I’ve taken the same language ever since middle school, and last year, as a junior I took the fourth level of that language (At my school, the fourth and fifth levels are considered AP level, although I didn’t take the test). This upcoming year, however, my language conflicts with an AP science course and I won’t be able to take it. I know elite colleges want at least four years of the same language, so how much will it hurt me to drop the language after three?
<p>If you are taking another opportunity which prevents taking the language I don’t see a problem. I have several friends who did what you are doing and they were admitted to selective colleges.</p>
<p>I hate this situation. I need to take Calc BC, but it’s the same period as the only German4. I’m going to switch things around and self-study AP Economy, because I think the language is very important. But trust hazmat on this one; I just really like Deutsch :)</p>
<p>It depends on the schools you are applying to: Schools like Wesleyan are very upfront about the fact that it hurts an applicant to not have four years of the same language, but many other schools would be comfortable giving you a pass if you explained why you made the decision you did. If you know the schools you are applying to, you should contact them and ask them this question directly.</p>
<p>argh! same situation here!
i can’t take the 4th year unless i drop one of my two sciences (phys ap, bio ap). dropping phys is not an option because certain schools require it for admission/entry!</p>
<p>any idea on how this would impact</p>
<p>Cornell
Harvey Mudd
JHU
Northwestern</p>
<p>(my top choices)???</p>
<p>i was in the same position last year, except for me, it was with a less rigorous but equally important course- band :(. im wondering how this will affect admittance to yale, brown, jhu, duke :[</p>
<p>oh yeah, i’m going to take french 4 this year (if scheduling permits…). so i’ll have fresh, soph, and senior year language .</p>
<p>I recommend that you all contact the guidance/college counselors at your school and find out how they present the Profile of your HS. The counselors will be writing a report or recommendation and they will also be explaining your conumdrums. How did students in last year’s application cycle come out? What does the school do to help out??? These are answers you should be provided and are entitled too. Your HS has an obligation to present you in the best light and if this is the limit on you then let them help you out.</p>
<p>In my son’s case, he balked at taking a fourth year of latin because the teacher (hired midyear the year before) was an unmitigated disaster. Almost everyone bailed. I was really concerned because his target school was Columbia, which also recs 4 years. GC recommended keeping the rest of the schedule as rigorous as possible. Obviously, though, we couldn’t address this in the app. (“dropped Latin because teacher is a jerk”). Well, upshot is he was accepted anyway, so it can be done. I did feel though, that he was taking a huge chance.</p>
<p>question on “Level”…if one has taken a language thru Level 4 by junior year (implying that level 1 was taken in junior high or middle school), will that suffice for the selective college’s 4 year requirement, or do they want 4 years taken in HS, period?</p>
<p>look for an independent study perhaps? I take IS french!</p>
<p>I want to know the answer the Papa Chicken’s question. Do they really require 4 HighSchool years or just up to level 4. My school starts in 7th grade. I took 4 years of Latin from 7th-10th grade, and 4 years of Spanish from 8th-11th grade. There is no possible way of me continuing Spanish in my senior year…</p>
<p>I’ve asked many admissions officers this question: in nearly all cases, they look mainly at the level you’ve reached. If it says “French 4” they know you’ve had the equivalent of four years of French. It’s always a plus to go beyond 4 years, but if your school only offers 4 years of a language, you’ve maxed out and that is fine. Check your school profile to make sure the highest level offered is clearly stated (i.e., “French is offered up to year 4”) - if it isn’t, ask your guidance counselor to briefly mention it on your school report.</p>
<p>By the way, it’s important to look at the big picture when picking senior year classes. How does the rest of your transcript stack up? If you already have a weakness in one area (say you’ve decided not to take a 4th year of math or only have chemistry and bio for science), then try to avoid adding another weakness in your curriculum. </p>
<p>If you’re aiming at the most selective colleges, you ideally want to show 4 years of math, science and foreign language on your transcript. Having less won’t kill your chances, especially if you’ve maxed out your high school’s offerings, but keep in mind that you will most likely be competing against other applicants that do have the full plate, so every other area on your transcript needs to be very, very strong. </p>
<p>In short: one curriculum weakness may be overlooked. Two won’t be, especially at the most selective schools.</p>
<p>I posted in a similar thread in the Parents Forum, but I’ll add my thought here too… If you’ve already taken four years of a foreign language by your junior year, then I don’t think that dropping the foreign language in favor of other rigerous classes that interest you more (extra AP Sciences, AP histories etc) would be considered a weakness. I seriously doubt that someone who has taken 4 years of foreign language and decides to take two AP sciences senior year instead of more foreign language will be penalized. However, if you drop the foreign language (and it’s not because of a scheduling issue that can be explained by your GC) and decide to take a much less difficult course, then that may be perceived as a curriculum weakness.</p>
<p>There is no such year for EA/ED as the process is based on Junior year end stats. For many kids what you take senior year is not so significant.</p>
<p>If you apply EA/ED, you won’t have any senior year grades, but most applications ask you to list your senior year courses (and ask your GC to rate how rigerous they are) because from what I’ve heard (which may or may not be correct), AdComs make sure that you maintain a challenging curriculum and don’t slack off just because it’s senior year.</p>
<p>I have never heard of adcoms making sure of anything. I mean at many schools the second semester is the no clubs no hard class time. The acceptances are long ago in and the pressure to be dramatic is off.</p>
<p>Second semester really doesn’t matter since acceptances are in, but I would think that they would pay attention to what classes you say you’re taking senior year - otherwise, why would they bother asking?. If you’ve always taken honors and AP classes and then your counselor writes that you’re taking all easy blow-off classes during fall of senior year, then I bet that would raise a few eyebrows. (Though I don’t work in admissions, so I have no clue how everything really works)</p>
<p>One final thing to consider - do your prospective colleges have a language requirement? If so, taking the AP test (or taking a language senior year and then the college’s test) may excuse you from the college language requirement. My son was bitten by this one as he complete 3 years of Spanish in 10th grade, and his GC told him it was plenty. By the time we learned differently, 11th grade was already in full swing. He did not take a 4th year as senior (after skipping a year), and took two AP sciences (chemistry and physics) instead. </p>
<p>In very broad terms, I would tend to sacrifice the foreign language at tech schools. Humanities majors might want to sacrifice a science. For other situations, its kind of a gray area, so taking what you really like and are interested in (and where the teacher is not a jerk) may be the best bet.</p>
<p>I think selective colleges are very interested in the rigor of your senior year courses. For ED: many schools will call to get first quarter grades before making decisions. A Williams adcom told me that often Williams will call to get 3rd quarter grades before making a decision in the spring.</p>