Middle School language classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Colleges want to see a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language in high school. No matter how far your child gets in foreign language in middle school, they will need to take at least two years in high school to meet the college acceptance requirements for many schools.

Can you name a specific college where this is the case? I have heard that this is not really true. If your DC takes 3 years in MS and Language 4 in HS I have heard that this is fine for any college. They do not need to take Language 5.

It is absolutely true-every single college that my DS applied to had this requirement. Perhaps some schools may waive this due to a diagnosed learning issue, but you need to check. I can't list all of the schools because most require foreign language taken in high school. Your best bet is to speak with a college counselor or your child's high school counselor and they can give you more information.

[Anonymous]

For top liberal arts schools, it is probably true or more true. Definitely not true for techier schools..thankfully as my otherwise successful son would not be going to college. He stopped after 3a. There are many colleges out there..nothing is universal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Colleges want to see a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language in high school. No matter how far your child gets in foreign language in middle school, they will need to take at least two years in high school to meet the college acceptance requirements for many schools.

Can you name a specific college where this is the case? I have heard that this is not really true. If your DC takes 3 years in MS and Language 4 in HS I have heard that this is fine for any college. They do not need to take Language 5.

It is absolutely true-every single college that my DS applied to had this requirement. Perhaps some schools may waive this due to a diagnosed learning issue, but you need to check. I can't list all of the schools because most require foreign language taken in high school. Your best bet is to speak with a college counselor or your child's high school counselor and they can give you more information.

Name a school, please. I have heard from multiple sources that this is not true even though folks keep claiming that it is. Not saying you are wrong but would just like to check a few. It is not true at College Park, Michigan and Clemson for example. Can you just list one or two?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Colleges want to see a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language in high school. No matter how far your child gets in foreign language in middle school, they will need to take at least two years in high school to meet the college acceptance requirements for many schools.

Can you name a specific college where this is the case? I have heard that this is not really true. If your DC takes 3 years in MS and Language 4 in HS I have heard that this is fine for any college. They do not need to take Language 5.

It is absolutely true-every single college that my DS applied to had this requirement. Perhaps some schools may waive this due to a diagnosed learning issue, but you need to check. I can't list all of the schools because most require foreign language taken in high school. Your best bet is to speak with a college counselor or your child's high school counselor and they can give you more information.

Name a school, please. I have heard from multiple sources that this is not true even though folks keep claiming that it is. Not saying you are wrong but would just like to check a few. It is not true at College Park, Michigan and Clemson for example. Can you just list one or two?

FWIW, our HS counselor also said 3 years in MS, and 1 year of same language in HS is OK. No need to take language 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Colleges want to see a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language in high school. No matter how far your child gets in foreign language in middle school, they will need to take at least two years in high school to meet the college acceptance requirements for many schools.

Can you name a specific college where this is the case? I have heard that this is not really true. If your DC takes 3 years in MS and Language 4 in HS I have heard that this is fine for any college. They do not need to take Language 5.

It is absolutely true-every single college that my DS applied to had this requirement. Perhaps some schools may waive this due to a diagnosed learning issue, but you need to check. I can't list all of the schools because most require foreign language taken in high school. Your best bet is to speak with a college counselor or your child's high school counselor and they can give you more information.

Name a school, please. I have heard from multiple sources that this is not true even though folks keep claiming that it is. Not saying you are wrong but would just like to check a few. It is not true at College Park, Michigan and Clemson for example. Can you just list one or two?

Syracuse, Elon, Case Western, University of Wisconsin, Tulane. If you look at the Maryland website it says 2 years of a foreign language (minimum) and then read further down it says in the explanation "in high school". Even when a school website just says "2 years of a foreign language" if you call the admissions office they will likely tell you that they want to see it in high school and many of the students they admit will have exceeded that minimum. We were explicitly told by several admissions officers that they just don't count any high school level work done in middle school in their admissions decisions. I'm not saying this is true for lower tier schools, but anything considered selective and up is going to be looking for this level of achievement in high school. Believe me, we just went through it and then had to convince our younger child to stick with one more year of Spanish so he has two years in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Colleges want to see a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language in high school. No matter how far your child gets in foreign language in middle school, they will need to take at least two years in high school to meet the college acceptance requirements for many schools.

Can you name a specific college where this is the case? I have heard that this is not really true. If your DC takes 3 years in MS and Language 4 in HS I have heard that this is fine for any college. They do not need to take Language 5.

It is absolutely true-every single college that my DS applied to had this requirement. Perhaps some schools may waive this due to a diagnosed learning issue, but you need to check. I can't list all of the schools because most require foreign language taken in high school. Your best bet is to speak with a college counselor or your child's high school counselor and they can give you more information.

Name a school, please. I have heard from multiple sources that this is not true even though folks keep claiming that it is. Not saying you are wrong but would just like to check a few. It is not true at College Park, Michigan and Clemson for example. Can you just list one or two?

