World language

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA and the Ivies all want to see four years of foreign language, AP if offered.

AP classes are offered but not everyone can take them. If my kid starts 9th grade taking Spanish 1, he can’t take AP Spanish. He would get to Spanish 4 by senior year.

The top colleges don’t give you slack for that. That’s like saying that Ap Calc Bc is offered but because you took Algebra 1 in 9th, you can’t take it. You will still be penalized if it is offered AT ALL, to someone, and you aren’t on track to take it. Same goes for other subjects. Maybe if you put something in the special information section that you came from a ms where hs level FL wasn’t offered, but otherwise you can’t pull a fast one.

Abject bull crap.

No, it isn't. The elite schools look for students who have "taken the most rigorous courses" offered by that particular high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are targeting top 20 colleges, do they all require 4 years of world language? Is there a way to easily find who all require 4 years of world language. Kid is in high school and she wants to decide whether to pursue 4th year. Thanks!

Yes. The Common Data Set is your friend.

And where is says "recommended", read that as "required".

I quickly went through few of the top colleges website to look at their CDS.
First, thanks for telling about CDS. I wasn't aware of this and found this very helpful.

It seems most of the Ivies require (and also Univ of VA). Yale doesn't say anything. I couldn't find info on Columbia Univ. Nothwestern, Duke, Cornell, MIT, CMU don't recommend.

I am thinking if you are targeting engineering school like MIT, CMU etc..then 4 years of FL is not needed but if you have a kid who doesn't know what they want to do after HS, maybe it makes sense to just take 4 years of FL to be safe.
Now question is universities who recommend, how strict they are about this. Do they right away reject the app if they don't see 4 year FL? Even if they don't reject, if there is a choice between two students (one with 4 years of FL and one with less than 4), maye they would give preference to 4 years of FL student?

Yale wants the top students in the class who have taken the most rigorous courses, i.e., have challenged themselves: "Academic Ability
Yale is above all an academic institution. This means academic strength is our first consideration in evaluating any candidate. The single most important document in your application is your high school transcript, which tells us a great deal about your academic drive and performance over time. We look for students who have consistently taken a broad range of challenging courses in high school and have done well. Your high school teachers can provide extremely helpful information in their evaluations. Not only do they discuss your performance in their particular class or classes, but often they write about such things as your intellectual curiosity, energy, relationships with classmates, and impact on the classroom environment. Obviously it is important to ask for recommendations from teachers who know you well.P

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA and the Ivies all want to see four years of foreign language, AP if offered.

AP classes are offered but not everyone can take them. If my kid starts 9th grade taking Spanish 1, he can’t take AP Spanish. He would get to Spanish 4 by senior year.

The top colleges don’t give you slack for that. That’s like saying that Ap Calc Bc is offered but because you took Algebra 1 in 9th, you can’t take it. You will still be penalized if it is offered AT ALL, to someone, and you aren’t on track to take it. Same goes for other subjects. Maybe if you put something in the special information section that you came from a ms where hs level FL wasn’t offered, but otherwise you can’t pull a fast one.

Abject bull crap.

No, it isn't. The elite schools look for students who have "taken the most rigorous courses" offered by that particular high school.

That doesn't mean you have to take every AP offered (which may be impossible anyway).

[Anonymous]

Students should show up in college speaking a foreign language. Who cares about 4 years of foreign language, be it AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA and the Ivies all want to see four years of foreign language, AP if offered.

AP classes are offered but not everyone can take them. If my kid starts 9th grade taking Spanish 1, he can’t take AP Spanish. He would get to Spanish 4 by senior year.

The top colleges don’t give you slack for that. That’s like saying that Ap Calc Bc is offered but because you took Algebra 1 in 9th, you can’t take it. You will still be penalized if it is offered AT ALL, to someone, and you aren’t on track to take it. Same goes for other subjects. Maybe if you put something in the special information section that you came from a ms where hs level FL wasn’t offered, but otherwise you can’t pull a fast one.

