Monday, May 28, 2007
Is It OK To Drop Spanish?
Dear Guidance Guy,
I'm currently a sophomore. I am in Spanish 3. The class is easy and I love the teacher I have right now but I'm getting sick of the language. There are other classes that I would rather take. I really want to help in the Independent Skills Center (ISC) class again next year. This is the Special Education class. I have been doing that this year and I absolutely love it. The students have taught me so many things and I couldn't imagine not being with them again next year. I also want to take the early childhood education class which has to do with younger kids. The problem is that my mom won't let me stop taking Spanish.
My schedule next year will consist of: Health Careers, AP English Language, Pre-Calculus, American Studies 11, Anatomy and Physiology, AP Statistics, Spanish 4, and a mandatory CAT Crew class which is a class that helps the incoming freshman transition into high school.
The only way that I can take the other classes is to drop Health Careers or Spanish 4. I can't drop Health Careers because I applied for it and it's a 2 year program that I really want to do. I don't like Spanish so that would be that class to drop. As it is, a foreign language is not required but would it look bad to colleges? I need advice as to what I should do.
Thanks!
Torn Between Classes
*** *** ***
Dear Torn,
A big part of the answer to this question is what you intend to do when you graduate from college. It looks as if you are gearing up for a career in a helping profession of some kind. I'm also assuming your grades are very good with the type of courses you are taking. I want to give you two answers to your question.
If you are planning on a college that has a very selective admission standard (that is hard to get into) you will be doing serious damage to your chances of getting in by not taking at least a third year of Spanish at the high school level. Most of the highly selective schools are looking for at least three and preferably four years of language while you're in high school (most say having the first year in middle school doesn't count). You may be able to undo some of this damage with a really strong explanation of why you didn't take the third year if it shows your passion for what you want to do instead. Someone who is self-motivated and is willing to do things a bit differently can be interesting to a college with a high admission standard.
But that brings me to the second answer. If you figure out what you want and can get a good education for it at a college that is OK with you having only two years of Spanish in high school, I see nothing wrong with following your desire for the other courses. Of course this means you'll have to do some research now about what colleges you might find interesting. I know you're only in 10th grade but you are making choices now that could impact your future plans. Is there a college you like that will be OK with only two years?
My guess is that there is, but it is still your job to find this out for yourself. Look through a good college guide like Profiles of Amercian Colleges (Barrons) or Petersen's Guide. They'll tell you the reqirements for different colleges. Most high school guidance offices have one or both of these available, so no need to buy anything. And checking with the admissions offices of the colleges themselves is always a good idea.
You're asking great questions, Torn. Now go out and get some great answers also.
Thanks for a great letter,
The Guidance Guy
I'm currently a sophomore. I am in Spanish 3. The class is easy and I love the teacher I have right now but I'm getting sick of the language. There are other classes that I would rather take. I really want to help in the Independent Skills Center (ISC) class again next year. This is the Special Education class. I have been doing that this year and I absolutely love it. The students have taught me so many things and I couldn't imagine not being with them again next year. I also want to take the early childhood education class which has to do with younger kids. The problem is that my mom won't let me stop taking Spanish.
My schedule next year will consist of: Health Careers, AP English Language, Pre-Calculus, American Studies 11, Anatomy and Physiology, AP Statistics, Spanish 4, and a mandatory CAT Crew class which is a class that helps the incoming freshman transition into high school.
The only way that I can take the other classes is to drop Health Careers or Spanish 4. I can't drop Health Careers because I applied for it and it's a 2 year program that I really want to do. I don't like Spanish so that would be that class to drop. As it is, a foreign language is not required but would it look bad to colleges? I need advice as to what I should do.
Thanks!
Torn Between Classes
*** *** ***
Dear Torn,
A big part of the answer to this question is what you intend to do when you graduate from college. It looks as if you are gearing up for a career in a helping profession of some kind. I'm also assuming your grades are very good with the type of courses you are taking. I want to give you two answers to your question.
If you are planning on a college that has a very selective admission standard (that is hard to get into) you will be doing serious damage to your chances of getting in by not taking at least a third year of Spanish at the high school level. Most of the highly selective schools are looking for at least three and preferably four years of language while you're in high school (most say having the first year in middle school doesn't count). You may be able to undo some of this damage with a really strong explanation of why you didn't take the third year if it shows your passion for what you want to do instead. Someone who is self-motivated and is willing to do things a bit differently can be interesting to a college with a high admission standard.
But that brings me to the second answer. If you figure out what you want and can get a good education for it at a college that is OK with you having only two years of Spanish in high school, I see nothing wrong with following your desire for the other courses. Of course this means you'll have to do some research now about what colleges you might find interesting. I know you're only in 10th grade but you are making choices now that could impact your future plans. Is there a college you like that will be OK with only two years?
My guess is that there is, but it is still your job to find this out for yourself. Look through a good college guide like Profiles of Amercian Colleges (Barrons) or Petersen's Guide. They'll tell you the reqirements for different colleges. Most high school guidance offices have one or both of these available, so no need to buy anything. And checking with the admissions offices of the colleges themselves is always a good idea.
You're asking great questions, Torn. Now go out and get some great answers also.
Thanks for a great letter,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 11:56 AM
