To fulfill my foreign language requirement, is a summer course the same thing as a year-long course?

I am currently a sophomore in high school, and I am creating my schedule for next year. My school requires 3 years of foreign language, and I am currently in Spanish 2H. After speaking with the academic director, I found out that I have the option to take a Spanish 3 course over the summer to fulfill the graduation requirement, and instead take an elective. I want to major in biology in college, and I am interested in taking the “genetics and biotechnology” elective my school offers.
I know most colleges prefer 3 years of foreign language, but if I’m taking it over the summer, is there a difference? Is there a difference to colleges as to whether or not I take Spanish 3 over the summer or take the course during the school year?

I recently took Chinese 1 as an online course over the summer, and I’m pretty sure my transcripts don’t reflect that it was taken online. I would express this concern to your guidance counselor though because they can give you a definite answer.