Applying to Colleges

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Celebi23

Aspiring Trainer
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I'm a junior in high school and I'm trying to work out my schedule. I'm currently taking:

AP US History & English Block
AP Calculus
Spanish 4
Chemistry
Filler classes (Engineering 1, Entrepreneurship)

This is quite a workload (I basically get home at 3:30 and do homework until 8:30 with no breaks), so I'm thinking about dropping Spanish 4 for a P.E./Fitness class. Do any of you who have already graduated high school and applied for college think this will hurt my chances of getting into good colleges? I'd prefer that only people who are already graduated from high school answer.
 
...I only took Spanish II, and it worked out perfectly fine for me, lol. It's best to take your required and AP classes as early and as often as possible, so you'll have a lighter workload during your senior year. And dropping Spanish 4 (again, I only took Spanish 2 and I got into university just fine) probably won't hurt your chances of getting into any colleges.

Hope this helps. If you need me to elaborate on anything, just ask.
 
You probably should be fine. There are a good number of schools that even if you took the maximum years of a language that still want you to take a language when you get there (the one I am attending included, I took 4 years of German in high school and now I am in German 201 my first semester). Also, you could probably take Spanish next year if you are really concerned about it, but it probably won't be a factor, Spanish 3 should be plenty.

In addition, considering you are a junior, I'm sure there are places that you have some interest in attending, check with them! They probably have their list of requirements on their admissions pages.

Oh, and if you are planning on being a Spanish major, don't drop Spanish. That's probably self-explanatory but it was just a last second thought I thought I should include. Hope this helps!
 
yeah, drop Spanish 4 so you have more time for the classes that matter (APs). AP scores, SAT/ACT scores, your GPA and (if relevant) your interview are virtually the only things that matter for getting into college (barring Ivy Leagues, in which case they want you to do interesting things outside schoolwork)
 
I also am agreeing with dropping Spanish 4. I took Spanish 2 in High School then continued it when I went to college. If you can speak another language decently it does help your application which I think you'd be able to do after Spanish 3.
 
Entrepreneurship class? SO jealous.

On topic though, any language teacher I have ever spoken to has said that it looks a lot better to collages to have Spanish all throughout high school.
 
Zenith said:
yeah, drop Spanish 4 so you have more time for the classes that matter (APs). AP scores, SAT/ACT scores, your GPA and (if relevant) your interview are virtually the only things that matter for getting into college (barring Ivy Leagues, in which case they want you to do interesting things outside schoolwork)
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To add onto this, most universities use languages classes as a requirement to be enrolled (in Florida, it requires two courses), but depending on the general education curriculum of the university, you'll probably end up having to take a foreign language class there once more.

So unless you really want to have a good Spanish base, I'd take any AP class over it.
 
Really it all depends on the school you want to get into. If you're looking to get into a state college, there's no reason to overburden yourself with APs. This holds especially true, because overloading can often cause your gpa to go down.

I took 14 APs when I was in highschool, but that was only necessary due to my financial situation, and the schools I was applying to. In fact, for most people, it is best to go to a local college for less first, and then transfer to another later. This way you are closer to family if needed, and can accumulate less debt.

My recommendation is to keep Spanish 4, and drop an elective that you are less passionate about. Take AP Spanish next year. If you take AP Spanish, you only have to take a couple classes in college to get a minor is Spanish.

Similarly, I took 3 AP classes less than I could have (0 Freshman, 2 Sophomore, 6 Junior, 6 Senior) so i could take Orchestra all 4 years of highschool. This obviously brought down the rigor of my transcript, but it was worth far more than taking 3 APs irrelevant to my interests.

And lastly, whatever you do, don't take AP Music Theory. I got a 4 on that stupid thing >.< You have to sing as part of the test.
 
Jay said:
Really it all depends on the school you want to get into. If you're looking to get into a state college, there's no reason to overburden yourself with APs. This holds especially true, because overloading can often cause your gpa to go down.
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Obviously one shouldn't bite more than one can chew, but I still believe in trying to cram in the AP courses, since those actually have return in their investments. I threw in a hiatus on these forums in the past to concentrate on the Senior year, and through a mix of 10 AP courses and Dual Enrollment, I stepped into college with the every single General Education requirement fulfilled, equating to my undergraduate life being cut in half from four years to two. If the AP class is relevant (key word here) to either your planned major or to the general curriculum the university has, I say take it. Getting a decent score on the AP Exam would mean it's one less class to take in your college life.

