I am a rising sophomore and I just finished French 2 online. I am aware that most tier one schools that I want to get into recommend 3 years of foreign language. However, my high school does not offer french 3 and if i take it online my GPA is sure to drop as no one has ever gotten an A . In addition the nearest comunity college that offers it is 40 mins away and the French teachers are not good. I have a 4.0 right now so should I risk my GPA to look better for colleges? I am already taking 5 AP classes next year and am doing a fair amount of extracurriculars. (FYI I come from an extremely competitive high school where taking many APs and Dual enrollment classes are normal) I dont have much intrest in French anyway
I doubt that. Even if true, if you deserved an A, you would likely get an A.
Regardless, one B will not have a meaningful impact on a cum GPA, and a 4.0 is not a guarantee of getting accepted anyway.
So let me rephrase the question in a way that an AO will view it: “Should I disregard a college’s recommendations and just take the easy way out?”
Of course, if you are not targeting top tier colleges that ask for more than 2 years, then the question is moot.
Yes, the third year of FL is “worth the risk”. Many schools actually want to see 4 years. You would be highly limiting your choices without at least that third year.
“my high school does not offer french 3.”
Maybe we need more info. If the hs doesn’t offer it, not all kids can go out and find it. Otoh, if he’s in FL and it’s customary to fill blanks with online, yes, you need it. And depending on the colleges, some want to see 2-4 years in hs. Not just getting to French 3 in soph year.
Not taking courses colleges want to see is a simple way for them to rule out potential students when they have an abundant amount of applicants that do take everything they are looking for. They often want to see you take what they suggest and don’t care that it hurts your 4.0. An AP in many subjects does not make up for lack of core classes and foreign language is considered a core subject. It is up to you if you wish to risk it.
Are there other online options? I also doubt that no one has ever gotten an A and that all the French instructors at the distant CC are not any good. Also, is your GPA actually affected by grades from courses taken at other schools?
doesn’t Florida have the online school that is really good? FLVS or something like that?
@CheddarcheeseMN @ProfessorPlum168
Yeah when I said “online” I meant on FLVS. The FLVS French 3 is new on FLVS, (only available through a special link),so I only talked to a few people who took it. Some of the kids I talked to may have exaggerated. On FLVS I could easily drop the corse within a certain time so doesnt showon my transcript so I think I will enroll on it on FLVS and see what happens.
(I eliminated the CC option cuz its to far away)
Thanks for your help
@lookingforward
Yeah it is super common for kids to do that in our school. The FLVS class in new so some of the kids I talked to may have exaggerated. I think I will try ot out.
Thanks everyone
@momofsenior1
Yeah. I decided to go ahead and do French 3 on FLVS. (FLVS doesn’t offer above that). After I finish that I will see if a closer community college offers a higher level of French. I dont want to come of as “lazy.” 
@skieurope
Yeah. I decided to go ahead and do French 3 on FLVS. (FLVS doesn’t offer above that). After I finish that I will see if a closer community college offers a higher level of French. I dont want to come of as “lazy.”
Finishing French 3 is much better than just having French 2 for colleges that ask for 4 years. Depending on the rest of your schedules (and the rest of your application, of course), they’ll likely cut you some slack if there is no closer CC option.
Finishing French 3 through FLVS is much better. Then you can try taking College French 3(&4?) through the community college. French 3 will meet the basic requirement at selective 4-year colleges; although they typically prefer one more level I agree with skieurope that since the CC is far away they’ll cut you some slack on this if your GC write it in your recommendation.
I definitely think it is worth the risk, I would have taken a fourth year of Spanish if my school was able to offer the class (enrollment requirements suck!!!). A lot of colleges in my opinion are moving to recommend four years of a language. Would you be interested in studying French in college? Knowing multiple languages is always a plus, especially in certain careers! Business, medicine, law, etc. The list goes on.