Will Having only 3 Years of a Foreign Language Hurt My Chances?

Applying to College
1

<p>I have only taken Spanish in 8th grade (I got high school credit for it), 9th grade, and 10th grade, and I really struggled in that class (I got a B in 9th grade for Honors, then As for 8th and 10th grade, but those were CP classes). It's not that I'm slacking off, it's just I really struggle when learning Spanish and I don't want it to destroy my GPA. Here are my junior year classes and projected senior year classes:</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP English Language and Composition
AP US Government
Honors Sociology
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors Chemistry
Honors Economics
Honors Human Geography (no AP class, but we still take the AP exam)
CP Debate (no Honors at my school)
CP Psychology (prep for AP)
Ocean Science (no honors/CP at my school)
Drawing (no honors/CP at my school)
** some classes are semester classes **</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP Chemistry
AP English Language and Literature
AP Psychology
AP Calculus
AP Economics (micro and macro)
Honors Physics (no AP)
**Considering AP Stats to fill up my 7th period </p>

<p><strong>I already took APUSH sophomore year (it was the only AP for sophomores) and I got an A in the class and a 5 on the exam</strong></p>

<p>Will colleges look down at the fact that I only took 3 years of Spanish? It's not like I'm slacking off, it's just that I really struggle in that class and it's been my only B in my entire high school career.</p>

<p>My top Colleges I want to go to:
Wellesley College
MIT
U Chicago
Boston University
Boston College</p>

2

<p>Hit the internet. Look up the requirements on each web site. For instance, MIT states two years of a language. <a href=“What to do in high school | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/highschool&lt;/a&gt; </p>

3

<p>It depends on the college; there are only a handful of super-selective colleges that recommend 4 years. If you’re not applying to them, it won’t matter.</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.asdk12.org/depts/world_lang/program/HS/University_WLReq.pdf”>https://www.asdk12.org/depts/world_lang/program/HS/University_WLReq.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Unfortunately for you, Wellesley and BC both recommend four years of a foreign language, so you will be at a disadvantage. Even worse, BC does not consider 8th grade classes, so your application will only show two years in their eyes.</p>

<p>Additionally some colleges will have foreign language requirements to graduate, which you could potentially place out with another year of FL study. One B on your transcript is hardly the end of the world. I’d suggest at least one more year of Spanish.</p>

4

<p>Some schools allow you to fulfill their foreign language requirement if you have AP or SAT II score on the foreign language that is high enough. </p>

5

<p>@skieurope So if I took, say, CP Spanish IV senior year (I can’t change junior year classes anymore), would that look good for Wellesley, because that’s my top choice. I think it’s too late to switch into Honors because of the gap between the CP& Honors material. </p>

6

<p>Yes, although you might want to keep up some practice your junior year so that you do not forget. Ideally, I’d talk to your counselor and see if changes can be made to your junior schedule. I can’t imagine that there are many places where you can’t make some changes at the beginning of the year, especially with a valid reason like this. Your junior year schedule as it stands now contains a few “less-than-rigorous” courses in my mind, and I am sure that will stand out as admissions officers review your file. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>That is too bad, it will be harder for you when you have to skip a year. I really think that having another one would put you in a stronger position. The reason you are avoiding it --not challenging yourself and only doing the minimum because of gpa protection–is just the sort of student these schools try to weed out, so I hope that isn’t reflected in your recommendation. You can see from your schedule a lot of soft more elective type of classes, so avoiding the foreign language core class really is obvious to me. I don’t think it matter too much to take CP or honors. AP is nice bonus but just keeping with it and getting to a higher mastery level is the point. What kind of school you can’t change schedule.</p>

8

<p>@skieurope @brownParent So, If I drop, say Drawing and Ocean Science (2 semester classes) and took Honors Spanish IV, would that work out (assuming I can, our deadline was March)? If not, I can always replace AP stats with Honors Spanish IV senior year, and do some reviewing over the summer. Would taking a year off hurt my chances? I cannot take AP because a pre-requisite for AP is Spanish IV, and I have 5 other APs for senior year.</p>

9

<p>If you do not need drawing for a fine arts requirement, that would work. The advantage to taking Spanish as a junior is that languages are a “use it or lose it” subject, and it might be difficult to pick back up after a year absence. Taking Spanish IV as a junior or a senior will make no difference to colleges. However, if your grades suffer (as in below a B- ) as a result of the year gap, that will have an effect.</p>

10

<p>^^yes but also I don’t think you need to agonize over a couple of B</p>