Anonymous wrote:We would love to hear thoughts from those more familiar with the college application process. My high school freshman had 1 year of French and 2 years of Latin in middle school. He didn't love either although he was stronger in Latin which has a lesser emphasis on speaking the language and a greater emphasis on classical history (the only aspect of studying either language he actually liked other than the baguettes and croissants the French teacher sometimes brought to class). He chose to pursue French in high school (largely based on the baguette/croissant decision making) and tested into French II Honors. He is not loving or excelling in French right now and got a B by the skin of his teeth in the first semester. I just can't see him putting in the time he really needs to do any better in French III or AP French, and I have trouble believing he would be recommended for Honors-level classes any longer. He is considering switching to Latin and would probably need to see what he would test into (after a year off) - Latin I, Latin I Honors, Latin II, Latin II Honors. If he ended up back in Latin I or Latin I Honors, he would need to do three years of it because school requirement is 3 years of foreign language classes AND reaching Level 3 of a foreign language.
So how bad does it look if he switches languages (French to Latin) after one year and never reaches AP level in a foreign language? Worse than if he sticks with French, drops down to non-Honors level classes, and has weaker grades?
He's a pretty strong student with foreign languages as his weakest area. Probably interested in business/economics in the future and moderately selective colleges. No genuine interest in actually speaking a foreign language. I think he would be happier in Latin overall, but he will need to balance that with the potential struggle to catch up after a year out of it and the possibility of having to do a fourth year of a foreign language.
Thanks for any thoughts!
I switch from French to Spanish between 9th and 10th grades and it was the best decision I made in high school. Spanish is way easier than French and more useful as well. I thought it was so easy that I went to college and kept taking it and also studied abroad in Spain. I highly recommend Spanish - there's a reason why it's way more popular for high school students. French is difficult and Latin is useless.
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