Will taking Spanish 3 but not taking Spanish 1 and 2 count as 3 levels of foreign language?

Applying to College
1

So I’m in a pretty big dilemma right now. I just learned that my middle school Spanish 1 and 2 credits will not transfer over since I missed the deadline to transfer those :(.

I’ll be a senior this fall so I’m in HUGE trouble. I have no foreign language credits as a senior :(.
My high school won’t let me take Spanish 3 so I have to take it at a local college, that is if I pass the placement test.
If I take the placement test and placed into Spanish 3 and take it, will I meet the 3 levels of foreign language that colleges want?

2

Taking a college Spanish course that is equivalent to high school Spanish 3 or higher should be fine, assuming that it is properly noted as such.

3

Yes, go take it at a local college and you would be fine.

4

When colleges require or recommend a certain number of years of one high school language, they mean that you need to complete the level mentioned, like third or fouth high school level, and not that you are required to take the language for each year in high school. If you complete the Spanish 3 course level, whether in high school or via a college course, you will be deemed to have met any requirement or recommendation of three years of high school language.

5

Middle School Spanish1+2 would likely place you into College Language 1 or 2, tops. 2 years of HS language = 1 semester of college language. If you registered for COllege Spanish 2 (Fall)&3 (Spring), you’d be better off than if you’d taken Spanish 3 in HS.

6

@MYOS1634

Really? 2 years of HS language= 1 semester of college language?
hmm, then couldn’t I start a new language like Arabic in college?
If what you are saying is true, I can take 2 semesters of Arabic, one in the fall and and one in spring. That would equate to 4 years of HS language?

I never liked Spanish to be honest.

7

Yes you absolutely can take Arabic 1 and Arabic 2, and have completed more than if you just took Middle School 1+2 and a year in HS. In addition, Arabic is much sought after so it’d give you an edge in admissions.
However, be aware that the pace is brutal (obviously, you cover roughly 1 month of HS language in 1 week!) and Arabic is one of the hardest languages in the world, you’ll need to schedule about 3 hours each day just for Arabic homework. If you already know some Arabic (ie., neighbors, friends, family speak it), it’d definitely give you an advantage.

8

@MYOS1634
Just making sure, so if a college requires 3 years of a single foreign language I would be good right?
These will be the 2 courses that I can take (Fall)Elementary Arabic I and (Spring) Elementary Arabic II. I thought that is only 2 levels, are you sure it’s 4 levels?

I can handle the pace since I’m only going to high school for half the day next year.

9

If your college requires 4 levels, you’re better off with College Language 3, but since it’s not possible, you’ll have Middle School Spanish 1+2 (which you’ll write on your commonapp self-written transcript) and 2 levels of college Arabic.
To make sure you’d be okay you can email your colleges and say something like this:
"
Dear Madam, Dear Sir,
My name is … … and I am very interested in … College. I will be applying for Admission for Fall 2016 and am a rising senior. Because I didn’t fill out forms on time, Spanish 1&2, which I took when I was in middle school, will not be taken into account by my high school, which thus decided I couldn’t enroll in Spanish 3. I take full responsibility for this oversight but see this as an opportunity to learn a language I’ve always been interested in, Arabic. My high school allows seniors to register at … College, so I will be able to take Arabic 1 &2 at the college level after self studying over the summer. Would this be sufficient to meet the language requirements for admissions at … College, since I’ve been told this would cover the equivalent of Arabic 1-3 or 1-4 in a high school?
Thank you very much.
Yours sincerely,
… …
"

10

None of the colleges that I want to requires 4 years. The colleges that I want to go to require 2 years but they recommend 3 years, which from my understanding is almost like a requirement . I know that I’m good for the requirement of 2 years, not sure if they will look at it as 3 years. Will they oversee this since I took 2 semesters at a college pace?

Thanks for the example email, but deadline registration for classes is tomorrow and I have to decide now :(.
Continue Spanish which I hate but be able to take the level 3 course or start a new language and be able to only take the first 2 levels?

11

2levels in college will count as 3hs years for sure. Do aens the email to the colleges anyway; at worst you could take one semester of college Spanish…

12

Depends on the high school and college. In California, it is fairly common to assume the following equivalencies in foreign language courses:

College semester 1 = HS year 2
College semester 2 = HS year 3
College semester 3 = HS year 4

13

Since OP needs 3 years and can’t register for Spanish 3 apparently, taking semester 1+2 at a college would fulfill this admission requirement. OP could take Spanish 2+3 or Arabic 1+2. Since OP doesn’t like Spanish and wants to study Arabic, the latter sounds like a no-brainer.