General Requirements for B.S.

[frogger]

As DS and I look at colleges we are seeing foreign language requirements for a BS degree. He was hoping to take the Latin SAT and be done with foreign language. He wants to focus on science and math but if he is taking a language he has to keep on it year round or it all goes away. He is terrible at it and it is a time hog if he is to make progress at all or even just not regress. He would really like those hours in his day to be used on something else.

 

I suppose we could not worry about it and he could start over at level 1 in Latin or a romance language and he would at least be able to keep up with his studies because he has 4 years worth of Latin background.

 

My question is, do most colleges require foreign language for a BS or is it just the ones we have checked out?

[Crimson Wife]

Can he take a FL as a dual-enrolled student next year and then transfer the credits?

[Kassia]

I think it depends on the college and the major.  Two of my sons in the engineering college did not require foreign language, but my son in the arts and sciences college did require foreign language (all attended the same university).  My degree and DH's did not require foreign language.  

[bettyandbob]

This is going to be different for every college and degree programs within each college.

[JanetC]

It's definitely something that depends on the college. Keep reading graduation requirements at schools that interest you.

 

With large universities, the majors are often divided into "colleges" that set different graduation requirements, so the College of Arts and Sciences might require foreign language while the College of Engineering might not, for example. So, knowing your intended major will help.

 

And remember that just because you don't need a foreign language to get out of a college (graduation requirement) you might still need a foreign language to get in (admissions requirement), so be careful about dropping it in the high school years.

[8filltheheart]

Actually, some schools do give credit for the subject test and some allow the subject test to satisfy their foreign language requirements.

 

Here are a couple of examples we have run across:

http://www.baylor.edu/irt/index.php?id=74597

https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/advising/info/SAT-subject-test-placement.aspx

 

In general terms, however, everything is institution specific. Most engineering programs, however, do seem to exempt students from FL requirements.

Edited February 16, 2017 by 8FillTheHeart

[BlsdMama]

Can I be the extremely rude one and show my redneck side?  I read the heading and thought, "Doesn't take much - apply, pay the admission fee, the BS soon follows."

 

Oh, yes, yes, I did.

[JanetC]

Can I be the extremely rude one and show my redneck side? I read the heading and thought, "Doesn't take much - apply, pay the admission fee, the BS soon follows."

 

Oh, yes, yes, I did.

Why wait? Start the BS in your application essays. The "why do you think our school is the greatest?" prompt is the obvious opportunity.

[frogger]

Can I be the extremely rude one and show my redneck side? I read the heading and thought, "Doesn't take much - apply, pay the admission fee, the BS soon follows."

 

Oh, yes, yes, I did.

Love it.

 

Sadly, my son has a strange inability to bs which you would think would be a good thing but no not really. It seems to be a requirement.

[G5052]

LOL. I read this wrong too.

 

I have double undergraduate degrees (not double majors, two B.S. degrees) from a technical school. For my math degree, I had to have four semesters of a single language. Not so for the computer science degree.  Two of my friends got chemistry degrees, and they had to have four semesters of a single language. I think physics was the same way. None of my friends in engineering had to have language credits.

[teachermom2834]

My two oldest boys are looking at business majors. Even the one at a LAC does not have a foreign language requirement. A local university has a FL requirement for a B.A. but not for a B.S. in business.

 

It is going to vary but we looked at it because my kids do not enjoy their FL courses.

[frogger]

Perhaps we need to just keep searching.

[Jenny in Florida]

The SATII tests high school level knowledge, so it's not going to work for college credit. Most schools require FL, some will be content with 3 years at the high school level, but many will not. If they go on to grad school, most require it. There is an AP Latin exam that might get you college credit. And to throw another wrinkle in there, some schools require a modern FL. AFA doesn't accept Latin. 

 

I think "most" is a stretch.

 

If all goes well, my son will be attending his third college this fall (dual enrolled at the local community college, enrolled as a freshman at a private university, where he stayed for two years, then decided to change majors and schools, came back home and is using this year to finish up an associate's and technical certificate at the community college, hoping/planning to transfer to the large state university campus in the fall to complete the bachelor's). All three consider his foreign language requirement met by the two years of Latin he took in high school. 