No wonder there are so many crazy parents and students out there. You would have to be on this track starting in 4th or 5th grade in order to get to the highest math in many high schools. My kids private school requires everyone who wants to test out of algebra 1, 2 and geometry as well as their FL to take a placement test before 9th grade. The tests are hard! I only know one kid (a member of Mensa) to test out of algebra 1 and 2. He took geometry the summer before his freshman year. The only kid I know why texted out of the first level of his language was a native Spanish speaker.

Pretty much every area (public schools) starts tracking kids for math by 6th grade. I don’t mean this to be rude, but aside from sports recruits top colleges are meant for “the really smart kids” in the class. You all knew who they were in high school. And testing out of Alg 2?? So the kid can take precalc in 9th grade? That is way beyond what I was referring to re: rigor. And “the tests are hard” are you implying that honors hs math in public schools is a walk in the park?

+1 This is not a new thing. Yes, to get to AP Calculus, if it's offered, you need to take Algebra in middle school. This is not new. I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade in the mid-80s and AP Calculus senior year (at a regular public school). Only difference now is a lot more kids take Algebra 1 and, in some places, Geometry, in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA and the Ivies all want to see four years of foreign language, AP if offered.

AP classes are offered but not everyone can take them. If my kid starts 9th grade taking Spanish 1, he can’t take AP Spanish. He would get to Spanish 4 by senior year.

The top colleges don’t give you slack for that. That’s like saying that Ap Calc Bc is offered but because you took Algebra 1 in 9th, you can’t take it. You will still be penalized if it is offered AT ALL, to someone, and you aren’t on track to take it. Same goes for other subjects. Maybe if you put something in the special information section that you came from a ms where hs level FL wasn’t offered, but otherwise you can’t pull a fast one.

Abject bull crap.

Ok sure they don’t care if you didn’t take Ap studio art, Ap cs principles, Ap ES, if they aren’t your speciality. But the core ones? Absolutely take those.


No, it isn't. The elite schools look for students who have "taken the most rigorous courses" offered by that particular high school.

That doesn't mean you have to take every AP offered (which may be impossible anyway).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA and the Ivies all want to see four years of foreign language, AP if offered.

AP classes are offered but not everyone can take them. If my kid starts 9th grade taking Spanish 1, he can’t take AP Spanish. He would get to Spanish 4 by senior year.

The top colleges don’t give you slack for that. That’s like saying that Ap Calc Bc is offered but because you took Algebra 1 in 9th, you can’t take it. You will still be penalized if it is offered AT ALL, to someone, and you aren’t on track to take it. Same goes for other subjects. Maybe if you put something in the special information section that you came from a ms where hs level FL wasn’t offered, but otherwise you can’t pull a fast one.

Abject bull crap.

Ok sure they don’t care if you didn’t take Ap studio art, Ap cs principles, Ap ES, if they aren’t your speciality. But the core ones? Absolutely take those.


No, it isn't. The elite schools look for students who have "taken the most rigorous courses" offered by that particular high school.

That doesn't mean you have to take every AP offered (which may be impossible anyway).

Calc BC is not "core". Calc AB, I can see, but BC is for potential engineers and physicists, not writers and poli sci majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Complete BS. Our public school had girl get into Princeton who took two years of language, one of which was in Middke School.

THank you.

I am so sick of these posters who are like, "recommended really means required" and "4 years really means 6 years including AP."

No wonder this generation of kids have such high levels of mental illness!

Limit your time with people like many of these DCUM posters! This area and forum are SO over the top.

Encourage your child to try their best, and take courses that will challenge them and make sense based upon their field of interest.

Find schools that complement who they are, and what they hope to achieve.

Really, that is good parenting 101. And it does not require fancy consultants and power strategizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 The Common Data Set. A great resource. The point is to have the coursework to be successful in the desired college major. If a major is going to require extensive foreign language, it was available to the student in HS, and they didn't take it. Why not? A STEM or engineering major, isn't going to need much/any FL and it's ok if their HS record reflects that.

