My opinion. If your kid is applying to top schools AND your HS offers foreign language courses, the adcoms will notice that he took none in high school. It is my opinion, this will not work to his advantage.
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Some colleges will want to see four years, even for engineers.
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No matter what he says now, there’s a good odds he’ll change. My kid went from astrophysics to aviation to atmospheric science to mechanical engineering and that was just in 11th and 12th grade. Other kids go from STEM to business. You don’t know at 18 and no way do you know at 14.
Language is indeed a problem outside of Spanish and French at most schools.
My daughter got into a nice set of schools - not tippy top but W&L, UF, UMD - but bothe her counselor and my daughter in common app noted that the schedule was to include Chinese 3 but the school made the decision to not offer base on lack of kids.
We were looking at doing what @twoinanddone said - take at a different school and drive during 2nd period (which had no bus) but my daughter had one of those at the end of the day for the district’s entrepreneurial class and we couldn’t make it work.
You should call a college about CCTY but in general you want to make it easier in them.
This is likely a trade off you’ll have to make.
And as I’m learning, the same thing can happen in college. But by then you are there - my daughter is having to switch languages to get her third year in (or the May approve an independent study).
In some ways, it’d be better if schools didn’t offer languages they maybe not able to fully support.
You can ask UMD about the Hopkins courses but what if he’s outside of Maryland when the time for college comes ?
You might ask the program (CTY) about the experiences of kids in their programs and college. They likely have enough experience to be able to give you insight as well.
In Maryland you have many fine colleges. If the college game stays similar to today and he has good grades and ACT, there will be plenty of affordable schools outside Maryland too.
So he’ll have options no matter what and be able to get a good education. But you may be limiting your prospects is all.
Good luck.
Here’s the link.
It is a test-in online and summer option for high-achieving students. In my part of the world, students are provided info on CTY testing/qualification through their home schools based on results on state-administered “standards” tests.
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I can see how it’s annoying to have to start a new FL just to please AOs who seem to want to see the 4 years of HS language. And if you plan to apply to a broad range of colleges and would be happy with a number of different outcomes, then just go with what you think is best. But for T20s, you are taking a risk by doing so, and the advice you’re getting here is sound. The thing is, you’ll never know why you kid doesn’t get in, and not getting in to these schools is the statistically likely outcome regardless of FL, so it’s not entirely illogical to say “screw it, my kid is going to do what’s best for their education, not just jump through these dumb Ivy+ hoops, and let the chips fall where they may”.
I know of an anecdote that indicates the top colleges really do care about the “taking all the FL years your high school has to offer” business. When comparing two kids from same HS head to head. So there is that.
I may have missed this upthread, but if Mandarin is a heritage language then definitely take a different language in high school.
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My comment about Johns Hopkins being in MD was that CTY was more likely to be accepted by his high school for credit than Concordia. It wasn’t related to the state that a college would be in.
I understand.
But you are saying a high school is more likely which mean may but may not include it. I’d ask the high school. More likely or May are tough words that need further study.
But in the assumption they don’t and you are submitting a transcript separately to colleges, you’d need to ask them.
But you might start with CTY - this is likely not the first time they’ve had this issue.
Bottom line is I think there are three to talk to - CTY, the high school guidance counselors (if they’re knowledgeable) and UMD and for bonus perhaps an Ivy level school or one that recommends four years of language.
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I think he needs high school foreign language too and I doubt CTY would cut it, but really the best thing to do is talk to an Admissions Officer at the kind of college you could see him applying to. I would trust an AO over a guidance counselor at his school. We did that and it helped reassure us we were on the right path. Our question wasn’t about foreign language, but another schedule conflict. We were touring a college (maybe summer after my D22 was in 9th grade) and just met with the AO and asked about the high school schedule. She was super helpful and helped us a lot.
For my D22’s foreign language, she went to a charter school that was 6th-12 grade with 6th, 7th, 8th being middle school and 9-12 being high school. She was not a fluent Spanish speaker going in, but had been exposed to Spanish since preschool with different “specials” in elementary school, etc. She signed up for Spanish 1a (middle school intro Spanish) in 6th grade, but it was way too slow for her (this is how you say hello - Hola) so she ended up bumping up to High School Spanish 1 with the actual 9th graders. She also took High School Spanish 2 in middle school, but opted to wait to take Spanish 3 when she was in High School because it was kind of weird being in class with all the high school kids. Those High School courses taken during Middle School did show up on her transcript.
So my advice would be go tour a college and ask them! We are in NC and they have a program at UNC for middle schoolers to tour campus. They start 'em young here. I bet Maryland does the same thing.
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Yes, the risk of not being able to continue a foreign language due to the school ceasing to offer it or changing to a school where it is not offered is higher for some languages than others.
Students in situations with high likelihood of changing schools or where some languages are likely to be cut due to low enrollment, budget cuts, or the only teacher retiring may want to consider that risk when starting a foreign language.
