<p>I'm not a native, nor do I have any Chinese family members. I lived in China with my family (business reasons) for four years from 10-14 years of age. After that we left, and I didn't practice my Chinese as frequently for 3 years. I decided to take the Mandarin test just for the heck of it and got a 660.</p>
<p>Now, I know that is failing for a native speaker, but what about for me non-native? The curve must not have been too bad.</p>
<p>I hear that if you don't get a perfect score or somewhere near it, all hope is lost...but that is for a native speaker? Would this score be swept under a carpet by schools?</p>
<p>So what do you think? Did I fail miserably for being a non-native and not having practiced in depth for a couple years?</p>
<p>Hi, I am a native Chinese speaker and I took the test last year as a freshman. I was born in China but I moved to California when I was three. I can't speak Chinese well anymore...I can't write a lot either...I can't read the newspaper...but I know that colleges look at your entire profile. For me...if I want to apply to state schools, it doesn't matter. But I want to apply to out of state schools - for example, if I want to apply to Harvard...they don't care if I took the Chinese Subject Test or not simply BECAUSE I am a native speaker. It doesn't count for me. Well, at least, for some schools. I did get 800, but some schools don't care. It is definitely hard for nonnatives. I am exposed to Spanish a lot (especially in California) and I took an old test - I got 560! So good job!</p>
<p>PS: Do you know/Are you learning any other languages?</p>
<p>Chinese has been the only second language I've taken classes for. I thought about Spanish, but since I lived in China for a few years I picked it up more. So basically I grew up in an English-speaking home for ten years. I wasn't exposed to any other languages until my family moved to China.:)</p>
<p>I am a native speaker and I got 800 on the test. </p>
<p>A 660 is a very good score for you. That means that you got over 2/3 of the test right. I don't think you should feel like a failure or anything. However, colleges look mainly at the percentiles. This means that they do not factor in your background when looking at the score. Percentile wise, the number of native speakers taking the test brings down the curve quite a bit. This means that from a college's standpoint, you do not have a very good score. However, I personally feel that you should be content with the score, if only because of achievement it stands for.</p>
<p>I think a 660 is a very good score for a non-native.</p>
<p>I scored a 760. I am Chinese, but I was never able to read it or speak it. I studied it myself. I learned Cantonese and Mandarin on my own. I'm still learning both. But how will colleges see this?</p>
<p>^I don't think you should have taken Chinese. I'm Chinese as well and my parents wanted me to take the Chinese test when I never took Chinese school before. Wasn't worth it in my opinion. A 760 is like 40 percentile or something, if not lower. An 800 is like 68 percentile.</p>
<p>^Hard for a non-native speaker. But for a native speaker, it's like a stroll in the park on a segwey. An 800 still is nice though ;). I know some who only get a 790.</p>