How important is it to have 3-4 years of language?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Np here
So when we say 4 years , does it mean if junior dc is done with Spanish 4 this year, then not necessary or particularly impressive to take ap Spanish during senior year if you are applying to say schools like uva who recommend 4 years???

The colleges are very unclear about this! But UVA does want you to take AP or IB Spanish if it’s available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also consider career aspirations. In some fields, it’s helpful in the job search.

Language fluency can be helpful in the job search. High school Spanish is not. It sounds like this would only be to check a box for a college application.

I'm obviously thinking about the long term. The way to gain fluency is to keep using and studying the language, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Np here
So when we say 4 years , does it mean if junior dc is done with Spanish 4 this year, then not necessary or particularly impressive to take ap Spanish during senior year if you are applying to say schools like uva who recommend 4 years???

The colleges are very unclear about this! But UVA does want you to take AP or IB Spanish if it’s available.

Yes, agree, it is unclear. My understanding is that they want four years of “high school-level” foreign language. School systems that offer levels 1 and 2 in middle school seem to universally count these as high school-level courses, meaning that going through level 4, even if that’s completed in sophomore year, would meet the standard.

However, as PP notes, many highly selective schools prefer to see completion of the highest level available. So at my kids’ school, that means six years of French for most kids: 1 and 2 in MS, then 3, 4, pre-AP, and AP in HS (although some kids are given permission to skip pre-AP).

[Anonymous]

NP - Our MS requires language starting in 6th grade and it is Spanish 1. So 2 in 7th and 3 in 8th. Then 4 in 9th. If DC takes AP in 10th, are they done? Does this count as "4 years of high school language"?

Some HS offer AP Spanish Lit but I don't think DC's HS offers it.

[Anonymous]

My 2021 grad stopped WL after level 3 in 10th grade. It didn't seem to impact college admissions; DC wasn't aiming for Ivy's of course, but still got into 11/12 colleges applied to, including a T25.

My current HS junior has also dropped WL (and might not have gotten it anyway, as there is only 1 level 4 class and they had to waitlist a good number of interested kids). We'll see how that plays out but I'm not overly concerned.

[Anonymous]

OP if your kid is aiming for low ranking colleges then it won't matter, if she has any ambition at all to attend a good college she should see the language through as far as it is on offer.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if this is still the case, but my school had all of us (unless we placed out via AP) sit for a language placement test during orientation.

I had taken AP but we had a problem during testing day at my HS (our scores all had * next to them) so I didn't score well enough to place out entirely, but via my placement exam, I placed into the lit level. So I was a 17 year old first semester freshman taking French Lit with mostly juniors and seniors. That was my only language class I had to take, which freed me up to take more classes I actually wanted to take.

Do schools still do placement testing like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some colleges have language proficiency requirements. If you have only taken two or three years in college, you may have to take another year in college. My older DS DID NOT have to take a language at W&M because he took four years in high school, but several of his friends did. My younger DS is at a SLAC. I told him to take a fourth year of Spanish in high school but he thought it was "stupid." Well, he was the "stupid" one and ended up having to take a full year of Spanish once he got to college.

If you are heading for a SLAC/LAC/majoring in anything that would be in the "Arts&sciences school", then you should aim for a full 4 years of FL in HS. Because you will likely have a 2 year lang req in college.
If you want to get into a T25 school, I'd recommend 4 years of FL as well, but if STEM focused 3 may work. Then again, if STEM focused, don't force kid to take the 4th year because the lack of FL is most likely not the reason they will get rejected (the fact admission rates are single digits and it's a lottery is the real reason).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if this is still the case, but my school had all of us (unless we placed out via AP) sit for a language placement test during orientation.

I had taken AP but we had a problem during testing day at my HS (our scores all had * next to them) so I didn't score well enough to place out entirely, but via my placement exam, I placed into the lit level. So I was a 17 year old first semester freshman taking French Lit with mostly juniors and seniors. That was my only language class I had to take, which freed me up to take more classes I actually wanted to take.

Do schools still do placement testing like this?

Yes some of them do. I know if you have an AP in the language you don't have to take the placement test, and if you have 2-3 yrs of language you do, at Occidental as well as others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--thanks! We'll see if she can take it at a college after this year.

This is a great idea - and can show initiative in the college application process.
The narrative could be - I wanted to take another class and to fit it I took the foreign language class over the summer at a local college ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if this is still the case, but my school had all of us (unless we placed out via AP) sit for a language placement test during orientation.

I had taken AP but we had a problem during testing day at my HS (our scores all had * next to them) so I didn't score well enough to place out entirely, but via my placement exam, I placed into the lit level. So I was a 17 year old first semester freshman taking French Lit with mostly juniors and seniors. That was my only language class I had to take, which freed me up to take more classes I actually wanted to take.

Do schools still do placement testing like this?

This was my experience. I placed into a literature class and it was awesome. I think it really helped me leap in my language. And it was really cool to read some famous authors in their original language instead of translation.

[Anonymous]

My kid took Latin 1,2,3 then DE.
Thought he'd do the 5th year which was AP but said the 5th year wasn't going to be a big advantage abd opted to do a different AP course instead. There is a big difference between 3 and 4 years though. His friebds who only did 3 didn't do as well with admissions.

With 4, you also can get already fulfill college proficiency requirements so he doesn't have to take another FL. If 3, you still have to take placement then do.pne more year.

[Anonymous]

My Asian-American kid needs to take AP Foreign Language before applying to college. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

If a kid completes a foreign language AP course as a junior, what happens senior year? AP language is highest level, correct?

[Anonymous]

What is the requirement for number of years of language taken at Umd college park? Do they count the years of WL taken in middle school?