. If not you should do something extraordinary and mind blowing in place.