Syracuse, Elon, Case Western, University of Wisconsin, Tulane. If you look at the Maryland website it says 2 years of a foreign language (minimum) and then read further down it says in the explanation "in high school". Even when a school website just says "2 years of a foreign language" if you call the admissions office they will likely tell you that they want to see it in high school and many of the students they admit will have exceeded that minimum. We were explicitly told by several admissions officers that they just don't count any high school level work done in middle school in their admissions decisions. I'm not saying this is true for lower tier schools, but anything considered selective and up is going to be looking for this level of achievement in high school. Believe me, we just went through it and then had to convince our younger child to stick with one more year of Spanish so he has two years in high school.

Not true at Syracuse-best friend's Senior admitted (although likely not going there) with Spanish 1 and 2 in Middle School and Spanish 3 in HS as Freshman. No other language after Freshman year. Had decent grades but really good SAT. No personal experience from other schools listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Colleges want to see a minimum of 2 years of a foreign language in high school. No matter how far your child gets in foreign language in middle school, they will need to take at least two years in high school to meet the college acceptance requirements for many schools.

Can you name a specific college where this is the case? I have heard that this is not really true. If your DC takes 3 years in MS and Language 4 in HS I have heard that this is fine for any college. They do not need to take Language 5.

It is absolutely true-every single college that my DS applied to had this requirement. Perhaps some schools may waive this due to a diagnosed learning issue, but you need to check. I can't list all of the schools because most require foreign language taken in high school. Your best bet is to speak with a college counselor or your child's high school counselor and they can give you more information.

Name a school, please. I have heard from multiple sources that this is not true even though folks keep claiming that it is. Not saying you are wrong but would just like to check a few. It is not true at College Park, Michigan and Clemson for example. Can you just list one or two?

Syracuse, Elon, Case Western, University of Wisconsin, Tulane. If you look at the Maryland website it says 2 years of a foreign language (minimum) and then read further down it says in the explanation "in high school". Even when a school website just says "2 years of a foreign language" if you call the admissions office they will likely tell you that they want to see it in high school and many of the students they admit will have exceeded that minimum. We were explicitly told by several admissions officers that they just don't count any high school level work done in middle school in their admissions decisions. I'm not saying this is true for lower tier schools, but anything considered selective and up is going to be looking for this level of achievement in high school. Believe me, we just went through it and then had to convince our younger child to stick with one more year of Spanish so he has two years in high school.

I wonder if "in high school" simply means HS credit classes. I can't see that doing Spanish 1-3 in HS would be better than doing Spanish 1-2 in MS and 3 in HS.

[Anonymous]

I asked the head of admissions at UMCP about this "HS foreign language taken in HS only" rumor, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said they make no distinction between HS credit courses taken in MS vs HS. He also said having 4 yrs of the same foreign language looks very impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked the head of admissions at UMCP about this "HS foreign language taken in HS only" rumor, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said they make no distinction between HS credit courses taken in MS vs HS. He also said having 4 yrs of the same foreign language looks very impressive.

Good news for my child who hates Spanish!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked the head of admissions at UMCP about this "HS foreign language taken in HS only" rumor, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said they make no distinction between HS credit courses taken in MS vs HS. He also said having 4 yrs of the same foreign language looks very impressive.

Consistent with what I have heard too.

[Anonymous]

My current 8th grader didn't have the option of a language in sixth grade and took reading (in addition to English)--which took a lot of time with busy-work. I would strongly favor starting a language. My rising sixth grader has the option of language but according to the materials they sent home, she seems only to have the option for the year-long 1a class (not 1a in fall and 1b in spring, as the older took in seventh/eight grade). Unless they start offering 1b as a fall class for seventh graders (seems doubtful), she seems to end up the same place the older one ended up-- taking 2a and 2b in eight grade. Maybe they will clarify at the parent meeting, but this doesn't seem like progress...

[Anonymous]

You can push for your child to take 1a/b in 6th if that is what you think is best. They will be in the 7th grade class and likely go to the HS for Spanish 3 in 8th grade (transportation provided). He will probably not be the only one taking a HS class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked the head of admissions at UMCP about this "HS foreign language taken in HS only" rumor, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said they make no distinction between HS credit courses taken in MS vs HS. He also said having 4 yrs of the same foreign language looks very impressive.

Most kids who have four years of the same language, take some of it in high school. Honestly, suit yourself if you are so sure that schools don't care whether foreign language is taken in MS or HS. Certainly not saying that the MS language is not a plus, but selective schools want to see kids continue it into high school. It shows that they were willing to push themselves academically and take a rigorous course load. Kids trying to get into the selective programs at Maryland like the scholars or honors programs will likely have done all of this. Of course, there are exceptions and they do accept ASL (which is better for some kids) as a foreign language. Believe me, my kid would love to drop Spanish but we have been told point blank by both admissions directors and college counselors that he will not be able to compete with the kids applying to selective and highly selective schools/programs without it.

[Anonymous]

How would colleges know if a student took a HS credit class in MS from looking at a transcript? Are classes listed on the transcript in order in which the student took them?

I have a HS freshman, so we've yet to see a transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would colleges know if a student took a HS credit class in MS from looking at a transcript? Are classes listed on the transcript in order in which the student took them?

I have a HS freshman, so we've yet to see a transcript.

The classes are listed with a date on the transcript so the school can see when it was taken.