College Foreign Language Requirements

BlueAlto11 · 06-19-2012, 07:46 PM

Hi
So I am in a weird situation.

I do not have 2 years of the same foreign language, which is required at a lot of the schools I want to attend.

I have French 2, and Spanish 1 as my classes and will not have any on my high school transcripts after that (I took French 1 in middle school so it doesn't count). I did not continue with language because of the poor teaching, and because my school did not offer languages that I wanted to learn.

Is there a way to self study a language, specifically ASL, and have it fulfill the requirement?
Are there any tests, like AP tests, that I can take to prove I know the language?

I would greatly appreciate any possible answers you have.
Thank you

M's Mom · 06-19-2012, 08:01 PM

Sure you can self-study a language. You can take it at the local community college. You can take it on-line. You can, with a few friends, hire a tutor who will meet with you all to study at the next level (we did that at my high school one summer). You can demonstrate competence by taking the SATII in that language or the AP exam. You may not get credit for it on your high school transcript, and for some colleges this may be an issue if they 'require' a certain number of years of a language - but most only 'prefer' or 'recommend.'

I would suggest, however, that when you explain why you didn't take the next level of the language at your school that you don't blame the quality of the teaching. It would be better to say something about 'needing more flexibility in your schedule' to take other courses that were a higher priority. You don't want to come across as a complainer.

BlueAlto11 · 06-19-2012, 08:11 PM

Yeah, that did sound like a complaint. I am taking AP classes instead of a language and I am also preparing for a degree in science so I am taking extra science instead of a language so I would explain that to admissions. I was just wondering what I could do instead of taking it in school. To bad there isn't an ASL AP test, I would definitely take that.

terenc · 06-19-2012, 08:32 PM

Um.. I wouldn't risk the chance of the colleges immediately rejecting your application because you lack the requirements. Check if your high school accepts community college credits, and see if you can take language classes at your community college.

ucbalumnus · 06-20-2012, 01:15 AM

Completion of French 2 often counts as two years of French, even in the absence of French 1 on the transcript. Many colleges look at the level completed, rather than the number of years, and many accept external proof of proficiency in the form of sufficiently high scores in SAT subject or AP tests in the language. College courses are also often accepted.

Check each college as to the specifics of its foreign language requirement. State universities often have detailed descriptions of what they actually accept (example, see here for California public universities: University of California - a-g Guide ).

Be aware that a college may require higher proficiency in a foreign language for graduation than admission.

terenc · 06-20-2012, 02:01 AM

^Just to add to that, if you do not plan on taking, or do not want to take, a foreign language in college (between 1-2 years typically), it may be in your best interest to get up to AP level and then try and get a 3, 4, or 5 (depends on college's requirements) on the AP test to test out.

Rob1995 · 06-20-2012, 10:48 AM

Yep, middle school foreign language credits do count towards most school's foreign language requirements. Nevertheless, most colleges recommend four years of a lanuage or a similar level of proficiency.