<p>My Child is weak in Spanish and is taking a 3rd level regular spanish in 10th grade.
Due to schedule conflicts there is no possibility to take a 4th level Spanish in 11th grade.</p>
<p>Is it required to take a fourth level Spanish? As taking it after a gap of 1 year will be tougher even more as it is tough for her in the 3rd level averaging A- in both 9th and 10th grade so far.</p>
<p>Please evaluate how it will look on the application to top universities.</p>
<p>No, Spanish Four is not required at most places. The thing I feel would look bad about her case is that she dropped it because she was “struggling”- with an A-. If a student has a low C in a class and his GPA is dropping significantly because of it, that is a different scenario. If your daughter has an A- and drops the class, it looks like she chooses her classes based on what will give her a very high GPA. On an application, “I got an A- so I’m going to quit” does not look good. It is more complex because she can’t take it next year, but that can be explained on the transcript and she, IMO, would do well to refresh herself constantly over next year and pursue Spanish IV senior year. </p>
<p>If she drops it, I would recommend that she take levels I and II of another forgein language. Fourth level language education is considered valuable because universities know that studying a language at that level takes a lot of work. If she won’t be doing that and wants to go to an ivy, she should be taking two years of another language to make up for it- although that doesn’t make up the difficulty displayed by a fourth-level class.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information Carpe. It does have some merit. But she will have to postpone her Art requirement till her senior year along with her Ethics requirement. Counsling department is not in favor of postponing Art requirement till the senior year so the only option she will have to take the Spanish IV in her senior year. Will she be able to carry out the Spanish IV load after a year gap?
Are there any US/overseas summer spanish lanuage program? where she can take some certificate courses that convey her sincerity in studying the language and free her from taking a spanish IV in the senior year.
She have 2 weeks time in June and August.</p>
<p>That honestly doesn’t make sense for counseling to do that, it hurts your daughter. Most kids applying to top colleges have at least 4 years of their language. At high schools like the one I went to, many have more. Many have a second language as I did after 4 years of the first started in middle school.</p>
<p>She’ll do better if she takes Spanish next year. I don’t think a 2 week summer program is going to make up for a year.</p>
<p>Will a two week summer program enhance her chances to succeed in the Spanish IV program?</p>
<p>The point of concern is that if she score a B+ on AP Euro it will not be taken as a bad grade but if she gets a B+ on regular Spanish course then that I think hurts far more.</p>
<p>It is true that most student at my child school also will have 4 years of language and many of her direct competiters will be taking or had taken AP Spanish in the 10th grade.</p>
<p>That is why I’m so concern. So that means she should take at least Spanish IV and that in her Junior year.</p>
<p>I think a program will help, but 2 weeks is kind of short. You’d probably be better off just practicing with an on-line spanish coiurse during the summer.</p>
<p>There is an option of tutoring during the summer but classroom exposure actual help learning the language more as you can hear people making different usage of the similar words.</p>
<p>So I was wondering if getting a two week course in a Spanish Speaking Country will actually help her lanuage speaking skills.</p>
<p>I finished with Spanish three in 11th grade and didnt take it this year. I got into where I wanted.</p>
<p>parent:</p>
<p>my first reaction when I saw your question was: ‘it depends on what your D would take instead’. If its another academic class, particulary an AP/IB, then no problema. But, I would not recommend replacing an academic class with art and ethics for Jr year. Your D wants as strong an academic transcript as possible going into Sr year app season, IMO. An A- in Span IV would be much higher valued than an A in Art/Ethics (assumes both are required at your HS).</p>
<p>I spent a year of HS abroad to focus on a language, so I do believe in it. I just believe 2 weeks is too short to learn much. Gaining in speaking skills, which is the goal of most shot programs abroad, won’t help much with tests/grades.</p>