<p>Question: If a student takes language level I in middle school and completes level III in 10th grade, does this fulfill a required “three years of language in high school?” Is it the level that matters or must this student continue through Level IV to fulfill a three-year language requirement? Many people wonder. Thanks. Yes, […]</p>
<p>I too asked the dean this question as my son’s Jr. year required compromise in order to take other classes. Also, at our school, the 4th year of language is a honors class making it even more work than the 3rd year of Lang. </p>
<p>I emailed 3 schools: USC, U of Wash and U of Boulder. They confirmed that my son met their requirements. USC indicated that if he wanted to get his 4th year of Lang, he could either take his 4th year as a Sr. (not a chance after not doing language for a year) or he could even do 1 year in another language which while not ideal, was an acceptable alternative.</p>
<p>The main reason that the more selective colleges are looking for four years of the same language is that college officials feel that it’s really only in the 4th year that students are able to read and comprehend the literature, which in turn, is a window into the culture. So even if the 4th-year class isn’t officially an honors class, the college folks feel that it’s more rigorous and thus meaningful than what preceded it. Personally, I’m a fan of students taking a couple different languages, even if they don’t get up to year 4 in either, but that’s not how the admission committees at the highly selective schools seem to view it.</p>