[JanetC]

I've seen two schools that take a minimum score in the SAT foreign language subject test as meeting the foreign language requirement as well.

[bettyandbob]

I think "most" is a stretch.

 

If all goes well, my son will be attending his third college this fall (dual enrolled at the local community college, enrolled as a freshman at a private university, where he stayed for two years, then decided to change majors and schools, came back home and is using this year to finish up an associate's and technical certificate at the community college, hoping/planning to transfer to the large state university campus in the fall to complete the bachelor's). All three consider his foreign language requirement met by the two years of Latin he took in high school.

Can you clarify. Did your DS take Latin through dual enrollment at the cc in high school or did he take a high school Latin course.

[snowbeltmom]

My question is, do most colleges require foreign language for a BS or is it just the ones we have checked out?

Neither of my boys will take a foreign language class in college. One attends a STEM school, while the other will be attending a liberal arts school.  Not having to take a foreign language in college was on their lists of requirements when making up their college lists, and they found a lot of schools that fit their requirements.

[Jenny in Florida]

Can you clarify. Did your DS take Latin through dual enrollment at the cc in high school or did he take a high school Latin course.

 

High school Latin. He did two years through Florida Virtual School. All three of the colleges he has attended/plans to attend consider it enough. Only students who did not have at least two years of foreign language in high school are required to take it in college.

 

(Actually, now that I think about it, the same was true for me even 30+ years ago. I had only one year of Spanish in high school and so had to take more in college, but if I had completed two years at the high school level, I could have been done.)

[bettyandbob]

High school Latin. He did two years through Florida Virtual School. All three of the colleges he has attended/plans to attend consider it enough. Only students who did not have at least two years of foreign language in high school are required to take it in college.

 

(Actually, now that I think about it, the same was true for me even 30+ years ago. I had only one year of Spanish in high school and so had to take more in college, but if I had completed two years at the high school level, I could have been done.)

Not all schools require foreign language, but the LAC I attended only let you out of the requirement if you had 4 high school credits. I believe that school has the same policy today.

 

My DD is not required FL for her major--math. She is at a large university with an Engineering focus. There are majors at her school that would require FL.

[frogger]

He took Latin for high school credit, not college though he is translating and has covered most grammar because he started in 6th grade. So two high school credits is what we planned on for high school transcripts. My concern was ending up having to take a Foreign Language in college might be a bear for him if he didn't have some background and for what? It's not likely he'll be fluent and if he doesn't continue in some way to study it will likely forget it so it's frustrating to me. I can understand a BA degree requiring it but not necessarily every degree in the school. I guess rather than change plans we will just continue looking at more colleges and their requirements.

[Bootsie]

I have found that while it is helpful to leave as many options open of what will count in college as possible, it is best to focus on (1) what will be the best high school education I can give my child and (2) what are the requirements needed to get into the most realistic (costs, admissions requirements, interests, etc.) colleges for my child.  Not only do kids change their mind on what school they want to attend and what they want to major in, universities can change their requirements by the time your child gets there.  So, just because there are foreign language requirements (or lack of them) right now at a particular school, your child will fall under the requirements in place at the time he begins at the university.

 

Also, I would not make a decision on a school based upon a foreign language requirement.  Yes, it might be a bummer for your child to have to take a couple of semesters of a foreign language.  But, each school will have something--a language requirement, a math requirement, science labs, a PE requirement, that isn't your child's first choice.  If the school is strong in the area of interest, you child will find a way to get through the undesirable required classes.  Also, for languages there are often creative ways to get those out of the way--sometimes there are international summer programs that will fulfill the requirement.

[hopskipjump]

DD1 was insistent that she didn't want to take foreign language in college. Her school/her degree does not require it.

 

She DID have to have 2 years of high-school-level foreign language. If she didn't meet that requirement, the uni would require it of her in college, IIRC.

 

The uni DD2 is looking at does require college-level foreign language. Ideally, she'll have two years of hs foreign language and two semesters of community college foreign language before starting at this university -so we are hoping she will have a maximum of one year during her freshman year and will be done.