What are the benefits of self-studying Spanish?

Applying to College
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<p>I'm a sophomore in Spanish 1 right now, that's right, Spanish ONE. I know that most UC's require at least 2 years of the same foreign language so I need to take Spanish again next year. However, should I self-study spanish II this summer and take Spanish III next year? I think my school took away AP Spanish V because we don't have a teacher for it, but my teacher said it might come back in a couple of years. I wanted to self study because I thought there was AP Spanish available but now there isn't soo... what would be the point of studying this hard for Spanish? Should I take Spanish for the rest of my high school years or should I drop it next year (after I finish the 2 year req.) and take other classes instead? I really like Spanish and I know that it can actually benefit me when I grow up. But since there are no AP Spanish classes, one of my goals or benefits drops =[ I don't think I will self-study anything because they simply take too much time and I could be doing other stuff (ecs, sports, other APs, etc) UGh, please tell me what I should do with Spanish... </p>

<p>Also, I'm taking Chinese courses outside of school. HOW DO PEOPLE DO EVERYTHING??? I've seen people post about self studying for like 2-3 AP subjects a year while taking 4-5 more APs and doing ecs, and getting good grades. How do you do that???? I can barely finish my hw with a sport and 1 AP class (sophomore)!!! I have other ecs such as piano and chinese but tennis consumes at least 2 hours a day of my time!! Plus, I have to watch people for like half of that time because I'm in JV. Should I study during that time instead or just watch (coaches make us watch)?? </p>

<p>My question is: Should I play a sport? Should I play music? Should I self study chinese/spanish? If I should do all of these things, can I ever excel in any of them? Would excelling in one of them be better than doing moderately in all of them? I love all of the ecs that I do!! I love it but I just don't seem to be excelling in all of them. I have all A's but I feel like next year (1 honors and 4 APs) I will die and my grades will suffer. I haven't experienced junior life so I don't know what it will be like yet.</p>

<p>ARE ECS a big part of college admissions? How do I stand out with them? How do people do well in so many things? What is the trick here? =[ Again, i love every ec I'm in now and I want to volunteer too... I sleep at 1 everyday. If I do more will I be sleeping at 3-4 AM?? Is this how people excel in everything? Sleeping at 3-4 AM? I would love some advice, opinions, thanks in adv.!!</p>

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<p>As an AP Spanish student and three-year tutor in the language, I can tell you that self-studying Spanish, or any language offered in high school, is better than the class itself -- if you know what you're doing. Would your school allow you to do Spanish III if you self-studied it over the summer? Since you like Spanish, I'd recommend taking all the classes, even though AP Spanish isn't offered at your school. You can definitely self-study for it. All you have to do is get the requirements and such from the collegeboard site, look up sites on AP Spanish, get AP Spanish prep books, and practice the four modes of language every day: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. If you're truly driven, it shouldn't be too difficult. If you're taking a Spanish class, you can ask your teacher questions if you have to (e.g. about indirect object pronoun placement).</p>

<p>I've found that one can have excellent academics, or good/okay academics and a sport or two. I wanted to do cross country, but I saw what happened to a friend of mine, who's taking 3 AP classes and is extremely intelligent, and decided not to do sports, instead focusing on academics. Think about it: if a sport will hurt academics, it's better to go for academics, 'cause the sport isn't what will get you into a good college, unless you're pretty exceptional.</p>

<p>ECs are a bit part of admissions. But sports tend not to be the way to go at the top universities. You can stand out in ECs by showing a passion for something. For me, it's language (studied many languages on my own over the years, taken AP Spanish and AP German, joined linguistics societies, started language clubs, won language-related contests, etc.). You have to find yours and show that in your ECs and awards. So sports, music, language? Choose the one(s) that you like the most, that will show a passion, that won't compromise academics.</p>

<p>I myself am currently taking 4 AP classes (biology, US history, Spanish, psychology), an honors course, and pre-calculus. I'm president of a writers group, vice president of Key Club, vice president of Spanish club, member of CSF, and managing editor of a school journal. I write every day. I self-study Italian. And I get to sleep at about 10-11. How do I do it? I don't play an instrument. I don't play a sport, either. I prioritize. I manage my time. But most of all, I follow my passions (and I do a bit of community service work).</p>

<p>So really, you can do it. I didn't do a sport 'cause I saw how much time it sucked up (all the meets, all the trips out of town, etc.). Unless you find that sports won't consume your life and that you really like language/music/whatever, I'd recommend focusing on academics (passion) and not sports. But only you can assess your situation and time.</p>

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<p>Wow Kyle, thanks for the wonderful reply!! I see, so I should just focus on one or two things and excel in them. Like you've said, sports really does suck my time. I think I might go with music because my piano is right in my house and I can play it for any amount of time without wasting too much time.. I agree with you that I should concentrate more on academics. I've always thought that being involved in sports and such will give you more chance in being accepted to colleges. I guess you need to EXCEL in the right? Is that the main thing colleges are looking for? For your passion, your dedication, and the excellence of your chosen ecs? I guess that I need more quality rather than quantity?? Am I thinking the right way? Not having sports will not bring your chances down correct? Are sports and volunteering weight the same? Can I do sports and have no volunteer hours? Can I do music and have no volunterr hours/sports? I'm confused on how many things I should do. I have basically a passion for everything. I love sports and music and school... lol</p>

