<p>I'm a sophomore and I'm currently in Honors Spanish 2. I'm fluent in Mandarin and am going to take the AP Chinese exam this coming May, and I'm thinking of dropping Spanish after this year. I have a pretty high A currently and I'm interested in the language, but the class itself is really stressful, especially because of the teacher. If I were to take Honors Spanish 3 next year, I'd have the same teacher and I'm not sure I'll be able to handle the workload along with the AP classes I'm planning on taking. Also, there are other electives I could take instead that are more suitable for my interests (two areas of majors I'm strongly considering are the social sciences and communications, and the class I would take if I drop Spanish would be either Journalism or AP Human Geography). </p>
<p>Would it be too risky to drop Spanish without knowing with absolute certainty that I can get a 4 or 5 on the AP Chinese exam? If so, should I take Spanish 3 online over the summer? Or should I just stick with it at school? </p>
<p>Any advice would be appreciated!! Thanks :)</p>
<p>Most schools want to see achieved Level 3 or 4 of a language , which can be a number of years OR a test score. Take the Chinese AP test in Chinese. However, depending on the colleges you intend to apply to are highly selective, your score in Chinese might not be sufficient since you speak it at home (I assume) and thus didn’t “lear, it in high school”. You could register for the Spanish test in May or June and see how high you score. With 2 years, it’s doable, but you probably with score in the 600s. If you don’t like your score, you could always study over the summer (or go to language camp, such as Concordia’s) and take the test again in the Fall.
Practically speaking an AP Chinese score + an SAT Suject score (w/ online study or language camp) should be fine, especially since the classes you intend to take next year are part of a coherent schedule wrt your projected major.</p>
<p>Ditto what MYOS1634 wrote. But to be safe, if you know several colleges you want to attend, contact them. My D took AP Spanish her junior year, got a 5 on the AP Span exam and a 780 on the SAT II Span test that June. Despite this, 3 of the colleges she had on her application list still wanted FOUR CONSECUTIVE years of a single language – which meant that she had to take AP Spanish Lit her senior year. </p>
<p>thanks for your help! would an online course in Spanish 3 (with a transcript) be sufficient in fulfilling the “three years of language” or do I need to take the subject test as well? Does it make a huge difference if I take it online as opposed to at school?</p>
<p>You do not need to take the subject test. Online is fine but may be difficult. As you see by these replies, 3 to 4 years of a core subject like Spanish are more valuable than a random AP elective.</p>
<p>Many top schools recommend 3-4 years of the same world language. Also, many top schools do not consider your native language in fulfillment of these requirement. Some student would take it online or at community college for a summer course if it does not fit your schedule.</p>
<p>As implied above, try to get a good idea of which schools you’re targeting and read their specific language requirements. If the schools’ web site states two years of language are required, but three recommended, know that students competing with you for seats at that school will likely have completed at least three years. How you respond to that is up to you. There’s no hard and fast answer.</p>
<p>Same thing with three years required, but four recommended. The more competitive candidates will most likely have completed the recommended, rather than just the required amounts.</p>