Online Classes?

I'm entering my sophomore year of high school and I can't fit a foreign language course into my schedule. I was thinking about taking an online Spanish class, but was wondering if the service academies would even recognize those credits. Also, would it be a good idea to look into some foreign language courses at a community college?

Thanks for the help!!

While I can't speak for the NA, take the CC course. I suspect that they'd look cross-eyed at an online course if it was not an accredited college and I doubt many of those would admit a HS soph. for a single course.

But of greater concern to me is your statement that you cannot "fit" a foreign language into your schedule. Most universities require at least 3 years of a language - and most make their acceptance decisions at the beginning of your senior year. So in your case you'll be filling out the application packets with only two years on your transcripts - while almost all of the other applicants will show 3. I see this as a major disadvantage (but I'm not an admissions officer so I may be totally off the mark.) Regardless, I would talk with your guidance office about making room in your schedule. Even if that means dropping some other class.

scsr4 said:

I'm entering my sophomore year of high school and I can't fit a foreign language course into my schedule. I was thinking about taking an online Spanish class, but was wondering if the service academies would even recognize those credits. Also, would it be a good idea to look into some foreign language courses at a community college?

Thanks for the help!!

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Hard to tell without more details, but I expect that if you cannot fit s foreign language into your schedule, that your priorities are messed up. I'd be dropping that drama pr wppdworking class, or whatever, to include the foreign language. You'll need it wherever you go to college.

osdad said:

While I can't speak for the NA, take the CC course. I suspect that they'd look cross-eyed at an online course if it was not an accredited college and I doubt many of those would admit a HS soph. for a single course.

But of greater concern to me is your statement that you cannot "fit" a foreign language into your schedule. Most universities require at least 3 years of a language - and most make their acceptance decisions at the beginning of your senior year. So in your case you'll be filling out the application packets with only two years on your transcripts - while almost all of the other applicants will show 3. I see this as a major disadvantage (but I'm not an admissions officer so I may be totally off the mark.) Regardless, I would talk with your guidance office about making room in your schedule. Even if that means dropping some other class.

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Not sure about them requiring 3 years. None of the schools I applied to when I was applying for schools had that requirement. I think at most they recommended having 1-2 years. Granted things may have changed in the past 3 years since I was applying for college, so I could be wrong.

As for the original question. USNA will not take those language credits. As with most other APs or college credits, they aren't directly transferred but you do have an opportunity to validate. Every plebe who has any experience with one of the foreign languages the academy offers has the opportunity to take a validation test during plebe summer for languages. These tests are really not all that difficult. I was able to validate two semesters of Spanish after not actually studying the language for about 4 years.

If you have any intention of even considering being a group 3 major at USNA, I'd recommend taking the course if you feel that you could pick up enough skills to at least have a basic understanding of what is being said when listening or reading something in the language. Group 3 majors are required to have 4 semesters of a foreign language, so even if you could pull off enough like I did, it would help you in the long run. If you want to minor in a language, I'd also recommend what I said above. However, if you know for sure you will absolutely never be a group 3 major and you don't want to pursue the language past that one course, I would say find something else to occupy that time that may be more beneficial to your applications.