DS20 is working on his applications. One area he doesn’t know how to document is what he has done for languages. He started Mandarin Chinese in 7th grade, and finished Chinese 4 by the end of 10th grade. He had planned on AP Chinese for his junior year, and then his high school decided to discontinue AP Chinese. DS didn’t want to lose traction with the language as he hopes to pursue it in college while studying engineering for his major- so, he has been doing online conversation sessions 1-2 times per week in the evenings with a tutor in Beijing (via Skype). Is this the type of thing that would go in the “Additional Information” section of the common app? It isn’t a class that is graded, but he actually thinks it has done more for his conversational skills than his high school class ever did. I’d appreciate any advice or feedback.
I would say absolutely “YES”. Taking on additional coursework shows initiative and perseverance. And remember, you don’t have to take AP Chinese to take the AP Chinese test. You may just have to travel to another school that offers it.
I suggest he take the Chinese subject test with listening before submitting his applications. A high test score will show his knowledge and fluency.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/subjects/languages/chinese-with-listening/sample-questions/1