Two years of foreign language...

Parent Cafe
4

<p>Take a look at the schools your S may be interested in, but my S applied to a number of CS/Engineering programs, and only one wanted more than 2 years of foreign language. For example:</p>

<p>[MIT</a> Admissions: Recommended High School Preparation](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/before/recommended_high_school_preparation/index.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/before/recommended_high_school_preparation/index.shtml)</p>

<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions - Caltech Caltech Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/faqs#preparation]Frequently”>http://www.admissions.caltech.edu/faqs#preparation)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/admission/forms/2011/apply_freshman.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cmu.edu/admission/forms/2011/apply_freshman.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If your S will likely be applying to more “well rounded” schools including the Ivy League, more years of foreign language will probably be expected</p>

<p>(My S took French 1 in middle school and French 2 & 3 in HS; some colleges may count that as 3 years, but I think most just count it as two.) He tried to take French 4 in both Junior and Senior year but it conflicted with other classes that were more important to him (his AP sciences). Even schools that want 3-4 years will often accept a good explanation for why a student doesn’t have it. </p>

<p>Online classes are non-optimal for foreign languages, where live practice speaking and listening (and having your accent corrected) are important. A better option if it can fit your S’s schedule is a college class or some kind of summer program. </p>

<p>Good luck figuring it all out.</p>