<p>Okay so I am a long time stalker and first time poster on this forum, so hopefully you guys can help me :D
I am a sophomore planning my junior schedule and I have more classes I want to take, than I have space in my schedule to take them. My planned schedule for next year is:
AP Chemistry
AP Statistics
AP Physics 1
AP US History
AP English Language and Composition
Pre-AP Pre-calculus
Marching Band/Concert Band</p>
<p>I will have no space for a fourth year of Spanish, which I don't really enjoy anyways, unless I give up one of the classes that I am actually interested in taking. However, I know that for admission into competitive universities four years of a foreign language are ideal. Since, I am unable to take the fourth year of a language would a SAT subject test in either Spanish or Spanish with Listening be a good substitute for that class? Which one would be better to take? How difficult are these subject tests?</p>
<p>It does not substitute a Spanish 4 class disregarding what score you get. If a school require or recommend 4 years of foreign language, you do need to take the class to be counted. It also does not replace AP, class or exam. Some schools may use SAT2 score for placement, but you are not likely to get credit from it.
You have a pretty rigorous schedule and has 2 Math and 2 Science classes. You may want to consult with your GC for this arrangement. You may be advised to take the Spanish 4 instead of one of Math/Science. If you have not taken any AP classes before, it would be very overwhelming. Particularly, both AP Eng and APUSH have a lot of writing to do. Also check with your school to see if you have a lab hour for AP Chem required. If you do, you may not be able to fit all classes in your schedule. If you are aiming at competitive schools, having Spanish 4 may be more helpful that having more than 4 Science and 4 Math (beyond Calc BC).</p>
<p>Actually, California public universities allow an applicant to use a high enough score on AP or SAT subject tests in a foreign language as an alternative way to show foreign language proficiency equivalent to or higher than the desired level of high school language for admission purposes*. However, this is not necessarily true for other schools, so check each school for its policies.</p>
<p>*This is probably commonly used by immigrants who are fluent in a non-English language and for whom English is their second language.</p>
<p>If anything, you would be better off just taking the Spanish AP exam instead of the SAT II. Colleges tend to give this more official credibility to AP exams than the SAT II (unless you get an 800 or something).</p>
<p>Also, you don’t have the option of taking Spanish your senior year??</p>
<p>On a side note, taking AP Physics and AP Chem along with all the other courses seems pretty damn hard. You really don’t need THAT many APs (I only took 2 APs my junior year and got accepted into Stanford, for what it’s worth). Just something to consider.</p>
<p>The language SAT IIs are inundated with native speakers; make sure you have a PHENOMENAL grasp of the language. Three years of HS Spanish might not have prepared you enough. </p>