4 years of foreign language?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An unmotivated or incapable kid who does only 2 years of a foreign language is very likely deficient in other ways to get into an Ivy, SLAC or even any top 500 school but community college is a good option. Some kids mature late and others just need the basics to get a job slightly above minimum wage.

Thanks for the snarky comment. My kid took 2 years of language in high school and 3 in middle school. For college admissions purposes only the high school years are counted. My kid got into Michigan, Georgia Tech, UiUC and UMD Honors college with Scholarship. Can’t believe how mean DCUMER’s can be!

So your kid took 5 years. Stop making everything about you. This post wasn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my kid is a high stats senior at TJ. He did only 2 years of Latin there. He took many computer science classes. Should he expect not to get into UVA then? Why don’t school counselors make it clear that colleges like UVA also want 4 years of a foreign language?

They do. They make it abundantly clear.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]So my kid is a high stats senior at TJ. He did only 2 years of Latin there. He took many computer science classes. Should he expect not to get into UVA then? Why don’t school counselors make it clear that colleges like UVA also want 4 years of a foreign language?[/quote]


Well, you already know that as a TJ student the regular guidelines don’t apply to your child but every TJ student aiming for an Ivy or top SLAC knows four or more years of foreign language is expected of applicants at that stage. The counselors all know it (my kid applied for aerospace engineering w/ five years of Spanish, to Princeton. Harvard, Yale and Cornell). You also know that the original name of the school was The T.J.. School for Tech and Latin. Its Latin program is very strong. You also know that 3 credits of a foreign language -which starts there in middle school - is required for the Advanced Degree. I suspect your child entered TJ with a strong Latin background from a local Catholic or private so tested out of the program early or took AP tests. Then, if your child proves to be a rocket scientist in anything not requiring Latin (it can be helpful in medicine or pharmacology and biology) and has a good GPA and test scores, I don’t think UVA would care about his foreign language years at TJ but he will have to take two more at TJ unless he tests out or has a proven disability that makes learning a foreign language impossible.

TJ students have already proven their grit and ability to apply themselves es to a course of study. Dean J talks about looking for an applicant’s ability to self-govern. TJ students can do that. They don’t need hand holding which is what concerns big public universities.

Finally. , I’ll sure you know that TJ sends more students-as it should since they are the cream of the crop - to UVA than any other high school in the US. The numbers seem to be dropping but generally 60 in a class of 3,759 go a year. I imagine there are quite a few brilliant scientists in the group who don’t have four years of foreign language but are RSI Competitors.

[Anonymous]

^^ sorry again. He would have to take two more years of foreign language at UVA (not TJ). Going to give up tapping on this tiny phone. Good luck to you all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my kid is a high stats senior at TJ. He did only 2 years of Latin there. He took many computer science classes. Should he expect not to get into UVA then? Why don’t school counselors make it clear that colleges like UVA also want 4 years of a foreign language?

You can look up that info yourself. Recommended is the bare minimum.

[Anonymous]

According to UVA, 2 years is required, but not for engineering, 4 years is preferable

The secondary program should include no fewer than 16 academic courses and must include the following courses:
English 4 units
Mathematics 4 units
Foreign Language 2 units
Science (from among biology, chemistry and physics) 2 units(1)
Social Studies 1 unit
(1) If applying to the School of Engineering and Applied Science, three units, including chemistry and physics, are required. Also, foreign language is recommended, but not required for admission to Engineering.

Because full-time students at the University take five academic courses each term, the committee recommends that students take no fewer than four, and preferably five, academic courses (English, math, history, science, and foreign language) each year in grades nine through twelve.

https://www2.virginia.edu/registrar/records/03-04ugradrec/chapter2/chapter2.htm

[Anonymous]

but read the last paragraph above ... “the University expects to see five courses each semester of the high school years” and specifies a foreign language! Anyhow, our FCPS counselors said four years for all top schools and that’s what both of my kids did and they got into UVA, Ga Tech. Purdue, etc

[Anonymous]

Some kids just don’t enjoy studying a foreign language. Take three years and be done. However, that fourth year needs to be replaced with an academically challenging course. Maybe they double up on science for example.

[Anonymous]

My kid took the world languages exam in MS and then left FL on the back burner because they were more interested in STEM. Then took the leap into AP FL as a senior this year in order to have a high-level FL language class to show on college apps (doing great in in it at the moment).

Does anyone know if this is an issue for UVA since there won't be years of FL on the transcript?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:but read the last paragraph above ... “the University expects to see five courses each semester of the high school years” and specifies a foreign language! Anyhow, our FCPS counselors said four years for all top schools and that’s what both of my kids did and they got into UVA, Ga Tech. Purdue, etc

I think your counselors are right, but the way it's phrased, you'd meet their expectations by taking AP English, AP Calc, AP Stat, Ap Physics and AP US history in a given year and you can't really say that schedule wouldn't be demanding

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best reason to continue a foreign language in high school isn’t to get into college but to satisfy the college’s foreign language requirement for graduation. For example, if you’ve completed 2 years of foreign language in high school, VATech doesn’t require any additional study at the college. For William and Mary, it’s 4 years. At UVA, unfortunately, you have to test out; just completing years of class is insufficient. All that said, some colleges have open curriculums that don’t have a foreign language requirement.

Was that requirement for all students or just liberal arts students. Foreign language was a college elective for engineering. I considered a double concentration which is why I took a FL throughout my engineering schooling.

[Anonymous]

This is a very student and college-specific question. You can't find an answer on the internet. My child was just admitted ED this week to a highly selective school with just three years of a FL, with the last year in 10th grade. However, my child's academic and personal strengths in other areas made up for that choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some kids just don’t enjoy studying a foreign language. Take three years and be done. However, that fourth year needs to be replaced with an academically challenging course. Maybe they double up on science for example.

Would the three years include levels taken in MS? for eg. level 1 & 2 in MS then level 3 in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a very student and college-specific question. You can't find an answer on the internet. My child was just admitted ED this week to a highly selective school with just three years of a FL, with the last year in 10th grade. However, my child's academic and personal strengths in other areas made up for that choice.

Did your child apply for a STEM or Humanities major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best reason to continue a foreign language in high school isn’t to get into college but to satisfy the college’s foreign language requirement for graduation. For example, if you’ve completed 2 years of foreign language in high school, VATech doesn’t require any additional study at the college. For William and Mary, it’s 4 years. At UVA, unfortunately, you have to test out; just completing years of class is insufficient. All that said, some colleges have open curriculums that don’t have a foreign language requirement.

This. I've got one kid at UVA, and one at W&M. They both took up to AP level plus one additional year, and both got AP scores that gave them the credit they needed. They now have that many more options/flexibility when doing course selections.