UVA Admission and "other electives"

[Anonymous]

Son: you must get into UVA or you will be a failure, Look what your friends are doing, do more, do it better. You must get into top colleges. Don't become a failure.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We do not think he will be a failure if he does not get into UVA. But that is currently his top pick. I want him to be realistic about which courses he is choosing for next year. As in, if he doesn't take Spanish 4, then he might not get into UVA. He needs to think about how strongly he wants UVA vs how strongly he would rather not continue in Spanish. Totally up to him.

[Anonymous]

I think it is about keeping options open. I would echo the idea of continuing with the language. He may find other schools between now and then that he likes that require the 4th year of language. If there is room for a fun elective on top of that then I think that is great, it gives him a chance to express his interests and enjoy his classes, but I would not do that at the expense of the 4th year of language. if he is adamant about dropping the language then I would suggest that he does electives that are not complete freebees like ceramics, but something more aligned with the rest of his interests. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I think the consensus here is that he should take a fourth year of a language, if at all possible. Our son, just admitted to the Engineering school for next fall, did - despite his desire to stop at three years. He did so after attending an admissions seminar on campus and reading the targets for UVA admissions. Simply put, it increases your chance of admission by checking that box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We do not think he will be a failure if he does not get into UVA. But that is currently his top pick. I want him to be realistic about which courses he is choosing for next year. As in, if he doesn't take Spanish 4, then he might not get into UVA. He needs to think about how strongly he wants UVA vs how strongly he would rather not continue in Spanish. Totally up to him.

If it were his senior year and he wasn't taking a foreign language, that would probably be fine. But it sounds like he doesn't want to take one in the junior year, either, and is looking for filling the void with a cheesy elective that's not a core class. It's not gonna look good. He really needs to have a very solid junior year schedule if he's eyeing UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Son: you must get into UVA or you will be a failure, Look what your friends are doing, do more, do it better. You must get into top colleges. Don't become a failure.

It is this type of idiocy that I read these forums for (everyone needs an occasional laugh), but which also saddens me at the level of bitterness out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Son: you must get into UVA or you will be a failure, Look what your friends are doing, do more, do it better. You must get into top colleges. Don't become a failure.

UVA won't do much.
UVA computer Science or McIntyre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Son: you must get into UVA or you will be a failure, Look what your friends are doing, do more, do it better. You must get into top colleges. Don't become a failure.

It is this type of idiocy that I read these forums for (everyone needs an occasional laugh), but which also saddens me at the level of bitterness out there.

Bitterness? I think the post was a roast of the usually highly strung folks who actually talk to their kids that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We do not think he will be a failure if he does not get into UVA. But that is currently his top pick. I want him to be realistic about which courses he is choosing for next year. As in, if he doesn't take Spanish 4, then he might not get into UVA. He needs to think about how strongly he wants UVA vs how strongly he would rather not continue in Spanish. Totally up to him.

If it were his senior year and he wasn't taking a foreign language, that would probably be fine. But it sounds like he doesn't want to take one in the junior year, either, and is looking for filling the void with a cheesy elective that's not a core class. It's not gonna look good. He really needs to have a very solid junior year schedule if he's eyeing UVA.

OP, this PP and the earlier one who wrote out a list for you have very good, specific advice for your DC along with the chorus of nearly everyone else who seem to have a good handle on UVA admissions. To be blunt, it is not a good look for your DS to ease up on the pedal at the start of junior year. This will be the year that colleges will most scrutinize. It will be glaringly obvious that a junior dropped their language. You put UVA on the table and the posters are responding to that. If you had said GMU or JMU, they may have had different responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Son: you must get into UVA or you will be a failure, Look what your friends are doing, do more, do it better. You must get into top colleges. Don't become a failure.

UVA won't do much.
UVA computer Science or McIntyre.

McIntire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Echoing the suggestion to take 4 years of foreign language in HS - UVA definitely wants to see that as we were told by someone in admissions in connection with athletics recruiting.

+1 UVA wants to see all the core classes all 4 years.

+ one million. Also, please bear in mind that your student's transcript is going to be compared to his classmates' course rigor on their transcripts.

[Anonymous]

He is planning his junior schedule? Yes he needs a third year of language in high school. Lots of colleges don't really count high school classes taken in middle school. At a minimum he needs three years from 9th-12th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is planning his junior schedule? Yes he needs a third year of language in high school. Lots of colleges don't really count high school classes taken in middle school. At a minimum he needs three years from 9th-12th grade.

DP here. My Junior is in Spanish 4 - FCPS. He doesn’t really want to take AP Spanish as a senior. Are you saying he won’t get “credit” by universities for taking 4 years of a foreign language b/c his first year was in middle school? Seems pretty stupid if they say 4 years of a language but actually require 5 years if you took it in middle school. In other districts around here, they start in 6th grade. So those kids have to take 6 years or more? Guess my kid isn’t going to UVA then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We do not think he will be a failure if he does not get into UVA. But that is currently his top pick. I want him to be realistic about which courses he is choosing for next year. As in, if he doesn't take Spanish 4, then he might not get into UVA. He needs to think about how strongly he wants UVA vs how strongly he would rather not continue in Spanish. Totally up to him.

If it were his senior year and he wasn't taking a foreign language, that would probably be fine. But it sounds like he doesn't want to take one in the junior year, either, and is looking for filling the void with a cheesy elective that's not a core class. It's not gonna look good. He really needs to have a very solid junior year schedule if he's eyeing UVA.

OP, this PP and the earlier one who wrote out a list for you have very good, specific advice for your DC along with the chorus of nearly everyone else who seem to have a good handle on UVA admissions. To be blunt, it is not a good look for your DS to ease up on the pedal at the start of junior year. This will be the year that colleges will most scrutinize. It will be glaringly obvious that a junior dropped their language. You put UVA on the table and the posters are responding to that. If you had said GMU or JMU, they may have had different responses.

OP here. This statement bothers me. Is it really how UVA admissions will view his junior year if it lacks Spanish 4?

Here is his proposed schedule for 11th grade:

- AP Calc BC
- AP Physics C
- AP Lang/Comp
- Honors US History
- AP Statistics
- Post-AP Computer Science AB
- Fun Elective -- either Debate or Game Design/Development

I just don't see how that is easing up on the pedal. Am I wrong?

[Anonymous]

OP, my two cents is that no you aren't wrong in the substantive sense, but you will find many people including college counselors who would say to show a "most rigorous schedule," despite that wicked hard schedule he should also take Spanish 5 honors and APUSH. And to be sure, without even knowing where your son is in HS, there will be kids who take that full complement of classes.

I think there should be acknowledged permutations of a "most rigorous" schedule, such as your son's is an excellent schedule for a stem oriented kid. Kids in Fairfax, Arlington, Montgomery County, probably HS in DC, too, face a lot of tough choices in this regard since such high level classes are offered and encouraged (which has many benefits). Compare to students with rigorous schedules in MA who may top out as seniors in Calculus AB, and colleges view their schedule just as "rigorous" since they are taking the maximum classes offered in their school district.