Hi I’m a high school student. I’m interested in attending Tufts Univeristy. I have read on their website that they advice you to take 4 year of a language. I was just wondering if they want 4 year of one language or if 3 years of one language and a year of a different language would also be looked well upon?
Thanks
If Tufts is a target schools, I’d take foreign language to the level recommended. Since it is a recommendation and not a requirement, taking three years won’t disqualify you. But it could put you at a disadvantage since many applicants will meet the school’s recommendation. Since Tufts only takes about 14% of applicants why put yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t have to?
Some exceptions might smooth it out such as a scheduling conflict that the guidance counselor explains in his/her recommendation etc.
What level would you reach in each language?
These two situations may be seen differently:
a. You reach level 3 in the first language, but then switch to level 1 of another language even though level 4 in the first language was available in your high school.
b. You reach level 4 or higher in the first language, which is the highest level offered in your high school, and then take level 1 of another language because that was an academic elective available to you since you have no more courses in the first language to take.
The Tufts language recommendation is for one language but it is for level reached, not necessarily number of years taken in high school. If you have reached the fourth high school level of a language, even if you do it by junior year, you have met the recommendation.
Tufts has a six semester language graduation requirement if you come to Tufts anyway (unless you’re in the engineering school). The more you take in high school, the more freedom it gives you once you come here.
What would happen in the case of A?
@HTB524 I chose to take path A because I wanted to learn a new language. I tested into Spanish 22, which means that I tested out of 5 semesters of Spanish. However, you need to take at least three semesters of a language to have it count towards the requirement. So even though theoretically I should only need one semester of German to have completed 6 total semesters of language, I will need to take 3 semesters of German to complete the requirement.
@Qwerty568 What do you mean by testing into Spanish 22? Can you better explain what you said is a little confusing?
Thanks
Tufts wants you to have a high level in at least one foreign language. Honestly, most people admitted to Tufts will have AP foreign language. In order to graduate from Tufts, you’ll need to take 3 more semesters (three more levels) past AP or three semesters of a new foreign language, so it’s to your advantage to take as much foreign language in HS as you can because starting in level 2 at Tufts (which is the bes-case scenario if you stop in HS level 3) is brutal.
If you stop a level 3 in a foreign language, whatever you take beside level 4 (painting, foreign language level 1…) will be counted as an elective, not as a core class (level 4 would be considered a core class).
“Situation A” would make you much lss competitive than someone who does B, who themselves is less competitive than someone who reached AP in the foreign language.
What you CAN do if you really don’t like your current foreign language and want to stop at level 3, is to commit to three semesters of another foreign language at a community college. Having College level 3 in one language and High School Level 3 in another would be viewed positively.
Tufts has more Foreign Language requirements than most universities, but even if their college graduation requirement is slightly less, many elite universities will, similarly, expect Level 4 or AP in one foreign language (some students present level 4 in two foreign languages, or, more rarely, AP in two foreign languages).
@HTB524 Hey, sorry if I wasn’t clear! So AP exams can get you credit. In my case I took AP Spanish 5 and got a 4 on the exam, meaning that I would be placed into Spanish 4. But Tufts also has their own language placement exams you can take during orientation. They have them for all the languages Tufts offers, which is helpful because there aren’t AP exams avaliable for every language at Tufts and some people took a language beyond the AP level, like myself. So when you take the placement exam, they tell you which class to take at Tufts based on your score. You can use the “higher” placement- so if I did poorly on Tufts’ placement exam, I could have used my AP credit. But since I did better on the placement exam I took at Tufts, I was allowed to enroll in Spanish 22, which is 2 levels higher than I would have placed into with my AP credit. Hope that cleared things up.
Regardless, my point still stands: unless you are dead-set on engineering, it is extremely advantageous to you to take as much language as you can in HS. Language is important at Tufts and skipping it in HS will both reflect poorly on your app and make life more difficult if you come here.
@QwertyKey Thank you so much! Guess I’ll be doing Spanish 4 next year!