Is there any downside to starting a new language in 9th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

And that will be fine, really. Especially for a kid who leans to Math.

The cookie cutter approach to success is a myth, but the insecure and competitive cling to it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

Nope. No one expects kids to have 8-12 APs.

They expect it from Asian students.

Oh, here we go!

[Anonymous]

Doesn’t hurt because the language instruction is usually pretty mediocre and doesn’t actually produce fluency unless the kid is really focused on practicing it.

If kid is focused on language it doesn’t matter if their first year is 9th grade as long as they earnestly work at it.

Fwiw, I took 1 language 4th-6th, another language 7-9th, then a third 10-12th. My third language I really focused on it, studied abroad, and crushed SAT II with an 800. With third it was very intentional and I worked very hard at it.

[Anonymous]

I think kids did best in classes they want to take, and it’s far more important for kids to get good grades in their language classes than to take lots of years of a language.

[Anonymous]

Learning a new language is a major time commitment. If your son doesn’t like language, I would stick with spanish, get the B or whatever freshman year in Spanish 3. Then never take another language course again.

If he seriously flunked out of second year Spanish, then yeah, start over in a new language. Don’t dismiss “hard” languages like Japanese because the teachers tend to make it fun and easy to maintain enrollment. Versus your average jaded Spanish teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

Nope. No one expects kids to have 8-12 APs.

There are kids coming out of Whitman with 14 AP classes and this has been the norm for some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

And that will be fine, really. Especially for a kid who leans to Math.

The cookie cutter approach to success is a myth, but the insecure and competitive cling to it!

It is no longer 1985.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

And that will be fine, really. Especially for a kid who leans to Math.

The cookie cutter approach to success is a myth, but the insecure and competitive cling to it!

This sounds like something has upset you and you're throwing out all the insults you know. But no one cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

Nobody care which year you take the AP language test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

Nope. No one expects kids to have 8-12 APs.

There are kids coming out of Whitman with 14 AP classes and this has been the norm for some time.

They are only compared to other kids in their school. OP's kid's private school has no APs.

[Anonymous]

OP,

I won't know anything about the downside of taking a new language in 9th.

However, the upside of taking 3 yrs of Spanish in MS, and continuing to Spanish 4 in 9th, and Spanish AP in 10th grade was that
-he was done with the foreign language requirement at the highest level offered by the school.
- Freed up space for other courses in 11th and 12th
- Looked good for college application.
- Got the MD seal of biliteracy and was able to include on his cv
- Became bilingual.

[Anonymous]

None whatsoever.

4 years to get involved in a new and preferred language that the kid is enjoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

Nobody care which year you take the AP language test.

But if you start a new language in 9th you won't be taking it at all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I won't know anything about the downside of taking a new language in 9th.

However, the upside of taking 3 yrs of Spanish in MS, and continuing to Spanish 4 in 9th, and Spanish AP in 10th grade was that
-he was done with the foreign language requirement at the highest level offered by the school.
- Freed up space for other courses in 11th and 12th
- Looked good for college application.
- Got the MD seal of biliteracy and was able to include on his cv
- Became bilingual.

How did he become bilingual though, did you continue outside of school once the AP was done?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They won't necessarily know your kid took a language before 9th because it won't be on the transcript (you may need to ask for it not to be on there...)

But most of the top colleges want to see rigor across the board, that means AP in all classes, including languages. If you're starting a new language in 9th you'll only get to 4th year in that language by 12 and your kid will be applying against others who started in 6th grade, completed AP in 10th or 11th

Nope. No one expects kids to have 8-12 APs.

There are kids coming out of Whitman with 14 AP classes and this has been the norm for some time.

They are only compared to other kids in their school. OP's kid's private school has no APs.

No, they will be compared to other kids in similar schools. We know the AP exams / courses have been dropped from many privates. That's not the comparison point.