I’m currently in my third year of Spanish and I’m choosing classes for next year… would taking a fourth year of Spanish, AP Spanish Language and Culture, be beneficial for applications to Ivy League schools, specifically for an economics/finance major?
Background info: I’m choosing courses for my junior year and I am a pretty good Spanish student, I have a 97 right now in PreAP Spanish 3 (PreAP is what my school calls honor classes)… If I don’t take AP Spanish lang, any suggestions for another AP class that would be good for my intended major?
I would take AP Spanish 4. Many highly selective schools are looking for applicants reaching level 4 in a foreign language if available in their school.
That’s what I was thinking. What kind of grades would highly selective schools want to see in this class? Does a 90 or above cut it or should I be getting a 95 or higher for AP Spanish lang
If aiming for IVYs or other highly selective schools, you should be going for 100 in every class because there are going to be thousands of other kids applying with 5s on their APs and 100s or A+ on their transcript.
Yes, you should probably consider a fourth year for “Ivy League schools. Many say “at least three years” or “at least three, preferably four” and at least one, maybe more, now require four.
AP scores range from 1 to 5. Most schools that give AP language credit will give you credit for 4, certainly for 5. Some for 3.
What other students “always get” doesn’t impact your grade or what credit you may get at a college. You still need to take the class, work hard, and succeed on the test.
It sounds like you have a good teacher/program, so diligent effort should produce the desired results.
The value of a 4th year of a language has been discussed, but your question about whether there’s a better class to take can’t be answered without knowing what else you have taken/are taking/plan to take and your school’s alternatives.
Many of the most competitive for admission colleges prefer to see foreign language level 4 or AP over voluntarily stopping at level 3. Also, a higher level in high school may allow fulfilling a college graduation requirement in foreign language with fewer courses in college due to higher initial placement.
But, as others have noted, context matters, like the rest of your course selection and what the alternative course choices are.
Unless you are otherwise deficient in science or social studies, it does not seem like stopping Spanish at level 3 to make room for AP biology or psychology makes sense. Even if you are otherwise deficient in one of those subjects, it is more of a “which deficiency is less bad?” in the context of the rest of your record and goals. And if that is the case, there could be some other less essential course that you could drop to prevent both deficiencies.
CS after AP CS A or AP seminar would be electives of lower priority than making sure that you do not have any subject deficiency relative to that expected or desired by the colleges you are aiming for.
Based on what you list in reply #11, reaching Spanish year 4 or AP (instead of voluntarily stopping at year 3) is more important than the alternative courses you list in reply #9, in order to avoid what may be seen as a deficiency by the most selective colleges.