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I read these discussions sometimes and this is indeed the attitude - you have to take a language to get into a competitive college. That is of course true. But it always seems like something people do grudgingly, because they essentially HAVE, not because they have any desire to, or see any value in it. Similarly, it also seems like the first class students are trying to test out of in college. I get it - it’s not directly related to the major in many cases. But I can’t help but find this dismissive attitude to foreign language study a bit depressing. Knowing other languages is valuable! It’s not only good brain exercise, but it opens up entire new worlds. Sure, most “important” materials are available in an English translation, but don’t you ever want to know what the original sounds like? And while I certainly don’t expect everyone to love learning languages, just as not every loves history or math or physics or whatever, it just seems like this grudging attitude is far more pervasive when it comes to foreign languages than it does to other subjects.
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Agreed but I don’t think that this OP shows that attitude since kid has been taking Mandarin and enjoys it and wants to continue…
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Just to be clear, this is a kid who loves a specific language. Enough that he’s willing to give up his evenings to study it instead of taking another, probably easier, option at school.
The issue isn’t that he doesn’t want to take language, or doesn’t respect languages. It’s that he loves Chinese, and doesn’t want to switch to something else.
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Can he enroll in the community college classes at his high school during the school day and get them on the transcript that way? If not, I agree with others, that starting a new language and completing 4 years at his high school is the safest option. I think continuing with Chinese outside of school would also be great, as well. Maybe he won’t become fluent in Chinese that way, but he can always pick it up in college if fluency is still a goal then.
We are also thinking through similar issues right now, as my daughter has decided to take German 1 and 2 in middle school. They are actual high school courses taught at the high school connected to her middle school, so they will go on her high school transcript and count for her graduation requirements. If she doesn’t attend that specific high school, however, continuing German in high school will not be an option, and she will just pick a new language to start fresh with and complete 4 years during high school. If she attends the high school that offers German, that would mean German 3 in 9th grade and AP German in 10th (this school doesn’t offer a separate level 4 before AP), and she would then take 2 years of a new language for 11th and 12th.
I have heard lots of other parents at my daughter’s school talk about taking these high school language credits to “get them out of the way” and open up elective options in high school, but even though they are high school credits and on the transcript, it seems short-sighted to do that before you even know what colleges your kid may be interested in. Not to mention, the language requirements in college vary so much depending on the school, major, etc. Keeping a language on the schedule in high school keeps options open in so many ways.
Outside of Spanish at most schools.
I realize you qualified with “may,” but I want to point out that colleges understand programs being cut. And when that happens, such a student can ask for advice.
But that’s a different scenario from the HS never offering the MS language, so the advice for that student will likely be different.
Yes, I get it - I wasn’t necessarily directing this at you, but within the context of the larger discussion on “the foreign language question” it is just something I have noticed many, many times. Not necessarily with your son. Just among a lot of students/parents whenever a similar question is asked.
In my opinion, you have a couple of different issues here.
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There will be colleges that will expect to see up to level 3 or 4 of a language taken in high school. And if your son’s HS offers this and he doesn’t take it, they will wonder why.
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Your son really loves Mandarin and wants to become fully fluent in this. If that is the goal, I would suggest you look into the summer immersion programs offered at Middlebury College. They are not for HS students in Mandarin, but once he gets to college, he could do a summer in this fabulous and highly regarded immersion program…which very likely would satisfy a FL requirement in college should there be one (I would certainly check that). If fluency in the language is the goal…I’d do this.
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Of course, the other option, is that he can continue Mandarin through CTY because he loves the language and wants to learn more/become fluent, and take a new language at high school - French, Spanish, whatever they offer.
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@worriedmomucb I was just about to suggest the same thing! Great minds… 
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This! Top colleges want kids that max out their high school’s offerings, including up to level 4 or 5 in a foreign language My kid doesn’t love Physics, but they took every Physics class offered. The Mandarin will still look good as side activity that can be mentioned elsewhere on the application.
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I was just about to suggest the same. I would take a foreign language offered by his high school and continue Mandarin as an extracurricular. Honestly, I think that would look good on applications as it’s different and shows passion and having experience in multiple languages is great.
Since many top colleges require several years of foreign language on the high school transcript, I would be careful about trying to get too creative. It would be a bummer to find out once it’s too late that a creative plan isn’t cutting it for a school you’re child is interested in. Even as an engineering major, many colleges will still have the language requirement. My D is an engineering major at a T20 but her university admits to the university and not major so the requirements for all students is the same.
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Have you explored LanguageBird? It’s private, accredited foreign language instruction. It will show up on high school transcripts. My son takes Japanese this way. They will prep you for the AP exam as well. It’s expensive but maybe worth exploring? (I just reread your post about the school not liking outside classes—maybe push them on that. They aren’t offering what your kid wants, and there are plenty of ways to take accredited lang classes)
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