How important is it to take a foreign language in high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top school will want him to continue his studies, plain and simple. Stopping shoes that he’s just a bean counter, checking off requirement boxes as he goes, and not someone who is genuinely interested in learning.

I would think the opposite. If he continues to take a class he’s not interested in, just because He thinksthat’s what top schools want to see, that’s him not d doing what HE wants.

College admissions officers are not examining his schedule that critically. Five years of foreign language in MCPS is five years of foreign language. No college, should look down on that because he didn’t take a sixth year. I know that Kids get into top 20 schools all the time from FCPS without taking five years, let alone six. This is why guidance counselors do not want to give iadvice on this. Because it soon as a kid does not get into A specific collegesomeone will Want to blame the GC’s advice.As long as your kid is taking a great number of honors and AP classes, that shows rigor. There is plenty of room for 4 years of band classes, or an art or theater class.A student does not have to replace a Spanish class with an equally difficult class., Especially in the senior year.

I do not think a top school would count the two years of Spanish in middle school so they would assume this student has 3 years of high school Spanish

In FCPS, it counts as HS credit. Same way that taking Algebra in MS counts as HS credit.

Same in DCPS. My DC started high school with credit for 4 high school classes: 2 math, 2 language.

[Anonymous]

My daughter took 4 years of German and was accepted into Princeton. A 5th year would not have provided an extra benefit. She attends UVA because she had a strong grasp on Math and Finance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top school will want him to continue his studies, plain and simple. Stopping shoes that he’s just a bean counter, checking off requirement boxes as he goes, and not someone who is genuinely interested in learning.

I would think the opposite. If he continues to take a class he’s not interested in, just because He thinksthat’s what top schools want to see, that’s him not d doing what HE wants.

College admissions officers are not examining his schedule that critically. Five years of foreign language in MCPS is five years of foreign language. No college, should look down on that because he didn’t take a sixth year. I know that Kids get into top 20 schools all the time from FCPS without taking five years, let alone six. This is why guidance counselors do not want to give iadvice on this. Because it soon as a kid does not get into A specific collegesomeone will Want to blame the GC’s advice.As long as your kid is taking a great number of honors and AP classes, that shows rigor. There is plenty of room for 4 years of band classes, or an art or theater class.A student does not have to replace a Spanish class with an equally difficult class., Especially in the senior year.

I do not think a top school would count the two years of Spanish in middle school so they would assume this student has 3 years of high school Spanish

Princeton counted the 2 years of German my daughter took in middle school. Why wouldnt they? It's a high school class. The also counted th Algebra 1 she took in 6th grade. Also a high school class.

[Anonymous]

The fact is that most top students start language in middle school and have Algebra 1 in middle school as well.

Unless someone here is a Princeton admissions rep, no one knows what Princeton "counted." You just know that a student was admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact is that most top students start language in middle school and have Algebra 1 in middle school as well.

Unless someone here is a Princeton admissions rep, no one knows what Princeton "counted." You just know that a student was admitted.

+1


Students who apply from private schools have all taken Algebra in middle school. It's not on their high school transcript. Princeton knows that they have taken Algebra because no high school would allow them to go on to Geometry and Algebra II without it. Public school students with middle school Algebra do not get "counted" as having more high school classes than private school students.

It sounds like the admitted student took two years of German in high school. She must have had a very rigorous curriculum in other areas. I've heard that studying a foreign language that isn't Spanish or French can be a big plus, because universities have other foreign language departments that need students. Princeton has an excellent German language program and was probably thrilled to have an student who would likely continue her study of the German language.

By the way, when I took Spanish 101 at Princeton (voluntarily, after high school French and Latin), I met many students who had actually had four years of high school Spanish and didn't place out.

Signed,
Princeton grad