For those of you that have kids just finishing college or finished in the last few years.. What's the practical value of a FL education? How has that made a difference in their work lives or given them a leg up in getting a job?

Haven't YOU lived in the world? Of course it is an advantage to speak more than one language.

It opens places for travel and work. For example, when you visit other countries, if you want to leave major cities, you often need to speak the native language (with a few exceptions, such as Scandinavia). It exposes you to new foods and culture/art/literature. It helps you understand linguistic nuance, and other perspectives.

What a sad, odd question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 The Common Data Set. A great resource. The point is to have the coursework to be successful in the desired college major. If a major is going to require extensive foreign language, it was available to the student in HS, and they didn't take it. Why not? A STEM or engineering major, isn't going to need much/any FL and it's ok if their HS record reflects that.

For those of you that have kids just finishing college or finished in the last few years.. What's the practical value of a FL education? How has that made a difference in their work lives or given them a leg up in getting a job?

Haven't YOU lived in the world? Of course it is an advantage to speak more than one language.

It opens places for travel and work. For example, when you visit other countries, if you want to leave major cities, you often need to speak the native language (with a few exceptions, such as Scandinavia). It exposes you to new foods and culture/art/literature. It helps you understand linguistic nuance, and other perspectives.

What a sad, odd question.

Spanish 1-4 in hs isn’t going to get a kid anywhere close to that level of fluency. A minor in Spanish in college (That’s shoved down my kid’s throat constantly) won’t either.

[Anonymous]

You don't think in the United states, it might be useful for a person to having passing familiarity with Spanish? By 2050, the US will be the largest spanish speaking country in the world. We already have more spanish speakers than Spain.

Too bad you are stuck in the past, and don't understand how much others have to teach you and your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 The Common Data Set. A great resource. The point is to have the coursework to be successful in the desired college major. If a major is going to require extensive foreign language, it was available to the student in HS, and they didn't take it. Why not? A STEM or engineering major, isn't going to need much/any FL and it's ok if their HS record reflects that.

For those of you that have kids just finishing college or finished in the last few years.. What's the practical value of a FL education? How has that made a difference in their work lives or given them a leg up in getting a job?

Haven't YOU lived in the world? Of course it is an advantage to speak more than one language.

It opens places for travel and work. For example, when you visit other countries, if you want to leave major cities, you often need to speak the native language (with a few exceptions, such as Scandinavia). It exposes you to new foods and culture/art/literature. It helps you understand linguistic nuance, and other perspectives.

What a sad, odd question.

Did you even read my question. I'm multi-lingual and speak 3 languages. I know very well the benefits of knowing a language when you travel. However, you can't know the languages of ALL the countries you travel to so there's that..

Reread my question please and focus on " How has that made a difference in their work lives or given them a leg up in getting a job?". Please share your thoughts directly related to my question.

[Anonymous]

OP, we found the number of FL years needed (suggested, recommended, whatever) seem to vary by areas of the county. And there is a correlation between HS requirements and then in-state college requirements, of that state, to graduate. Virginia in-state colleges are some of the worst (admission-wise - meaning competitive to get in) IF you have a student who isn't likely to want to take much FL in HS or isn't good at it. Don't then send them off to a Virginia college, where, once again, they are saddled with FL requirements. Research majors carefully but in some states it's still difficult to avoid. Likewise, many areas in the NE. Pockets in the midwest offer more U choices for a student who is weak in this area

[Anonymous]

PP again, Op it you are targeting top 20 schools, the previous post may not be helpful to you, but may be helpful to someone else reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't think in the United states, it might be useful for a person to having passing familiarity with Spanish? By 2050, the US will be the largest spanish speaking country in the world. We already have more spanish speakers than Spain.

Too bad you are stuck in the past, and don't understand how much others have to teach you and your family.

I've been in this country 30 years and keep hearing this. Never ever did I have the need to use any language other than English. Only time Spanish would have helped is when I pick up illegals at 7-11 to work on my yard but their broken english combined with my broken Spanish is usually good enough (although I've never taken a spanish class ever).