I took Spanish 2 freshmen year and Spanish 1 in 8th grade(counted as high school credit).
I am a senior now so I am positive I will not get an A since I remember almost nothing since it has been 3 years…might either get a B or a C.
I took Chinese 1 in 10th grade and got an A- both semesters, but that was the only year I got to take it due to school budget cuts eliminating the class after my 10th grade year. SoI didn’t take any foreign language class in 11th grade since I thought I could take Chinese 2. I also thought I could take Chinese at a local college but turns out Chinese also got discontinued too…
So now it is senior year and I don’t remember a single word in Spanish. Will a B, possibly a C look better than not have 3 years of a foreign language? I know I won’t get a D or an F since my school’s grading scale really makes it hard to get that low of a grade.
Wills colleges think I procrastinated till senior year to complete 3 years of a language since I got a downward trend in my Spanish grades?
8th grade Spanish 1— A+ first semester/A+ second semester
9th grade Spanish 2— B first semester/C+ second semester.
This is my senior schedule
Senior Year:
Fall
AP Physics Algebra Based
AP Lit and Composition
Spanish 3?
AP Government
Environmental Science
Calc 1 (Dual-enrollment course that I take at a local college)
Spring
AP Physics Algebra Based
AP Lit and Composition
Spanish 3?
Sociology
Environmental Science
Calc 2 (Dual-enrollment course that I take at a local college)
Hello,
First off, are you attending school in Texas? If so, taking and passing Spanish 3 will allow you to graduate distinguished.
BUT
Personally, I would not take Spanish 3. At my high school, we were forced into it, even though I barely passed Spanish 1 and 2. (Both of which were dual enrollment classes. Span 3 was not.) Spanish 3 was an extremely stressful class for me, and in the end I only got a C. (Granted, that is a story of its own.)
So, if you think you can handle it, and want to graduate distinguished, you should take it. If you do poorly in it, I’m not entirely sure how it will hurt/help you. From what I have read, however, colleges like to see commitment. Unfortunately, that is all I can offer you, and I hope you sort things out!
@MrFoster46
No I am not from Texas and my state and school doesn’t make Spanish 3 mandatory. However most colleges want you to reach level 3 of a foreign language right?
what college are you looking into applying? Check how many credits are required for foreign language r
The colleges I want to apply to require 2 years which I have, but they recommend 3 years just like most other colleges. So that means I will be at a big disadvantage if I don’t have 3 years.
If you can’t fit classes into your schedule, or if a program (like Chinese) gets cancelled, it is not your fault. Yes, another year of Spanish wouldn’t look bad, but as it isn’t strictly necessary for the places on your list, if it really doesn’t work well with your schedule, don’t worry about it. The rest of your schedule is extremely demanding. If I were your mom, I’d say pick a fun and easy class instead of a language class that you really don’t want to take.
If you do decide that you really need to take it, get in touch with the person who would be your teacher. There may be some specific recommendation for ways to re-activate your prior learning or to catch up quickly so that you can do well in class.
So if I can get at least a B- in Spanish 3, would it look better than if I didn’t take it? I actually got my schedule already and the class fits perfectly with my schedule, but I am kind of hesitant to take Spanish 3 now that I think about it. If I don’t take Spanish 3 I have to take an elective(easy A) since I have to take at least 5 classes at my high school.
Your grades in Spanish 2 suggest that you didn’t master the subject. Given that you took Spanish 2 three years ago you would need to make a major effort to bring yourself up to that level. I assume you didn’t make such an effort (or any effort?) to refresh your spanish skills over the summer.
You haven’t shared your stats or the names of the colleges to which you’re likely to apply. If they indeed state that 2 years of a language is ok but 3 would be better i recommend that either you not take Spanish senior year, or, if your school allows you to do so, retake Spanish 2. Do the latter only if you are genuinely commited to learning the language and are willing to spend the time to do so.
I have a 3.7 GPA and 2240 and I am looking at University of San Francisco, UCR, IU-Bloomington, and Purdue.
