Latin Keeping Me From Graduating

Parents Forum
1

Hello everyone,

I’m an English major and just finished my fourth year. I’m taking two summer courses: Computer Science to fulfill my last science requirement, and Dance to fulfill financial aid requirements.

The thing is, I still have to take Latin 3 and Latin 4. I’ve failed Latin 3 twice now, which is offered in Spring (I go to UCR, which goes by quarters). Latin 4 is offered in Fall, but I can’t take it if I didn’t pass Latin 3. And now, Fall of 2017 would be a sixth year, which is not only improbable when it comes to getting financial aid, but undesirable - who wants to get a four year degree in five and a half years, even if it is possible? I’d do it if it were my only option, but there has to be another way.

I think it’s noteworthy to mention that all throughout college I have struggled with severe depression and a host of issues at home (I live with my family and commute). It has been a tough four years to say the least. I’m a pretty good student, especially because English and writing are my very strongest suits and I can do them with my eyes closed. But Latin is a harder class and studying for it has been such a challenge. I’ve spent hours staring blankly at the book, unable to concentrate. In class, I’ve understood every concept my professor has ever taught, but when it comes to committing them to memory on my own, I just can’t do it. I never saw a therapist or went to a mental hospital because I didn’t think my family could afford it, and I kept losing my health insurance, and I didn’t know I could use the school’s insurance (until now, when I am finally in therapy with the school’s insurance). I think my struggles with depression have been the prime cause of my struggles with school, and Latin specifically. Is there any way this could be a disability taken into consideration? I’ve always just dealt with it though, like I said, for financial reasons, so I don’t have much documentation.

So now (or after Summer is over, but I’m not worried about these classes), Latin 3 and 4 are the only classes standing in my way to graduating. If they finished in Spring, there wouldn’t be a problem but the fact that they stretch all the way to the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year is a big problem.

I’m working it out at school with faculty, but does anyone know any other way to remedy this? I found out that I cannot take a CLEP exam for it, and I can’t take it an another campus (I even applied to and got accepted at a community college but they don’t have classes that will satisfy my language requirement).

I hate feeling cornered this way. Two classes for my language requirement are all I need to graduate and yet it seems impossible.
I want to graduate and get on with my life and work and be happy.

Any knowledge that you can share would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

2

Must you take Latin, or would any foreign language fulfill that requirement?

If you can take any language, then work with UCR to find out which languages, and where they can be taken. Paying out of pocket for two or three classes probably won’t break your budget. You can get a job somewhere either full or part time, and just pick up those missing courses.

3

Is the language requirement a general education requirement, or is it a requirement for the English major? I only ask because many English programs have a foreign language outside-the-major requirement.

Could you attempt another language that might be easier? Latin is very structured but some people have a hard time with the cases. If you’ve already taken Latin 1 and 2, why are you having such a hard time with 3? By this point you should be reading some literature and not just doing grammar drills. Do you have a hard time writing exercises in Latin? Could you go to a tutor to help you impose the structure that you might be unable to provide for yourself?

If this is a requirement for the English major, you might try to petition your department to take a substitution i.e. intro linguistics, and a course in history of the English language, which might require you to learn some Old English (still might be easier than Latin, although you’d still have to deal with case endings).

Unless you are diagnosed with a learning disability that affects language processing, it is unlikely that you would be able to get this requirement waived on disability grounds. Most subjects require studying and memorization at some point, even English classes.

4

Talk to your advisor and see if there is another way to fill the requirement (ex. at another school which may offer Latin 3 next semester). And find out the exact requirements – ex. do you need to get to level 4 of a language? can you take 2 semesters of a new language?

5

Is the 4 quarters of Latin req’t specific to English majors? Is it part of Gen Ed? Did you have a language choice?

I’m looking at UCR’s English major and I don’t see that req’t, but maybe I’m not looking in the right place. It’s an awful website…lol.

6

http://chassstudentaffairs.ucr.edu/undeclared_program/program_overview/BreadthWorksheet.pdf indicates that BA students (including English majors) at UCR need a 4th quarter foreign language course, or demonstrate equivalent proficiency by placement testing.

http://chassstudentaffairs.ucr.edu/deptdocs/ENGL-Major.pdf does not specify any specific foreign language for English majors at UCR.

If you finish all degree requirements besides the foreign language, another possibility is to take a leave of absence from UCR and take the needed language courses (to the 4th quarter or 3rd semester level) at a lower cost community college, then transfer them in. However, Latin may not be commonly offered, so that may mean switching to a more common language like Spanish or French, but that would mean starting from the beginning course if you do not already have knowledge of the language. You can use http://www.assist.org to see what courses at the community college are equivalent to 4th quarter foreign language courses at UCR.

7

@mom2collegekids haha yes it is a very confusing site! thanks for your answer :slight_smile:

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Thank you everyone! :slight_smile: This is why I asked online – I figured there was something I wasn’t looking at.

I’m not overjoyed at the thought of starting over with a new language, but in reality, it’s not such a bad circumstance to be in, especially if it’s at the community college. This is a solution I can handle.
I’m gonna suggest this to the faculty members I’ve been talking to and see what they think!

Again, thank you for answering my rambling questions. I am very grateful!

9

A CC will likely have semesters. Ask if 3 semesters of a FL will complete. If so, I suggest Spanish or Italian. My kids swear that Italian is easy to learn. I don’t have the foreign language gene so no FL is easy to me.

What FL did you take in HS? Could you CLEP that to get some credits and then continue? If so, then you might not have to take as many classes.

10

Have you considered an intensive language study abroad? I was just looking at some programs and saw one my daughter might like that is 6 credits of French next June for 4 weeks. The level of credit is based on the student’s level, so it could be beginning or intermediate or quite advanced.

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^If you are a student who gets Pell grants, then consider applying for a Benjamin Gilman scholarship if you are going to study abroad.

12

The problem is there are no time machines for Latin! Some colleges offer intensive courses in languages over the summer, but if you are already weak in that area, it probably wouldn’t be the best solution. Can one get out of the language requirement with a certain score on the SAT Subject test?

13

I’m not an expert, but based on what you have told us, I don’t think what you now call a disability is going to get you a break. A school would be suspicious of a student that suddenly had a disability that only affected his/her ability to learn Latin.

I love Hedy Lamarr. Such a beauty and brains too!

14

Re: CLEP and SAT subject tests

UCR offers its own placement tests so that students who have some knowledge of a foreign language (e.g. from high school, or as heritage speakers) can be placed into a foreign language course higher than the beginner course (or exempt from the requirement if the placement is higher than the requirement). It does not appear that CLEP or SAT (or AP) scores are used for these purposes.

15

My son’s learning disability, confirmed to his college by his therapist, managed to get him a foreign language requirement exemption in college. But that was a documented disability, not the same thing as depression. However, if you are able to pass all your other courses, it’s highly unlikely that depression is the cause of your failed classes. If you can manage the cost (or it’s covered by insurance), consider getting evaluated for a learning disability. And keep in mind that an undiagnosed and unaddresssed learning disability can be a contributing factor to anxiety and depression, so this may be a worthwhile endeavor for several reasons.