What is the highest level (in high school terms – note that AP level is level 4 or 5) he has completed or will complete in each language? That is what will typically be seen as “number of years” of foreign language from a college admission standpoint.
In our school district, if you do not start level 1 in 8th grade, you will have to take a summer class or test out a level in order to take AP level in senior year. They do the World Language sampling class in 7th grade but that does not count as level 1.
There is always an exception, but banking on being that exception is better when you have a hook or a very compelling reason @fr33pl0x People are just trying to say that if you make that choice to be weak in a core area be well aware.
@ucbalumnus I see. he took Spanish 4H last year. I think it is an AP class this year, so I suppose 5.
My D took 2 years of German and years 3 and 4 were cancelled due to enrollment. She made a similar decision to you and it’s now something we feel hurt her in admissions to the Ivy League and top LAC’s. Her counselor explicitly noted that not having 3 or 4 years of a language wasn’t her choice. She had a 36 ACT and 11 AP’s with a solid GPA. Maybe what you should do is sign up for Spanish 1 and 2, that way you end up with four years of a foreign language. Or, if your family is wealthy enough you could apply to Middlebury’s immersion Chinese course next summer. Not taking a recommended course when applying to a college with an 8% admissions rate is really, really not a good idea
@stayhydrated The bottom line is that most students who will get acçepted at a top school will take 5 academic core courses each year of high school. Most students will also take 2 electives. Often those electives are courses like business or computer science. Or art. Or music. Would it be possible to take both Chinese 3 and AP computer science?
If so, it would be hard to justify the substitution to an Ivy League school
@uskoolfish My courses for the upcoming year are AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science, AP Language and Composition, AP US History, and cross country/track (athletics are required to be a 6th period at my school). So, I don’t have room in my schedule to take both Chinese 3 and AP Comp Sci. Would this count as not being able to fit Chinese 3 in my schedule? I read on another thread that colleges will look over missing requirements if a student’s schedule doesn’t allow for it.
@stayhydrated in my ads high school there were 8 periods of scheduled classes. My Ds took 5 academics, art, music and their last period was lab for science or gym. So as long as they didn’t take lunch, they were able to take 5 academics and 2 electives. Many districts have even longer days, so that students can also schedule lunch while still taking 5 academics, 2 electives plus gym or health and a lab.
Sports or ECs start after that. Are you saying you don’t have the opportunity to take an elective if you take 5 academics plus gym/ track? Are you taking lunch? Most high achieving kids don’t have a lunch period so they can take 7 classes. Unfortunately this is your completion. I don’t think you can drop a core class for an elective (and AP computers is an elective.)
I doubt your guidance counselor will say you can’t take a language. What advice have they given?
Remember, no one is making you shoot for a super competitive school.
@uskoolfish Unfortunately, my school allows juniors to take six periods only. I’m only able to take 5 academics plus xc/track.
My counselor told me that I would be fine not taking another year of foreign language since I am taking a rigorous class in its place. However, I think my school’s guidance counselors are trained to push students to do what they enjoy.
I won’t be disappointed if I don’t get into a super competitive school, but I would like to aim for one. Would not taking 3+ years of fl prevent me from getting into uc schools like ucla, ucsd, and cal?
UC schools specify a minimum of level 2, but level 3 is recommended.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/csu-uc-a-g-comparison-matrix.pdf
Note that UC schools have foreign language graduation requirements for most students; a higher level in high school may allow you to complete such requirements with fewer college courses needed, allowing you more elective space in college.
This is from the Yale website:
"A Holistic Approach to Admissions
The high school transcript is almost always the most important document in a student’s application. But it is hard to conceive of a situation in which the appearance (or absence) of any one particular class on a transcript would determine the applicant’s outcome. The admissions committee does not make its decisions based on a piecemeal review of an applicant’s recommendations, test scores, activities, or individual elements of a high school transcript. It considers each application as a comprehensive picture of that student.
When the admissions committee looks at your transcript, it will not focus on whether you have taken any specific course. It will be far more interested to see that you have challenged yourself with difficult coursework, and have done well."
I feel like you should be fine not taking more foreign language as long as you are replacing it with another challenging class (like an AP!)