My daughter will need to select her junior year (HS) schedule soon. I’m not sure how to advise her on some of her choices. For instance, she has taken three years of Latin and has the option of taking AP Latin next year. However, her school has some amazing Honors level science electives, and she would much rather take one of those. I’m inclined to tell her that it’s fine to take the science, but will it work against her at some very selective schools?
I see where schools are saying to take the classes that interest you, but I also see information saying you need four years of language at some schools, and that of course the number of APs taken affects how rigorous the schedule is perceived.
Something to keep in mind is that some universities require completion of the 4th level of a foreign language for a degree. Therefore your daughter may be admitted with 3 yrs, but will need to complete the 4th level for her degree. Some students find it difficult to finish up the language requirement if there has been a break in instruction.
She is definitely leaning toward a biological sciences major. She hasn’t narrowed down a specific major yet. She has thoughts of going to vet school (loves animals) or pursuing a career in scientific research. Lately she is interested in microbiology and neuroscience.
Thanks for the advice! It is my inclination to tell her to take what she likes. She is very driven, so I don’t worry that she’ll make a “lazy” decision, but I want to make sure she understands any possible impacts of her choices.
@thumper1 She has taken Latin I, II, and III Honors. Her high school requires three years of language. They don’t offer Latin IV, but do offer AP Latin as an elective.
@ucbalumnus That is a good question! She will be able to schedule an appointment with her counselor in a couple of weeks. I’ll tell her to ask that specifically.
Colleges often have foreign language graduation requirements. Completing a higher level in high school may allow fulfilling such college foreign language graduation requirements with fewer (or no) courses.
Most colleges with a foreign language college requirement also have a placement test which the students can take. This places them out of some of the courses IF they are proficient.
There are three different questions you need to answer.
Has she satisfied her HS graduation require to for foreign language? Answer is yes to this one.
What are the HS foreign language requirements for the colleges to,which she might apply. Do they require 3 years and recommend four? OR do they require four years of,high school foreign language for admissions consideration?
Do the colleges have a college foreign language requirement for graduation...and if so, will taking an additional year in HS satisfy that requirement?
Here is my opinion. There are tons of colleges out there where only three years of HS foreign language are required for admissions consideration. In addition, some colleges will exoect you to take college level foreign language regardless of the level you completed in HS…unless you place out of,them via a school exam, or,the CLEP.
I would let her take science course unless some of her favorite college choices REQUIRE four years of FL at the high school,level.
@thumper1 Your analysis is spot on. Our difficulty in answering questions 2 and 3 is that her list of colleges is quite nebulous at this time. We also don’t have a good prediction for her future SAT/ACT scores to know which colleges are within reach. (She took the PSAT this year, but with the new PSAT I’m not at all sure how to interpret the scores!) I know she is thinking about a couple of highly selective schools, but honestly they seem like kind of a crapshoot no matter what. I’ll try to come up with some likely colleges and research their FL requirements.
Does AP latin preclude her from taking an AP or honors level science? Or just taking an additional science elective?
I would definitely look at the language requirements for the high reach schools and tell her what you found out. I would also look at how she could schedule AP latin and the science courses this year and next. It can be challenging for some kids to take two lab science courses at the same time.
Also, talk to the GC about this issue and see what he/she thinks. You may not get much information, but your dd may be lucky enough to get a knowledgeable GC.
@mom2and Thanks for your comments! She will definitely be taking Physics Honors next year because Physics is required junior year at her school. She basically has one sort of open schedule slot right now, which she could fill with either AP Latin or probably Anatomy/Physiology Honors.
I’m not too worried about two lab sciences at one time because she is taking both Chemistry Honors and Microbiology/Immunology Honors this year, and it is going fine. (This was completely her choice, and she absolutely loves the Microbiology/Immunology class.) Anat/Phys is the same teacher, and she really wants another class with him.
I will be researching language requirements at some high reach schools as you suggest!
She will be assigned to a Jr/Sr GC very soon, and I have my fingers crossed for one that is knowledgeable and will be really honest with us!
@thumper1 She is currently a HS soph. She is taking Honors Chemistry this year and will be taking Honors Physics next year as a junior. Those are hard and fast requirements as her school (well, they have a choice of honors or regular Chem as sophomores and honors or regular Physics as juniors).
Re: the PSAT score - what were her percentiles when compared to other test takers? That’s a better indicator. than the actual scores themselves.
My two cents worth re: deciding between language and a second science - agree with @OHMomof2 that you would not want any doors closed either. At my kid’s competitive public, students who have their eyes on selective schools (not necessarily Ivy’s) usually take AP in all the core courses, including language. If they have a humanities bent, they still take college prep physics junior year and AP Bio senior year, unless it’s really a big problem. The science/math kids take the AP language (unless it’s a big problem). If your daughter is good at languages, and this AP Latin class does not have some awful reputation, the science elective can be pushed to senior year. One of the local college counselors recommends AP courses in core areas, whenever feasible, for apps to selective schools.Not sure if that advice is common or not. As always, YMMV.
Ok…that means she took one year of that foreign language as a MS student. Which is fine…my kids did that too. I thought she was going to be a senior next year.
I’m going to suggest you think about this more carefully. It might be better for her to take one more year of foreign language…and not have to wonder whether she will or won’t have enough levels for the schools,that want four. She is already taking a heavy science sequence. Maybe wait until senior year to take the elective science courses.
Exercise caution with PSAT percentiles this year. At least look at the “user” percentile, not the prominently displayed “national” percentiles which are inflated to include students who do not normally take the test!
yes, if you are thinking of very selective schools, I would go to the highest level of language, STEM interest or not. My kids, both uper-STEM took AP French even though that wasn’t their “wheelhouse”. One went to Yale, the other Swarthmore; I think it’s just expected at that level that kids “do it all” (that is, do Physics even if they plan to major in English, and do language even though they plan to major in Computer Science). YMMV.