Hi,
My son, a junior, is currently enrolled in Spanish 3 along with three AP’s and three dual enrollment classes. The Spanish 3 course at this school is very time consuming, and he would much rather utilize that time to pursue additional extracurricular activities. Would it raise a red flag to admissions officers if, after completing Spanish during his first two years of high school, he chose to continue the course outside of school instead?
I don’t know of any UC or California state school that would consider an extra curricular over a CORE course. If he is going to attend an online class then it needs to be accepted by his high school district for the diploma.
When the California schools say three years “recommended”, you are basically being told that THEY “recommend” it. Most students take a fourth year to be competitive.
Of course a foreign language is time consuming and it’s meant to be time-consuming. I don’t know of any excuse for an EC that would replace a CORE required course.
Unless your child is in the upcoming Olympics, and has to bow out for a semester, then your child’s application may get a second look.
Remember that your child will be applying to schools that receive over 100,000 applications per year. The UCs/CSU won’t be able to accept everyone who applies. These schools look for rigor: foreign languages, are one of the big things they are concerned with, so your child needs to be aware that they do screen those applications.
Yes. Definite red flag.
It would greatly impact flexibility on where to apply.
If he was ok with a U of Arizona instead of a UC Berkeley, likely no big deal.
Colleges care about GPA, Rigor, and test scores (not UC). ECs are extra…
One doesn’t need three years of language - but it will not be seen as well by higher pedigree schools.
But should that matter? He should be challenged but not strained. But he should also not have a gap in the schedule - so if you drop, maybe pick up another class.
Technically, UCs require only two years so it is possible…I assume you are targeting UCs?
What are the three AP courses and three dual enrollment courses? It is certainly possible that one or more of those is less important than Spanish 3 for college preparation and college admission.
Taking Spanish 3 from an outside school that is accepted by UC (see the UC Doorways web site) will not necessarily lighten the workload.
I doubt many schools will care that a student took Spanish 3 at a CC or via UC Scout, etc., rather than the HS. Many students take core courses outside the HS for many reasons. The schools that might care are more likely to be highly selective schools, but even then, I’d need some data to believe it.
I wouldn’t count on Spanish 3 being less time consuming if taken outside his HS though.
Has your kid talked with their HS counselor to get their thoughts?
Ugh - I missed that he would take it elsewhere. Thanks for noting that @Mwfan1921
In theory, it won’t hurt. My kids took stuff at BYU Online.
I don’t think the course was easier. I think it was offered at a more convenient time - summer and asynchronous - so they could continue to take the classes they needed. Or in this case, so they could focus on this one class vs. have it as one of 6 classes.
If the class is approved (and make sure your HS will accept it for graduation), then I think it’s fine.
Sorry i missed that.
In this case, though, he has already completed the high school diploma requirement by taking Spanish 1 and 2. The idea is not to skip the subject, but rather to allow himself the flexibility to manage his schedule by taking Spanish outside of school. My thought process was that as long as the outside course is UC certified, it would fulfill the third “recommended” year.
I agree taking Spanish 3 from an outside school will not necessarily lighten the workload, but it will definitely provide flexibility. The AP’s are: Calc BC, APES, and APUSH. Dual Enrollment: Macroecon and 2 classes to get closer to finishing his associate’s.
Does he have an English class senior year? If so, he might drop one of the last two DEs mentioned (unless one’s an English class) and keep the Spanish class. There’s not much admissions benefit to graduating HS with an associates, although at some colleges those credits could cut down the time to graduate with a bachelors.
For context, what has he completed (not necessarily AP) in:
and what are the two unspecified courses?
Completing an AA/AS before high school graduation may not have much value for a student eventually going on to a BA/BS, except in specific cases for transfer admission (in California, the AA-T or AS-T would be the version needed) or if the student intends to work between high school and BA/BS study and the AA/AS is helpful for that (e.g. AA/AS in nursing). So those two courses would mostly be helpful based on their specific subjects, rather than the use for an AA/AS.
Regarding the AP courses, environmental science is not typically considered a high value course compared to other sciences, unless he is taking it to evaluate his interest in the subject as a potential major in college.
Check University of California A-G Course List to see if the course is accepted as LOTE 3 (or higher).
UC and CSU applicants will report all high school and college courses and their grades on the applications, regardless of whether their primary high school includes them on its records for them.
Just checked. The course is accepted as LOTE 3 at Silicon Valley High School.