I feel fairly confident that I can get a B in Spanish 3, I’ll do anything in my power to not get a C. So I am assuming it is better to not take Spanish 3 and get a C, but what if I get a B? I really only have to manage to get at least a B first semester only right? If I get a C second semester and it is my only C will I get rescinded? First semester of Spanish is always easiest since it is basically refreshing you up on what you learned in the previous level.
That’s a strange collection of colleges.
I am torn on what to advise. I usually always push for the extra year of language. But this is such an odd situation. You have 2 yrs of Spanish and one of Chinese. It would have been the thing to do to switch into Spanish when you couldn’t get the Chinese. But you didn’t/couldn’t do that. And it doesn’t seem like you prepped this summer to be ready for this term. Since it is Sr year, it isn’t going to hurt your gpa too much to get a B or C. They will only count gpa through Jr year for some of your colleges. And 1st semester would be counted if any look at semester break. So your really only have to pass it and not get a D. The effort to check the box off on the core subject would be in your favor. But if you couldn’t pass the class starting at this low level of preparedness it would be a serious problem, but you don’t think that will happen. OTOH, you can kind of get away with it, say you tried but were thwarted by budget cut. You do have 3 years but no fluency in one, which is the point. hummm
Ditch the 3d year of Spanish. It’s that simple. You have the required amount and the ‘recommendation’ means that if you have something just as rigorous that you’d rather be doing, and/or that is more relevant to your future application, do it. Going into Spanish 3 so poorly prepared is just setting yourself up for ugliness.
Your entire academic record is what will be evaluated and one year of Spanish more or less isn’t going to change anything. Since you couldn’t continue Chinese, through no fault of your own, I doubt the schools will hold it against you if you explain the situation.
@BrownParent
Well freshmen year I got a bad grade because well, I was a freshmen and really slacked off.
I might have been able to get away with the budget cut excuse if I didn’t take Spanish before (or I started junior year). But I have taken Spanish 2 and 1, and Spanish 3 is readily available and easily fits in my schedule. I don’t think my GC will actually explain the budget cut because she was the one who actually persuaded me to take Spanish 3 with the whole it will look so much better talk.
I feel like my study habits have been so much better since Freshmen year and I am pretty confident about getting at least a B. An A in the class and also a C in the class is highly unlikely. I know for sure I won’t get a D or an F.
If I don’t take Spanish 3 then well my schedule kind of looks kind of weak. The only classes I can replace it with are easy electives like Peer Tutoring or something.
So what I am trying to know is will a B in Spanish 3 look better than not having a 3rd year FL?
Yes, to that question yes. And better to take a core class like Fgn lang than an elective that doesn’t even sound like a class.
@BrownParent
@skieurope
Okay, so it is the end of the semester basically and something terrible happened. I was doing so well in Spanish 3(I had an A-) even though I had the strictest teacher in the whole school(I had her Freshmen year for Spanish 2 and she was the reason that I switched to Chinese). I missed a day of school due to an illness on finals day for Spanish, but my parents don’t speak English so they didn’t call me in so I was marked as truant.The Spanish teacher said she doesn’t let truant students make up tests since she thinks that I skipped to get more time to study and/or have a friend write down the test questions… She said she put it on her syllabus so I should have known but I didn’t bother to read it(no one does).
So I got a 0 on a FINAL EXAM which literally dropped by grade from a A- to a C-.
So should I drop and get a WP and not have it impact my GPA? I know next time to go to school even if I’m sick on test days. I know for sure I will be getting at least a B next semester no matter what happens and I’m pretty confident on getting an A- too(her tests are super easy and I’ve been working so hard at my Spanish), None of my colleges require 3 years of FL anyways. I was in the top 3% of my class but with the C- I’ll drop to top 6%. All of my colleges that I am applying to look at first semester and count it into GPA(I ended up not applying to any UC’s since I’m OOS).
Honestly, I worked pretty hard and spent a lot of money(I hired Spanish tutors and brought Spanish programs) to be this good at Spanish so I think it would kind of a waste to drop. Also I got a C- not a D but won’t colleges just assume I got a D since the last time I took Spanish was Freshmen year?
Here are my semester grades, all official and final.
