How much foreign language do you need to get into college?

[MrsK]

Well shoot. Chances are DD will be graduating from HS in CA.

So looks like she'll have to take PreCalc after all to get in her math credits then... She's taking Alg 2 and Stat here, but here they count the middle school math towards the 4 years required, so if we stayed here she'd be "done" with math!

Poor girl...

I was weak in mathematics too. I took all my college math during the summers at the community college when I was in high school. I know that sounds advanced but really, I was in the the middle of the pack for jr. college remedial math courses and I would have drowned if I had taken math as part of my 4-yr curriculum. I got to opt out of college math other than a statistics course for my major (which I barely passed). Again, it was great having "free" credit hours within which to take electives that interested me.

[MrsK]

This. It's been 20 years since I applied to college so I'd definitely check out the current requirements. I had a zillion years of Spanish from grade school through high school -- it was pretty standard for schools in Miami. I am definitely not proficient but I had enough credits that I did not have to take ANY language in college. That was a real benefit for me because I hated my Spanish classes and it freed up my schedule to take classes I wanted to take, pick up a second major, etc.

I was weak in mathematics too. I took all my college math during the summers at the community college when I was in high school. I know that sounds advanced but really, I was in the the middle of the pack for jr. college remedial math courses and I would have drowned if I had taken math as part of my 4-yr curriculum. I got to opt out of college math other than a statistics course for my major (which I barely passed). Again, it was great having "free" credit hours within which to take electives that interested me.

BTW, my point here is not how much of any given subject is required to get into college. My point is that if she takes enough of a subject she hates in high school, she may be able to avoid it all together in college. For me, it made my college experience much more enjoyable and helped my college GPA.

[DCJenn]

Peggy- here's the information from the UW Seattle freshman admission section:

English - 4 years
Mathematics - 3 years
Social Studies - 3 years
Science - 2 years* (two years of lab science required)
Foreign Language - 2 years
Fine, Visual and Performing Arts - 1/2 year
Academic Electives - 1/2 year


Almost all applicants will have satisfied these requirements through high school course work, which is generally defined as that completed in grades 9-12. However, there are several ways to satisfy CADR requirements at the college level. In general, five quarter credits (or three semester credits) at the college level equals one year of high-school study. If you completed a portion of the CADR requirements in high school, you can pick up in college where you left off in high school. For example, if you completed three years of English in high school, you can use one college English composition or literature course to bring your total to four years.


and specific to your question:

Foreign Language: 2 Years

If taken in high school:

Two years of study are required. The two years must be completed in the same language.

The foreign language requirement will be considered satisfied for applicants who complete their education through the seventh grade in school(s) a) where English was not the language of instruction and b) in countries other than Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S.
International applicants who entered the U.S. education system prior to the 8th grade must satisfy the foreign language requirement.

Any natural language that has been formally studied may be used to satisfy this requirement, including American Sign Language (AMESLAN, the language of the deaf community), and languages no longer spoken, such as Latin and ancient Greek. However, neither computer 'languages' nor forms of deaf signing aside from AMESLAN are acceptable.

A foreign language course taken in the eighth grade may satisfy one year of the requirement if the second-year course is completed in high school
If made up through college course work:

For purposes of admission, each quarter of language in college is considered equivalent to one year in high school. Applicants who have never studied a foreign language will need to complete ten quarter credits of a single foreign language. However, an applicant who studied French for one year in high school needs to complete only the second five (5) quarter credits (e.g., FREN 102) or the second three (3) semester credits of a first-year language sequence.

Jenn

[peggyfromwastate]

Thanks jenn!!!

I think uw would be maybe out of her reach unless she really brings up her gpa. But these standards would be the same for the other state schools.

I don't know why I didn't look on the website. Thanks for doing that research!!

[SoonerTexan]

I highly recommend taking enough foreign language in HS to avoid it in college. OU required 3 classes, for a total of 11 hours--almost a semester! (Spanish 1 was a 5 hour class). I tested out of Spanish 1 & 2 by taking Spanish 1, 2, & 3 in HS. So worth it.

[diggitydot]

There are tons of decent schools in WA.

http://www.collegeplan.org/cpnow/links/unilinks.htm

[madeintaiwan]

I highly recommend taking enough foreign language in HS to avoid it in college. OU required 3 classes, for a total of 11 hours--almost a semester! (Spanish 1 was a 5 hour class). I tested out of Spanish 1 & 2 by taking Spanish 1, 2, & 3 in HS. So worth it.

Now that I recall, I think this is why we all took 4 years of foreign language in HS. None of us had to take a foreign language to get our Bachelor's.

[diggitydot]

Now I REALLy wish I would have taken Japanese instead of Russian in high school. Talk about conjugation hell.

[lovelight]

Now I REALLy wish I would have taken Japanese instead of Russian in high school. Talk about conjugation hell.

I wish my high school had offered those! We were stuck with Spanish or French!

[peggyfromwastate]

I think the quality of Spanish she's getting would preclude her from testing out in college. I tested out of Spanish but I had 4 solid years in high school where we really learned a lot.

She wants to take photography 2 instead of Spanish 4. I'm definitely on the fence about this. She is already taking another art course, and she's taking child development which involves helping with curricul for the preschool program within the school (eyeroll). She's also taking 1 AP class (government) which is very tough (2-3 hours homework a night is the story. Highly doubt that) and she's in honors biology, honors English, and statistics.

I think she has a light schedule but the problem I have with Spanish is that she is not learning anything. She manages to get "B"s on her report card. She has always been interested in Japanese so taking that (or a different) foreign language in college wouldn't be the end of the world....

[MrsK]

I didn't have to test out of Spanish. I simply had enough HS credits to satisfy the requirement. I never would have passed a test. I'd encourage her to get it out of the way now because there will be so many fascinating classes she'll want to take in college.

[madeintaiwan]

I didn't have to test out of Spanish. I simply had enough HS credits to satisfy the requirement. I never would have passed a test. I'd encourage her to get it out of the way now because there will be so many fascinating classes she'll want to take in college.

Same here. I didn't have to test out either.

[scarlett09]

Each college and university handles the foreign language entrance requirements differently. The information should be available on the admissions page of the institutions your DD is interested in. I know that with your moves and college being a little ways off that she hasn't quite decided which places she is interested in. I would recommend doing a quick scan of the admissions webpages of institutions in your geographic area to get a feel for what the foreign language entrance requirements might be. There are sometimes even different requirements within universities; a quick scan of the entrance requirements at my alma mater shows that some of its schools and colleges require no HS foreign language, while others require 2 years.

My views of "testing out" or "AP credit" on particular subjects are this: if you can do it, then great! If you can't, it's not the end of the world. I would also look to see what the graduation requirements are for the school. The "testing out" issue might be null if the institution does not have a foreign language graduation requirement. Again, there are differences within universities - DH and I attended the same university; my college had a foreign language graduation requirement (2 semesters or their equivalent), while his college had no requirement. If the graduation requirement is there, then it may be the perfect opportunity for your DD to explore her interest in Japanese.