My D20 took Spanish 3 with a tutor and her cc recommended she take the 4th year, even if it’s online. She is looking at top UCs among other colleges and many applicants will have 4 years even though they only require 2 and recommend 3. It’s too competitive to take the chance of not having that 4th year.
Unfortunately it’s the college admission game that you have to play to get into the top 50 colleges.