I am very interested in computer science. My dream school is an Ivy League. How many years of foreign language should I take in high school?
Also, sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum, I’m new here.
Most experts recommend 4 years of a foreign language in high school for students targeting top colleges
You are very wise to be asking this question early.
I work in high tech. I know a lot of people who studied computer science at either an ivy league school, or MIT or Stanford. Nearly all of them work for people who went to less prestigious universities.
You don’t need to go to an ivy league university to be highly successful in computer science. There are a LOT of very strong computer science programs out there. Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton and Yale, taken as a group, don’t have a monopoly on math, computer science, or anything else. Most of the students who try hard to get into one or more of these universities get stressed out, and then don’t get into any of them. Most of course do get into very good schools with strong programs, but which they could have gotten into with much less stress.
Take as many years of a foreign language as you want to take (as long as you take enough to graduate high school). If you do well in Math and Sciences, then you will get into a university that is very good choice for you and that has a very strong computer science program.
Try to go to a very good university with a strong computer science program that does not stress you out, and does not put you into debt.
Also, I have found learning a foreign language is easier if you watch TV or movies in that language, and/or chat with native speakers in that language. At first you might not understand much, but over time it gets better. News is a good thing to watch in a foreign language because on the most part you already know what they are saying, which makes it easier to keep up.
It is fairly common for colleges and universities to require or recommend level 2 or 3 (equivalent to 2nd or 3rd year) of high school foreign language for frosh applicants. More selective colleges and universities are likely to favor seeing level 4 or higher. For specific colleges, you can check their admissions web sites.
Remember that colleges and universities may have foreign language graduation requirements that are higher than their admission requirements (less common in engineering divisions or engineering focused schools, but computer science majors in liberal arts divisions or liberal arts focused schools may encounter such). Completing a higher level in high school may allow you to complete such a requirement in fewer courses in college.
The most selective colleges seek at least 3, preferably 4, years of a foreign language for applicants.
What year of high school are you in? It concerns me a little that you say your dream school is an “Ivy League”- there are eight different schools that belong to the Ivy League conference, each with a different character and different strengths. While Ivies are certainly prestigious, they may not even be the best for comp sci- The Top 10 schools for Comp Sci according to Business Insider are MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, Princeton, Cornell, Harvard and Duke. That demonstrates that of the top 10 best schools for your interest, only 3 are Ivies, and those don’t make the top 5. My point being, don’t chase prestige and a “name”- look for schools that excel in your area of interest that will be a good match for you personally.