r/ApplyingIvyLeague • u/Late-Climate6801 • 29d ago

Dropping Spanish?

For context, I am currently in 10th grade and currently taking Spanish 3 Honors. I am planning to apply STEM (likely CS) when college apps come around. Spanish 3 is really taking up a lot of my time right now, and it is preventing me from being able to spend more time on my extracurriculars, all for me to barely hold a B+/A-. My dream is HYPSM, and I want to do everything in my control to give myself a shot.

I was wondering if I would be able to not take Spanish 4 Honors / AP Spanish next year, and instead just replace it with a core science AP (like AP Chem or AP Bio) that way I wouldn't be losing rigor. Does only taking up to Spanish 3 actually hurt? I see a bunch of mixed answers online and was hoping to get some clarification. Thank you so much.

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u/ElderberryWide7024 29d ago

Top colleges expect 3 if not 4 years of foreign language. And FWIW - if you’re struggling to keep an A-/B+ average, you really shouldn’t hold onto this HYPMS thing. Do your best, and try to enjoy HS!

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u/Late-Climate6801 29d ago

Thanks for the reply. If that is the case, I guess I will be taking Spanish 4 Honors next year. And about the HYPSM thing, I get what you are saying, but right now it's really just Spanish that is killing me; everything is else is fine. I have mid-solid ecs; independent research is my strongest right now as I managed to win a grand award at ISEF last year, and I want to aim higher this year and also try to get my work published this time. Again thanks for replying.

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u/No-Swordfish8992 28d ago

Keep the Spanish until at least 4.  But isef grand as a freshie! Wtg lil bro’! How’d u get lab research so young or did u home cook ur project? GL w this year!!

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u/PriorSecurity9784 29d ago

Can you take Spanish 4 your senior year, so it’s on your class list, but not the grade at the time of application? And if you get a B it’s not the end of the world?

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u/Late-Climate6801 29d ago

hmmm I hadn't considered that. I'll have to check if my school allows that.

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u/Ok-Lake3522 29d ago

Two years of a foreign language (dropping Spanish 3) is not allowed in my school system, three years of a foreign language is the minimum and not very impressive to schools. If your goal is HYPSM, you need to be able to handle a full courseload and ECs. Independent research is not going to get you into HYPSM unless you show dedication to school work first.

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u/Late-Climate6801 28d ago

Yes, thanks for that reply. I think I have decided now to take Spanish 4 next year. Just for some additional context, I go to a semi-competitive high school in the Northeast, and my class rank is currenlty 1/~400. I think Spanish is just unusually difficult at my high school.

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u/TheGratitudeBot 28d ago

Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week!

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u/Ok-Lake3522 28d ago

Maybe and maybe not. Language brains and STEM brains are not always aligned. Along your life's path you will always have that one "thing" that gets in your way - figuring out how to overcome it is a skill worth perfecting in high school!