<p>Hi… I am taking AP Chinese as a sophomore. There are post-AP classes offered at my school, but I would rather be taking other classes… Teachers have said that taking AP as a sophomore and ending it there would be fine but I’m really not sure. Brown <em>requires</em>(?) 3-4 years of language. So here’s my question:</p>
<p>Would taking 2 years of language (AP as a sophomore) put me at a disadvantage since there ARE post-AP courses available and I didn’t take 3 years of a foreign language?</p>
<p>I would think you’ll be fine if you’re finishing AP level (and do well on the AP). They just want to see that you’re through 3-4 levels of the language. As long as you’re filling the gap with other courses, there’s no issue.</p>
<p>Bump ! not trying to hijack the thread but I’ve had French in 9th and 10th only(your freshman & sophomore). Now, in India, we don’t have the system to take an extra language in 11th and 12th and nor was it offered in my school.What should I do?
I am trying to take the SAT 2 French in October with a lot of studying because I’ve forgotten most of it.
Thoughts?</p>
<p>If it’s not offered in your school, they’re not going to penalize you for not having taken it. Brown really wants to see that you’ve challenged yourself within your school’s context.</p>
<p>Why do you want to take the SAT II for French given that you have forgotten most of it? I’m afraid the curve is likely really tough because of bilingual or near speakers who will have a lock on it.</p>
<p>Brown will not “cancel your application” for not having the “required” 3 years of a foreign language, if there is no way to get that at your school. And I agree, don’t take an AP or SAT in a language you will not do well in. That would be likely to count against you. If you get in, once you are at Brown, the language departments have placement tests to see where you should start in a language if you want to take that at Brown, so no AP required or testing.
I would also note that if you take a language in HS that is your second/native tongue, and even if you take the AP and do very well on it, if you are only taking that language for 2 years, (and higher years are offered) and/or not any other language for an additional year or two, Brown will be able to “read between the lines” that you’ve taken the easy route “and not the most challenging course of study available at your HS”.
Again the gist is that you have done what your HS offers in a challenging program. If they don’t have it, then they don’t!</p>
<p>I only took one year of Spanish in high school (I took two years of high school level classes in Jr. high), took no AP language, and I got accepted into the class of 2017. I’m planning on studying engineering, so a foreign language may not have been given much weight, so it could depend on what you want to study. Not taking more Spanish allowed me to take classes that are more geared towards my field of study (I.e., multiple AP science and math classes). I don’t know if this is typical, and I’m certainly not saying that doing well in a language won’t be a big help to your application. I think it depends mostly on what you want to do at Brown and how your app looks overall.</p>