Should I Stay or Should I Go?

In this Issue:

• The Wake Forest Fund’s Pet Project: Deac dogs and cats and more!
• Should an incoming student stick with the foreign language they took in high school, or start a new one?

The Wake Forest Fund’s Pet Project: Deac dogs and cats and more!

If this hasn’t come out loud and clear in the Daily Deac til now, I am a die hard dog person. So I was delighted to open my inbox yesterday and find notice of The Wake Forest Fund’s Pet Project:

“During the month of June, we are running the Wake Forest Fund Pet Project and I am asking you to help us by going to the website and voting for the pet that you think should win the title of Wake Forest Fund Pet of the Year. Every day in the month of June you can go to the website and cast 5 votes for the pet or pets that you want to support. You could even use your social media to hype your favorite by following us on Twitter or Instagram.

Here is a link to the contest site, please join us in the fun!”

If you don’t have a pet of your own to vote for, I might humbly suggest you vote for my big boy, Fenster. Vote early and often 🙂

Should an incoming student stick with the foreign language they took in high school, or start a new one?

This is a question from the family member of an incoming student. It’s a question I get from time to time, so I am sharing the answer here in case it helps other new families.

“My incoming student has taken a foreign language for four years in high school. He is thinking about switching to a new language in college. What are your thoughts?”

As an academic adviser, here’s how I would answer that question:

Your student needs to take the Foreign Language Placement Test in the language that he studied in high school, because he needs to have that as an option in case he decides not to change to a new language at Wake Forest (this is assuming he doesn’t have an AP/IB score that would determine his placement).

Before he decides to study a brand new language, he should ask himself “how much do I enjoy learning new languages?” Starting a new language typically means 4 semesters (2 solid years) of the new language – verb conjugation, vocab flash cards, extensive classes, etc. If he really loves learning languages and doesn’t mind starting over, terrific! Or if he knows he wants to learn a new language because he wants to study abroad in a country speaking that language and he’s motivated, that can also be a good reason to switch.

If, on the other hand, he does not love grammar and vocabulary and intensive language classes, he might prefer to finish the language he studied in high school. Depending on how he places on his FLPT, he could have anywhere between 1-4 semesters to finish his language requirement at Wake. For a student who places only 1 or 2 semesters away from finishing the current foreign language, it can be a powerful incentive to stay the course.

So my advice in this situation is for the student to take the placement test and see where he places, then examine his motivations and strengths before making a decision.

As I so often say, there is no right or wrong, just what is right for your student.