Dropping AP Spanish

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, is the bottom line that your kid won't take a language for his junior or senior year and will double up in math instead?

Actually more than doubling up in math. Taking 3 credits of math.

[Anonymous]

My kid had 4 years of a foreign language and got to Level 5.

Did not take AP and got into several T20 schools.

Best decision ever for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is the bottom line that your kid won't take a language for his junior or senior year and will double up in math instead?

Actually more than doubling up in math. Taking 3 credits of math.

take the spanish. top schools (ivies, mit, duke) say at their info sessions they want to see you challeng yourself in all areas not just your favorite subjects. your kid is already ahead in math and overloaded in math, already doubling.

[Anonymous]

Some colleges also require 1-2 years of foreign language as part of their distribution requirements. It is much easier to place out of the intro classes if you've taken AP, or if you've taken the language through senior year and it hasn't gotten stale during placement testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is the bottom line that your kid won't take a language for his junior or senior year and will double up in math instead?

Actually more than doubling up in math. Taking 3 credits of math.

take the spanish. top schools (ivies, mit, duke) say at their info sessions they want to see you challeng yourself in all areas not just your favorite subjects. your kid is already ahead in math and overloaded in math, already doubling.

Disagree with this poster. Kid got to Spanish 4. That is plenty.

[Anonymous]

I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

says who? this isn't logical. It is not just that definitely defies my personal anecdata, it is that it doesn't make sense. You are acting like it doesn't matter where the kid ends up which is ridiculous. AP's kid is a super high achiever. There is no universe where he will be punished for taking linear algebra over another year of Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

says who? this isn't logical. It is not just that definitely defies my personal anecdata, it is that it doesn't make sense. You are acting like it doesn't matter where the kid ends up which is ridiculous. AP's kid is a super high achiever. There is no universe where he will be punished for taking linear algebra over another year of Spanish.

Schools want well rounded students, not math robots. 2 yrs of Spanish in HS isn’t enough. Linear algebra isn’t going to set him apart from many of the other applicants that also took that, and have taken 3-4 yrs of foreign language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

says who? this isn't logical. It is not just that definitely defies my personal anecdata, it is that it doesn't make sense. You are acting like it doesn't matter where the kid ends up which is ridiculous. AP's kid is a super high achiever. There is no universe where he will be punished for taking linear algebra over another year of Spanish.

Schools want well rounded students, not math robots. 2 yrs of Spanish in HS isn’t enough. Linear algebra isn’t going to set him apart from many of the other applicants that also took that, and have taken 3-4 yrs of foreign language.

He’s taken FIVE years of high school Spanish.

[Anonymous]

It will be fine to stop taking Spanish. Only the DMV area schools do language 4 & language 5. Most of the country has FL 1,2,3 AP.

By virtue of the fact your kid didn't take AP after the 3rd year confirms they are not a top notch linguist, which is absolutely fine. They got the A they covered the minimum reqs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

says who? this isn't logical. It is not just that definitely defies my personal anecdata, it is that it doesn't make sense. You are acting like it doesn't matter where the kid ends up which is ridiculous. AP's kid is a super high achiever. There is no universe where he will be punished for taking linear algebra over another year of Spanish.

Schools want well rounded students, not math robots. 2 yrs of Spanish in HS isn’t enough. Linear algebra isn’t going to set him apart from many of the other applicants that also took that, and have taken 3-4 yrs of foreign language.

He’s taken FIVE years of high school Spanish.

They don’t care about middle school language classes. Unless you’ve maxed out the courses available at your high school. They want to see at least 3 years of language in HIGH SCHOOL - 4 is better. Middle school language courses are NOT the rigor of high school ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will be fine to stop taking Spanish. Only the DMV area schools do language 4 & language 5. Most of the country has FL 1,2,3 AP.

By virtue of the fact your kid didn't take AP after the 3rd year confirms they are not a top notch linguist, which is absolutely fine. They got the A they covered the minimum reqs.

