Is a Fourth Year of Foreign Language an Elite Admisisons Plus?

Question: Is a fourth year of foreign language a significant leg up for elite admissions?

While a fourth year of a language is surely a plus, it’s so prevalent among elite-college applicants that it’s not going to be a leg up at decision time, and certainly not a “significant” leg up, as you suggest. In fact, it’s not uncommon for candidates to have five years of one language on their transcripts because they begin high-school level language study in eighth grade. Many applicants have four years plus A.P., and some exhaust their high school offerings and elect foreign language classes on college campuses.