I had taken a foreign language in middle school, and was advanced enough to accelerate and took the highest level course in 10th grade, which was the AP class. Is taking the highest level your school offers equivalent to taking 4 years of a language even if you took it earlier? I have seen some people say yes, and other people saying that it doesn’t, and that it would be better to take all 4 years in high school (which would have meant that I would have had to take classes that were below my level).
Most of the time, completing the 4th year (or AP level) course counts as “4 years”. Some colleges do want to see more years in high school, but they should understand that you may not have more available to you after completing the highest level offered.
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Okay. I should also mention that I am taking another language after completing the AP.
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Could you explain what you mean by they prefer to see more years in high school?
They may prefer that, even after completing level 4 before 12th grade, that you continue to level 5 (etc.) if that is available.
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Which ones? My understanding is that colleges want to see up to at least level 3 of the same foreign language (which this student has). I’d like to know which ones want to see that in HS.
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If you’ve exhausted a language, you should be fine. My daughter got into a top LAC with only 2 years of language - but that’s all her school offered. They were supposed to have a third year but the teacher left and they cancelled it.
I don’t see an issue at most places.
If there’s a nearby community college or online that you can continue, then great.
But if your school profile shows it’s all that’s avail, you’ll be fine. You can note it in your additional info section that you exhausted your language at school by taking AP - and you can ask your counselor to note it as well although it will likely show.
I don’t see it being an issue.
Neither option is a good strategy here. Admissions officers want to see a proactive narrative about what the applicant did accomplish, not explanations or complaints about what they couldn’t do.
To answer the OP’s original question: they should feel free to reach out to their target universities directly. That’s what I did during my own admissions process, and every school confirmed that completing Level 4 in 10th or 11th grade fully satisfied their high school foreign language recommendation.
For context, I finished Level 4 as a junior and decided not to take Level 5, even though it was offered at my school, and it didn’t hurt my admissions outcomes at all.
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Neither was a good option for you. That doesn’t mean they are not good options - as would be reaching out to their targets directly, which would simply validate to the OP before they apply but would not be a part of their applications, which may be read by a different person.
Just because you suggest one thing doesn’t make it the right thing or the only right thing.
Be mindful that certain state scholarship programs require or suggest 2-3 high school credits in the same foreign language. This is the case in the state of Florida for Bright Futures. In the case of a student taking AP Spanish or French Language during 9th grade, for example, but took middle school credits (designated ‘M/J’ in FL) or no previous Spanish or French (close to native speaker), the middle school classes would not count. If high school credits (not designated as ‘M/J’ in FL) are earned during middle/junior high school, then the credits would count. Middle school and high school course titles can look deceptively similar.
If the language were Spanish, I would likely opt to take both AP Spanish Language & Literature. This isn’t an option with other languages, at least not through AP.
For college admissions, this shouldn’t be the case; this distinction between middle/junior high school classes & high school credits (e.g. taking AP Language in high school counts as level 4 regardless of whether you actually completed levels 1-3 in school). But do verify with each educational institution you plan to apply to since there are always exceptions and admissions criteria is always subject to tweaking every cycle.
Are you still looking at Oxford and UK universities?
The Spanish classes I took in middle school do show up on my transcript.
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I should mention that there is no level 5 offered at my school, the AP class is the highest level offered, which I took.
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After finishing said language, I took two additional level 1 languages and will take level 2 in both. I’m not sure if this makes a difference, but I did continue with foreign languages after I exhausted what my school offered. Just to clarify, the foreign language classes I took in middle school (level 2 and level 3) show up on my high school transcript, and then I continued on with 3 honors in 9th grade. I am worried that I will be auto rejected at schools that require 3 or 4 years.
I think it’s a great story.
Some may take an additional class - even both years. But you took two languages - that is likely extremely, extremely rare and would stand out - whether or not, a school would seek you out for that.
I think you’ll be fine. You’ll get in where you should - and at places you don’t get in, you’ll never know why.
Perhaps you can do a chance me - if you haven’t already.
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I think my worry is that I won’t be counted as having taken 4 years of a language, despite having completed the highest level. From what I’m reading, it won’t count as 4 years, but it’s a reason to not have taken 4 years of the language.
Unfortunately, the AP literature was cancelled due to not much enrollment, otherwise I would have taken it.
It’s odd - because everyone above said it will - but ask your schools of interest.
Here’s the other thing - are you a Senior? Your schedule is baked - unless you can take a class at Community College.
Only the schools can tell you but I think you’ll be fine. They may even note this in their FAQs.
But call them to validate your concern so you can feel better - and while another may disagree, I would note that you exhausted the language opportunity in x language at your school and studied two years of both y and z in addition.
You can’t change the past - so move forward.
This is great – it shows your initiative, curiosity, and desire to challenge yourself. Language is the one subject area in college applications for which “three years” or “four years” means reaching the third or fourth year level, because lots of people either start on or move to an accelerated track that gets to the highest level available in fewer than three or four years. (It’s different than an expectation of four years of English, for example, which actually means four years.) Starting a second (and third?) foreign language is just icing on the cake – there’s no expectation that you’ll get as far with the time you have left. So you’ve met and surpassed expectations!
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Just make sure that you’ve earned actual high school credits during middle school that count towards your diploma and for college admissions.
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