He may not be a top notch linguist but it wasn’t an option to take AP before Spanish 5 at his school.

[Anonymous]

I just picked UPenn at random. Here's what they say:

When you apply to Penn, you’ll be asked to choose one of our undergraduate schools or specialized programs as your home base for the time you’re a student here. When we look at the “Academics” section of your application, we’re looking to see how your time in high school has prepared you for the school or program to which you’re applying!

Every Penn student gains a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and can take classes in all four of our schools. Therefore, we encourage you to consistently take classes in core academic areas—English, social studies, math, science, and foreign language—throughout your four years of high school. We hope that every student who applies to Penn will challenge themselves in high school based on the opportunities offered at their school.

We also understand that every high school is different, so we will review your school’s profile to best understand the types of courses available to you, your school’s grading scale, your school’s unique attributes, and the opportunities provided. 

When reviewing your transcript, our Admissions Committee considers the academic evidence it provides to establish your preparedness for Penn. We ask questions such as:  

Are you taking advantage of rigorous courses available in your high school? (i.e., did you have the opportunity to take challenging courses? Did you take that opportunity?)
Do your grades in core subject areas show you are prepared for the specific academic program you are applying for?  

World language is considered a core academic subject. And it looks like, yes, if your high school offers higher level world language and you don't take it, they consider that.

https://admissions.upenn.edu/how-to-apply/preparing-your-application/academics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

says who? this isn't logical. It is not just that definitely defies my personal anecdata, it is that it doesn't make sense. You are acting like it doesn't matter where the kid ends up which is ridiculous. AP's kid is a super high achiever. There is no universe where he will be punished for taking linear algebra over another year of Spanish.

Schools want well rounded students, not math robots. 2 yrs of Spanish in HS isn’t enough. Linear algebra isn’t going to set him apart from many of the other applicants that also took that, and have taken 3-4 yrs of foreign language.

He’s taken FIVE years of high school Spanish.

They don’t care about middle school language classes. Unless you’ve maxed out the courses available at your high school. They want to see at least 3 years of language in HIGH SCHOOL - 4 is better. Middle school language courses are NOT the rigor of high school ones.

Can you be more specific? What I’m not seeing in this discussion is anyone saying “my kid stopped before AP and that lost them the chance to get into/apply to X school that they otherwise wanted to attend”. What I am seeing is the reverse. What school specifically prohibits you from attending if you stopped your foreign language before AP but otherwise maxed out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he needs to take Spanish his junior yr, definitely. Whatever level would be appropriate. Colleges do not care or count what one has done/taken in middle school, even if received HS credit for it. It doesn’t matter. You need at least 3 yrs of foreign language, in high school, or through AP.

says who? this isn't logical. It is not just that definitely defies my personal anecdata, it is that it doesn't make sense. You are acting like it doesn't matter where the kid ends up which is ridiculous. AP's kid is a super high achiever. There is no universe where he will be punished for taking linear algebra over another year of Spanish.

Schools want well rounded students, not math robots. 2 yrs of Spanish in HS isn’t enough. Linear algebra isn’t going to set him apart from many of the other applicants that also took that, and have taken 3-4 yrs of foreign language.

He’s taken FIVE years of high school Spanish.

They don’t care about middle school language classes. Unless you’ve maxed out the courses available at your high school. They want to see at least 3 years of language in HIGH SCHOOL - 4 is better. Middle school language courses are NOT the rigor of high school ones.

This is nonsensical. Language is cumulative. If a kid does FL 1 & 2 in middle school & then does well in FL 3+ in high school, clearly the middle school courses were rigorous enough. It’s the same standards of learning (what the course must cover, at least in VA). You can’t do well in a language if you learned nothing your first few years

That’s like saying Algebra 1 in middle school doesn’t count. Math is also cumulative. Doing well in Algebra 2 proves Algebra 1 was sufficient