Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent residence…and is English your primary language?
Just to clarify
I am a permanent resident of the U.S
And no I did not take any break in foreign language from grade 8 to 11
I did French 2 Freshman year and French 3 Sophmore yeare
My interests also lie in the engineering field prompting me to take courses such as AP Physics and AP calculus. So schools such as Carnegie Mellon are on my radar. NYU was simple an example I used. While looking through Carnegie Mellon’s requirements I noticed that they simply require 2 years. If this is the case would it not be smarter to drop the class as it is a hassle at the moment?
PS: Thank you everyone for all the help! Means a lot 
If you took French 2 as a 9th grader and French 3 as a 10th grader, you will have completed level 3 of French.
That’s not what your OP said. Thank you for clarifying. So….what does this mean? Did mean to type “French 1 was completed in Middle School”?
“ I must preface this by saying that French 3 was taken in Middle School over the span of 7th and 8th grade as is the norm at our district”
I will dd…this is what happens at our schools for FL. Students taking the language in MS have the equivalent if the first year done.
Having Completed These three levels in French:
French 1(Completed in 7th and 8th Grade)
French 2(Completed in 9th Grade)
French 3(Completed in 10th Grade)
Is this what colleges ask for when they talk about having completed 3 years of language?
Yes, you have reached level 3 in French. You posted the following which has resulted in confusion for the CC posters answering your question:
So far I have taken up till French 3 and ended all the classes with an A+, however, I must preface this by saying that French 3 was taken in Middle School over the span of 7th and 8th grade as is the norm at our district.
You stated you took French 3 in Middle school over 7th and 8th grade. Now you are saying you completed French 2 and 3 in High school? If you took at least French 3 in HS, then you are fine to drop French 4 if you want to only have 3 years of a Foreign Language on your record. However, many highly competitive schools recommend 4 years of a FL.
Yes, French 3 in high school generally counts as “3 years”.
However, your original post said that “I must preface this by saying that French 3 was taken in Middle School over the span of 7th and 8th grade as is the norm at our district”, implying that French 3 (as opposed to French 1) would not be shown on your high school record.
Yes.
I am very sorry about this mixup. In reality, I meant to say that I had taken French 1 over the course of 7th and 8th grade.
Thank you everyone for all your help. I shall talk to my guidance counselor and see where it goes from here.
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But note NYU itself says “ … * Foreign Language - 3 to 4 years…. Our top applicants have taken demanding coursework in the above subjects for four years.” High/Secondary School Preparation
What they say should probably be more important than what some other forum says. Yes, it’s possible that strong in other aspects would make up for it (it did for my daughter at NYU who had 3 years of a HS language), but “strong in other aspects” is a lot more subjective than the 4 years of a language which is stated by the college itself as a strength for the application.
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You’d be wise imo to tailor your current curriculum to appeal to the widest number of colleges possible, rather than hang your hat on one that has lower requirements than others.
That said, you may find 3 years of a language is less of a problem for engineering applications than some others.
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If you have completed Level 3 French and will likely get a B- in Honors French 4 (and risk other grades/EC’s), I’d cut F4 unless one of the schools high on your target list requires level 4. Even for schools which recommend level 4, IMO you are worse off with the B-. AO’s will look at GPA and rank first. Then they will look at rigor. If you otherwise have taken rigorous course related to your anticipated major, being 1 level short in FL unlikely puts you out of consideration.
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If you completed Fr3 in HS you could drop Fr4H. But I don’t see why you don’t try to switch to Fr 4 (not honors). You’d reach the level 4 mark (what matters most) and it’d be much easier.
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