Young Writers Society

Alright, so as you may be able to guess by my age, I'm going into high school next year.

The issue is my electives. I don't know what the policies are in other areas, but I need to get a few years of foreign languages in to have any hope of getting into college. Three years of one language or two in one + two in another are my options.

Here's the thing: I have the intention of applying to UVA. I recently went to an orientation at my future high school and saw a foreign language presentation there in which they stated that the average number of foreign language years for accepted applications is 4.

So, basically, I need four years of a foreign language in there.

Now, I have to take gym in 9th and 10th grade and have 2 elective slots those years. After that, I can drop gym and have 3 elective slots.

And now this big problem: I'm taking ASL next year. UVA accepts ASL, thankfully, but the big issue there is that there are only three levels of ASL. So I'm left hanging in need of another foreign language year...but taking just one year of a language isn't exactly a good move.

Now, I have the absolute intention of taking theatre for all four years of high school. I will also take ASL for the first two years.

But what should I do after that? Here are my options:

1) Take the third year of ASL, then hope that other factors will get me in.
2) Take 2 years of ASL, and two years of German
3) Take 3 years of ASL, and use the slot that is opened when I lose gym for German

Currently, I'm leaning toward option two. What do you think?

Option 2.

zomg I wanna go to UVA too!

But really, I would simply drop ASL and take another language. No offense, but ASL does not look at all impressive on a college application. Take an oral language. If that doesn't float your boat, take an oral language (like German!) at Community College. It will look really good if you already have college credit.

Remember: It is important to stick with a language. I would definitely drop ASL, though. However, don't opt for the two years of one/two years of another language. I know I'm not in college, but most people I know who are (including my uncle who works as a college professor admissions person thing XD ) say it looks much more impressive to choose a language and stick with it. Four years of, say, French, looks better than 2 years of French and 2 of Spanish.

Best of luck!

Option two. Geman rules. Und es ist viel spass!

I agree with Antigone. Sorry, but it's best to take four years of a single language, and I'm not sure how impressive ASL is on a college application.

That's not to say you can't learn ASL, though, just perhaps not in the high school setting. Maybe you can start by teaching yourself (I bet there's tons of guides in the library and on the Internet). Perhaps there's community college classes you can take in ASL over the summer (any college loves a student who pursues learning outside their high school classrooms). Or you can always wait and take ASL in college and drop German or whatever language you had to take in high school.

Also, not to sway your college decision or anything, but my university has an ASL-only floor in one of the dorms (well actually, at the moment it's only half a floor, but they're trying to expand it) to help students with some proficiency in ASL keep learning and using the language.