This is assuming the university of your choice actually accepts AP credits, and they vary, so you do have to check.

EDITED aside: Jay, stop getting disgruntled about having a 4, lol.
 
I never took anything higher than Spanish 2 and it had no bearing on my college admission. Most colleges want up to Spanish 2, so you should be fine. Unless you want to major in Spanish, I'd say drop it. And even so, you could easily catch up in college if you needed to.
 
Another quick piece of advice: If you do end up taking more AP's, take Economics and Psychology. Those classes were almost as easy as required classes like health xD
 
Unless you want to pursue a career that needs it, (ex: my friend who is majoring in spanish and plans to work in Mexico) definitely drop Spanish.

Like lots of people above, I took Spanish 1 & 2 and that was fine. My school doesnt even have Spanish 4 lol.


But AP & Dual Entollment classes are great. They are so worth the work my friend. Because of my work in high school, I started college as a sophomore, plus I get money back. (although it goes straight into paying for books)
 
I took 4 years of language in high school (Spanish Fresh/Soph, French Jun/Sen, plus 2 years of Spanish in junior high), and it didn't matter a lick on any of my applications and I still had to take a language course in college (so I took Latin because it was awesome), as did everyone else. I have to echo that the only reason you should continue taking it is if you plan on continuing on with Spanish as a serious part of your education, or if you really enjoy it.

Then again, I didn't take a single AP course and got all my scholarships based on my awesome ACT scores. So, your mileage can, and probably will, vary.
 
safariblade said:
Unless you want to pursue a career that needs it, (ex: my friend who is majoring in spanish and plans to work in Mexico) definitely drop Spanish.

Like lots of people above, I took Spanish 1 & 2 and that was fine. My school doesnt even have Spanish 4 lol.


But AP & Dual Entollment classes are great. They are so worth the work my friend. Because of my work in high school, I started college as a sophomore, plus I get money back. (although it goes straight into paying for books)
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Right here. The only reason I went and took AP Spanish is because I want to minor in it. Don't kill yourself over classes you don't plan on taking in the future, and think ahead.

That being said, don't go on AP-overload because you may not even get credit for those courses. Check the colleges you want to apply to first before enrolling in those classes. I'm still slapping myself for taking AP Physics C when I'm majoring in pharmacy. -__-
 
Serperior: Don't be too hasty. It is smart to take certain classes that you aren't planning on using towards your major in terms of the AP world. For example, I am a Freshman at OSU and I am majoring in BioMedical Engineering, so AP Chemistry, AP BC Calculus, are classes that are a must. I did take those classes, however, I did not use them to test out of classes here, I used my knowledge from them to retake them and so far college has been a breeze. Furthermore I want to have a solid basis in terms of math and chemistry as the major is heavy in those fields.

Now, what was most helpful, were the AP's that I did not necessarily NEED for my major. AP US History, AP Stats, AP Euro History, and AP Physics C were all classes that I worked hard in in High School and now I don't have to take classes in college that deviate from my major. SO it is good to work hard on things that you don't plan on taking in the future, because if you do work hard on them you will not have to work hard on them in the future.

Hope this helps! Good luck.
 
Nope, I don't think dropping Spanish 4 would hurt your chances at all. In fact, depending on what you want to do, your AP classes might be overboard. My high school offered 2 AP courses, and I didn't take any -- and also got into better collegiate academic programs than my friends who took the offered AP classes. To be honest, I think a solid GPA (with well-rounded coursework), good ACT/SAT scores, and essay/interviewing skills hold more weight than the amount of AP credit.

On the other hand, as Wiseman pointed out, if your AP credits transfer, you could get out of general ed classes your first few years in college. However, I had no AP credits and had to take the gen ed courses my freshman year of school. Not stressing out about AP courses in high school was well worth the time I spent taking those classes in college, though (which I mostly skipped and still ended up using them as a nice GPA boost).

I'm in my sixth year of school and getting my doctorate in May, so take my advice as you see fit. =)
 
I haven't given any thought to it at all yet. My goal is to keep my options as open as possible and try as many different classes as I can to help me decide.
 
omaha has a point. While there's no huge pressure to decide your Major right this second, it's good to know what your interests are and what kind of career you want to pursue, so you can keep your options open in college and not waste a lot of money doing so.
 
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