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<p>That's a lot of questions. =p</p>

<p>Colleges are looking for excellence. The top colleges are looking for passion/dedication -- depth, but also breadth, in that it's good to see that you're doing community service work (Key Club, Habitat for Humanity, CSF, NHS, that sort of thing) + what you love to do, which may be a few clubs (for me, the writing group, Spanish club, and literary journal all fit into one nice category: language). You do need quality, but also some quantity. Not having sports won't hurt your chances at all! That's a sad misconception that many have. Colleges realize: the best students--the ones who excel in school and clubs--don't have time for sports. Which is also why those who don't have really excellent academics and get accepted anyway are often those who excel in a sport and can play for University X's team (Duke, anyone?). I don't think sports will help you a whole lot at top universities unless 1) you're a captain of a sort (shows leadership), or 2) you are really exceptional at the sport.</p>

<p>You can continue sports, if you want. But really assess your situation: will sports be detrimental to your academics? Will they take away from other specific passions? Is it possible to do the sport as more of a weekend hobby?</p>

<p>In addition, if you plan to have a focus on your application (you should), I wouldn't recommend making it piano unless you really, really love it and plan to pursue it in college. A lot of people have piano on their applications.</p>

<p>So what's your focus/passion? It should be something specific, and ideally relates to your intended major. (I plan to major in linguistics, if you didn't catch on to that.)</p>

<p>You can get into the UCs without having a really strongly developed passion. But if sports will hurt academics, you can forget about Berkeley/UCLA (or the others, depending on how much your grades suffer). And don't let sports take away from real clubs and community service. Really, community service and clubs (not game ones, either, like rubix cube club or w/e) should be above sports. That is, again, unless you're really great at the sport or have a leadership position.</p>

<p>But at schools like Stanford, developing a passion thoroughly in your ECs and awards is very, very important. The same is true for Berkeley, but not as much. Berkeley is more numbers-oriented, i.e. GPA and SAT + rigor of courseload and community service / clubs. UCs like UCSB, UCD, and UCI will let you by with subpar (by top university standards) stats--like a 3.5 GPA, or 1970 SAT--and sports. The top ones, however, like Berkeley and UCLA, are a bit more difficult.</p>

<p>So it really depends on where you're aiming.</p>

<p>(If you were wondering, I'm aiming for Berkeley/Stanford.)</p>

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<p>Well if I don't have piano or sports then I don't have much at all lol. I've been playing piano since I was little so I have a pretty strong foundation. I would like to be playing tennis/piano for my whole life as a hobby. Other than that, I do have a passion for math/physics because I just love learning knew things about how things work and solving problems in so many different and weird ways. I'm aiming for the top UC's (Berkeley, LA, Davis) and I need to step the extracurriculars up. Do you think these extracurriculars should relate to our passion? I guess I should have the ones related to passion for depth and the other general community services for breadth? But more of passion/depth right? Since, I'm interested in math/physics, I should do some research or join the science fair right? Thanks again for your replies! =]</p>

<p>As for piano, I'm testing for levels right now (I can add these to my app right?) and I'm planning on joining some competitons for experience. Would focusing on piano and participating in competitions be better than being apart of a sports team and just being a regular varsity member? I know that many people play piano but... can I still make it one of the passion parts of my essay/app??</p>

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<p>In that case, I suggest continuing in piano, joining clubs that you like and getting officer positions in them, and doing community service and related clubs. Do sports ONLY if it does not harm academics or conflict with your clubs. Aim for straight As or near straight As (a B here and there won't hurt you). Try to get a 2100+ on the SAT and do show your love for learning -- a probing mind is something every college loves. </p>

<p>If you love piano, doing competitions and such would be excellent. In the case of Berkeley, etc. it's something very good to put on the app, and it can be a good focus.</p>

<p>Also, the UCs are generally organized like this:</p>

<p>Tier 1 (the top): Berkeley, UCLA
inter-Tier: UCSD
Tier 2: UCSB, UCI, UCD
Tier 3: UCR, UCSC, UCM</p>

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<p>Wow, you've answered all of my questions very elaborately. I appreciate your advice and opinions. Of course, if I drop sports, I can have higher As (95% as opposed to mabye 91%), I can get a higher SAT score, and I can work on my other ecs, therefore making them stronger. I'm already in Tennis right now and I don't know what to do this year. I guess I should just play it out?? I think I need to focus more on SATs because I did poorly on my PSATs. Does higher SATs > being involved in sports? I would assume so. What I mean by higher SATs is probably around a 200-300 score increase. So people who play sports in high school should actually aim for sports in college right? People don't generally play sports in high school to improve their chances to get into a better college?</p>