Our HS student has the opportunity to take Latin for their junior and senior years of high school (new school, so Latin was not an option for MS and prior HS language choices). They are interested in Latin rather than continuing with their current language classes in high school (same language for grades 6-8, freshman, and sophomore years). They love learning about history, are interested in learning about classics based areas of study in college, and the prospect of learning Latin to them aligns with their interests. As they are weighing the pros/cons of switching languages in the middle of high school, what advice would you give to a student considering a switch in the middle of high school? Thanks in advance - our advice is for them to follow their interests and decide that way, but they thought hearing from a collective of knowledgeable parents and students on CC might be helpful as they make their decision.
A few questions:
What level of the previous language did they complete?
What types of schools will they be applying to?
What are they planning to study in college?
If the student is interested in taking Latin, the he/she should do it. Many college admissions will require two years in the same foreign language but they are others that will strongly recommend up to four years in the same language. They are a few colleges that do require 3 or 4 years, so the student needs to make sure not to apply to any of those colleges (again just a few).
If the student completes two years of Latin at the high school level and decides to continues his/her study of Latin in college, the student will be much better prepared & likely to place in a level 3 Latin class. Sometimes, a passing score on an internal college placement test is required, depending on the college.
@LatteLatte5 did your student complete level 3 of the first foreign language. Asking because at some HSs a student who has taken their FL in middle school can do so with the additional two years done in grades 9 and 10 (both of our kids did that).
I would go for it. Maybe a few colleges have truly strict language requirements, but almost all the very selective colleges I know about it phrase it as a type of recommendation. And when I have seen AOs for colleges like this talk about such recommendations, their general spirit is it more than fine to do something unusual when it is about following your academic interests, as opposed to dodging hard classes you find boring.
So, like, one reason a lot of “liberal arts tradition” colleges like to see four years of non-native languages is they think the study of languages and cultures other than your own is an important part of a broader liberal arts education. And so this is one of many ways in which they assess if you share those sorts of values. Like if you do the bare minimum to graduate from your HS, because you would rather just focus on other stuff you like and value more, maybe you are not the right sort of kid for them.
But in this specific case, I think it is obvious shifting to Latin after a school change and for the stated reasons is perfectly consistent with that spirit, indeed if anything is more powerful evidence than is usually available.
So I wouldn’t worry about it, indeed I would embrace it.
And as a final thought–hypothetically, suppose an individual college did have a problem with this sort of pursuit of interests. I really don’t think many colleges would, but suppose one did.
Does this kid even want to go to a college like that? I wouldn’t advise it, I would suggest this kid instead pick among the many colleges that I think will be happy to see a kid doing something like this.
And similarly, I would advise the kid who just wants to do the bare minimum to graduate from HS pick a college that is fine with that. And so on.
Many competitive colleges like to see 3-4 years of the same foreign language (meaning the student completes level 3 or 4). The student can check the common data sets of some colleges of interest to see their recommendations/requirements.
If the student switches to Latin I would ask the guidance counselor to include in their LOR or add one line in the additional information section noting that Latin was the preferred language but it was not offered at the prior HS.
- Level 1 language class in Grade 8, Level 2 language class in 9th grade, and Level 3 language class in 10th grade
- Undecided - LAC’s that allow for exploring interests for the first year or so of college are preferred; possibly some larger state flagship universities too - they are still early in the process, and have visited 2-3 colleges on a mix of formal tours (St. Andrews) and “driving by” college campus visits (Richmond, Gettysburg, Franklin and Marshall, VCU, U of Denver, CU Boulder). Visited one large college fair and CTCL (Colleges That Change Lives) fair.
- Major/single area of study undecided - interests range from architecture to astronomy to history/classics
Yes, they did complete three full years of the first language classes in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, all years in the same language.
Great suggestion, thank you!
They have had three years of the same language initially over Grades 8, 9, and 10. Any colleges off the top of your head that require four years of the same language? They will search it up using “common data set + college name” and check the admission requirement area, so no worries if not. Thank you for the information, too, on the advantages of preparation if they want to continue study in college, and to search for any college placement tests in Latin if and when they get to that point.
At some colleges & universities, mainly liberal arts, it could depends on what school or the intended major whether 3 or 4 years of the same foreign language is required; sometimes, it’s an admission requirement in order to qualify to take a college placement test, or possibly an external test, like CLEP, for advanced placement or to meet a foreign language requirement for a B.A. degree, not requiring the student to pursue further study in that language or an additional foreign language in college to graduate. These major-specific or school-specific requirements may not show up in a simple common data set search. You’ll need to check out each official college website.
Thank you, this information is super helpful!!
Three years are often recommended at selective schools (required at some, and your kid has done that), and four years (or getting to the equivalent level) are sometimes recommended. Reaching level 3 and switching to Latin because it was always the language of choice and was not previously available will look just fine. This is definitely not a situation in which the student is avoiding a challenge (which is why colleges like to see depth in language study), which is the most important thing.
You might (as others have suggested) want to add a note to that effect (or ask the counselor to do so) to explain why the student did not want to pursue the original language of study when Latin became an option, but I think that clarification should answer any questions admissions committees might have.
Also, a couple of years of Latin could put your kid ahead if they decide to pursue a Classics major, which is another great reason to do it.
Many private schools recommend or prefer higher levels up to 4, but usually do not have hard requirements in order to give themselves discretion for applicants they otherwise highly desire. This may be most important at highly selective schools, or if the student’s intended major requires a foreign language (e.g. Latin for a classics major).
Public schools are more likely to have hard requirements, but usually in the level 2 or 3 range.
Interest is the best motivation.
Both my children took multiple languages in middle and high school, two years on each language. Then in college they both took a new language to learn. Both were accepted to multiple ivy+ schools. It didn’t seem that the lack of higher level foreign language course was a deal breaker.
Thank you for your perspectives and advice. All of your comments have been very helpful to our kiddo. I’m not sure what they will decide, but it’s good to know it’s a choice between two great pathways, depending on what they want, and they now have lots of great advice on how to navigate their choice as they move through high school to college. Thank you!