Question About UVA Admissions and Foreign Language

[Anonymous]

Another thank you for the Dean blog post. If you max out the language rigor and AP before senior year, what are your options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thank you for the Dean blog post. If you max out the language rigor and AP before senior year, what are your options?

Many students take Spanish, which offers two AP courses that are often taken junior and senior year. Other students take their one AP foreign language course as a junior and then take a community college course in that language during their senior year. A smaller number of students will max out in one language (sometimes taking the AP course as a sophomore) and then take other language classes at their high school (picking something similar -- after AP French, they take German 1 and 2; or picking something completely different -- after AP Chinese, they take Latin 1 and 2).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thank you for the Dean blog post. If you max out the language rigor and AP before senior year, what are your options?

Many students take Spanish, which offers two AP courses that are often taken junior and senior year. Other students take their one AP foreign language course as a junior and then take a community college course in that language during their senior year. A smaller number of students will max out in one language (sometimes taking the AP course as a sophomore) and then take other language classes at their high school (picking something similar -- after AP French, they take German 1 and 2; or picking something completely different -- after AP Chinese, they take Latin 1 and 2).

+1 This is what my DD did. She took French through AP level in junior year. Then she took Latin 1 as a senior. She is at UVA now.majoring in Biology.

[Anonymous]

My kid got in last year and only took through level 4 of foreign language, no AP. She did not take foreign language after 10th. She was not a STEM major. I know at least two of her friends had the same track and outcome (they were all in the same language class).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I thought the normal course sequence is Language 1-4, then either AP or DE for the language in year 5. How do you take 6 years of a language?

It depends on the school. My kids attend 2 different private high schools and both schools do world languages as level 1, 2, 3, and then you take either AP or level 4 depending on your final grade /teacher recommendation in level 3.

[Anonymous]

I really laugh at how riduculous this requirement is. My kid is in his 6th year of German. We went last summer and he could hardly speak a lick and could not understand much and he is an A student. Its an absolute dog and pony here in the US. There is absoulty NO mastery unless you are in some sort of immersion program or have parents who speak it at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I thought the normal course sequence is Language 1-4, then either AP or DE for the language in year 5. How do you take 6 years of a language?

My son is in German 6 in Loudoun County

It goes
German 5 is Honors
German 6 is DE

There is then a German Language and Culture that is an AP class with German 5 being the prereq. It is an immersion class and is a potential 7th year if you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thank you for the Dean blog post. If you max out the language rigor and AP before senior year, what are your options?

Many students take Spanish, which offers two AP courses that are often taken junior and senior year. Other students take their one AP foreign language course as a junior and then take a community college course in that language during their senior year. A smaller number of students will max out in one language (sometimes taking the AP course as a sophomore) and then take other language classes at their high school (picking something similar -- after AP French, they take German 1 and 2; or picking something completely different -- after AP Chinese, they take Latin 1 and 2).

+1 This is what my DD did. She took French through AP level in junior year. Then she took Latin 1 as a senior. She is at UVA now.majoring in Biology.

Mine did a summer community course in his foreign language. UVA aerospace engineering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really laugh at how riduculous this requirement is. My kid is in his 6th year of German. We went last summer and he could hardly speak a lick and could not understand much and he is an A student. Its an absolute dog and pony here in the US. There is absoulty NO mastery unless you are in some sort of immersion program or have parents who speak it at home.[/quote]


And yet others do master it. My daughter did in Japanese and DS in Spanish, then German. The requirement is not "ridiculous" for the reason you give. Elite schools think they are educating citizens of the world who will need to deal in multiple languages in a complex business world. That's why they require it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really laugh at how riduculous this requirement is. My kid is in his 6th year of German. We went last summer and he could hardly speak a lick and could not understand much and he is an A student. Its an absolute dog and pony here in the US. There is absoulty NO mastery unless you are in some sort of immersion program or have parents who speak it at home.[/quote]


And yet others do master it. My daughter did in Japanese and DS in Spanish, then German. The requirement is not "ridiculous" for the reason you give. Elite schools think they are educating citizens of the world who will need to deal in multiple languages in a complex business world. That's why they require it.

+1. From College Simply as to why universities want to see four high school years and then have their own college-level foreign language requirement, as well. "Colleges believe studying a foreign language expands your worldview and can open doors to more careers. Being fluent in another language can be especially beneficial in the tech, education, business, and law sectors, as well as in other fields that play a key role in the global economy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really laugh at how riduculous this requirement is. My kid is in his 6th year of German. We went last summer and he could hardly speak a lick and could not understand much and he is an A student. Its an absolute dog and pony here in the US. There is absoulty NO mastery unless you are in some sort of immersion program or have parents who speak it at home.[/quote]


And yet others do master it. My daughter did in Japanese and DS in Spanish, then German. The requirement is not "ridiculous" for the reason you give. Elite schools think they are educating citizens of the world who will need to deal in multiple languages in a complex business world. That's why they require it.

Well I do a ton of business internationally, as my territory is the pacrim and I have never once had to conduct a business meeting in anyting, but English. Never have I ever even needed and interperetor.

I think it is GREAT to be fluent in another language, I'm fluent in Ukrainian and proficient in Russian. However, it is highly unusual to become fluent in a language without immersion. I find it very hard to believe your kids could possibly carry on a business conversation in any of the languages they have studied in school. My kids have been immersed in Ukrainian and still speak poorly. Cerntainly not well enough to sound educated in a business meeting as a "citizen of the world"

[Anonymous]

hahaha! I went up to Spanish 5 and I can still sing des colores and como se dice is seared into my brain. That is what I got out of 5 years of high school spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thank you for the Dean blog post. If you max out the language rigor and AP before senior year, what are your options?

My DD finished AP junior year and switched to Chinese senior year because my DD likes challenges. Boy was it a challenge! Would not recommend 🤣😆