AP Physics Algebra Based- A-
AP Lit and Composition- A-
Spanish 3- C-
AP Government- A-
Fundamentals of Nutrition(Dual Enrollment Course I take at a university)- A
Environmental Science- B+
Also, my GC already wrote my me LOR and filled out everything else so she can’t mention this incident(She had an request anything deadline of Dec 11) . I guess I can just mention this on the “Addional Info” and colleges can just call her to verify that Chinese was indeed canceled due to budget cuts.
Also, if I drop I will not get the Academic Honors Diploma. My state requires 3 years of a FL to get it
http://www.in.gov/icc/files/Core_40_and_Honors_Diploma_Requirements.pdf
Though one of my teachers said that it is basically for your parents and colleges don’t care. However Purdue and IU from their website “recommends” those in Indiana students get the Academic Honors Diploma.
The important issue here is that your parents don’t know how to communicate with the school except through you. You need to have a meeting with your counselor to set up a communication system for your parents. You also need to find out if it is OK for you to phone in yourself when you are sick. That would have prevented this whole issue.
@happymomof1
Yes I know but I rarely miss school since I don’t get sick that often(actually if I am sick, I still have to go to school my parents will force me). I was just REALLY sick that day so my parents felt bad for me.
I can’t call in by myself until I am 18. I will turn 18 in 2 weeks so I will be able to call in by myself.
Anyways, what should I do. I am so mad but also really scared and nervous. Should I just drop or keep it? If I drop it, colleges will not know that I got a C-, they will probably assume I just barely passed with a D- right?
You do need to sort this out with guidance. Your parents need to be able to communicate with the school. Period. If your school district doesn’t have translator service for situations like yours, it is time that was set up. You should not be penalized on a grade because your parents don’t speak English. Period. That is something your guidance counselor needs to hear, and that is something your guidance counselor may be able to help you sort out with your teacher. Yes, your teacher doesn’t want to give you an exam late, but your counselor may be able to help find another work around - an incomplete for the semester or a grade in the course based on your work except for the final, or at least a note in the counselor’s recommendation letter explaining that the C- is not what your grade really should have been because of extenuating circumstances. Ask your counselor specifically to help you with these two things.
Don’t drop the course. Yes you may be stuck with a C- for this semester, but both you and your teacher know that you don’t really have a C- average. Next semester your grade will reflect your real abilities, and that will be part of your permanent school record and your final transcript when you graduate.
@happymomof1
I did talk to my GC and she that I can call in by myself once I turn 18 in 2 weeks so that is settled. My school doesn’t have a translator service for my parents language.
My GC already wrote my LOR and she said she isn’t going to change it because she already sent it too all of my colleges(my school sends LOR and transcripts via mail). I asked her what she put and she said all she put were positive stuff like my work ethic and my GPA, ECs, ect… I guess I can mention why Chinese was canceled and I had to take Spanish instead in the “additional info”. It’s too late anyways, she does not have enough time to write me another LOR and then send it in time by the college application deadline. My GC also said she has no power because it is school district policy that truant students cannot make up anything like finals, you can’t even make up homework. Its too late anyways, first semester ended and everything is in the process of being finalized, I am stuck with a C-.
I know it doesn’t reflect my abilities but a WP looks better than a C-. The C- is going to wreck my UW GPA :(. I didn’t apply to any schools like the UC’s or applied early where they don’t factor in first semester senior year, ALL of my colleges that I applied to are going to wait for my midyear report so first semester senior year grades will count towards my GPA… I have to do what is better for my application.
Deep down I feel like I shouldn’t drop because all of my hard work will be wasted but I will do what will be better for my application. I mean colleges don’t care what grade I get second semester as long as its not another C or lower. So what does it matter? College decisions will be up way before second semester ends.
“My school doesn’t have a translator service for my parents language.”
If you are attending a public school in the US, your school is obligated to have access to translation services for your parents. At minimum, there should be a dial-a-translator service that the school pays for so that communication can be facilitated with parents. If you are at a public school and there is no access to translation services, then you have a federal legal case against your school district that some bored under-occupied civil rights lawyer might be delighted to take on for free.
If you WP the class for this semester, would you be able to take the second semester anyway? Find out about that too.