Da Bears Fan

I know this is going to sound so cliche, but...

I'm a FL student who takes FL Virtual School (FLVS) courses. Already have six years of studying Spanish, FLVS offers Latin & Chinese.

How do "atypical"* foreign languages esp. Chinese look to Ivy League schools, esp. Yale.

*Atypical in that the vast majority of HS students study Spanish or French.

**Just so you don't give me the "quality over quantity" spill, here's my foreign lang. experience:

7th: Beginning Spanish
8: Spanish I
9: Spanish III ^
10: Spanish IV
11: Spanish V

^ Now: Spanish II online (FLVS), as I skipped it in 9th.

12: AP Spanish Lang & French II (Hopefully!!!!)

booyaksha

It's not going to make any difference. For one, Chinese and Latin are not at all unusual or "atypical," especially to a place like Yale that has a ton of prep school kids and Chinese applicants.

Even if the language is more "atypical" like Kazakh or Farsi, at best an admissions officer will glance at your foreign language and think "Oh, cool." It is not going to sway their decision much one way or the other.

Da Bears Fan

I know quality is STRESSED over quantity, but would they look at the initiative: to study and earn A's in 3 foreign langs?

Especially since I'm going to declare either a foreign lang minor or (more likely) a Foreign Lang double major w/ a social science (political science/history)

JHS

Why in the world are you wasting your time taking Spanish II online after Spanish V? If you couldn't ace a Spanish II final exam today, without studying, then I question all your other courses. And you are in Florida, for heaven's sake. Get a job in a restaurant, and you will learn more Spanish than you will in your AP class.

Lots of kids learn/study multiple languages, so two or three won't make you super-unique, especially if you are at an introductory level in two of them. Still, it's a plus if you are a language-y person.

As noted, Latin and Mandarin are hardly uncommon in the Harvard applicant pool. I would bet they are both in the top 5 of languages studied by applicants, and probably top 4.

Demiitasse

It'd be great to work on a "theme" on foreign languages for applying and such, but I agree with Booyaksha, even if it's Farsi, it will be "cool" but not all the rage.
It is definitely a great interest to focus on. I would continue your efforts and try to see if there are any competitions or similar activities that show your talent/proficiency you can enter that have to do with languages. For example, I was able to write an article in chinese well enough to be published in my chinese school's monthly newsletter. It's a small thing, but at least it shows that you can actually apply that language beyond the classroom.
Basically, just set out to do something to immerse yourself in your languages. Even get a job, if possible, such as in translating, tutoring, maybe at a spanish-speaking restaurant? Haha and so on, I think you get it.
Also, I have quite a few white friends going to prep school who are learning chinese and they are as good as me! It's a little crazy how fast they are picking the language up. Learning chinese is interesting but not completely unique. Still, if you are interested, go for it! :]
Good luck!

booyaksha

Sure, they will look at the initiative.

What I don't believe, however, is that studying and earning A's in 3 foreign language courses would be looked at significantly differently from earning A's in 3 science courses etc.

One of the classic college q's is: "Is it better to take an AP course and get a B or non-AP and get an A?" The answer is the same: "Take the AP course and get an A."

In other words, A's are expected across the board in hard courses.

Da Bears Fan

I'm taking Spanish II in order to obtain the credits. I COULD ace a Spanish II exam...why do you think I skipped it in the first place????

With the course, I have another year's experience in Spanish, which especially makes me a more legit candidate for the Presidency of the Spanish Honor Society as a non-Native speaker.

rockermcr

^ I don't quite understand your logic behind taking Spanish II. It's kind of like skipping the 2nd grade and then retaking it in high school...

spiritualwitch

I agree with rockermcr; it's pointless to take a class that you skipped. It also looks bad because it makes you seem lazy (an easy class? when you are already 3 years past that class already?). As for more qualified for the Spanish Honor Society: just because you have more Spanish classes does not make you qualified in the Spanish language. You technically already know all the material so why take a class you already know?

WannaBYalie

Sorry to go off topic a little, but booyaksha, did you end up getting into Yale? Also, would being fluent in 4 languages help my chances much at Yale?