<p>After reading a thread by another member, I thought: How much can knowing another language help you in the admissions process?</p>
<p>What about even two? (In addition to English)</p>
<p>From the Harvard Website:</p>
<p>“You should leave secondary school knowing at least one foreign language well enough to read it easily and pronounce it acceptably.”</p>
<p>Most competitive applicants will already have become proficient in some language as a result of school classes, and many will know whatever is typically spoken at their home. So, being bi- or even trilingual wouldn’t be that much of a hook, I would think. Someone correct me if I am wrong.</p>
<p>One of my high school friends was accepted to Harvard because he was fluent in six languages (not dialects) by 12th grade. Of course, his stats were decent and he had random extracurriculars, but his main hook was that he knew six languages (and showed it through his summers/other events/competitions). However, fluency in two to three languages is very common, and I’m pretty sure that, if you fall in this category, it won’t help you at all.</p>
<p>Given the international nature of the applicant pool and even the huge no. of cultural backgrounds of domestic applicants: how is proficiency in 3 languages unique?</p>
<p>I spoke Chinese and English at home and took 4 years French in HS. Voila. Three languages. Nuthin special.</p>
<p>If this was to my post OP, lol. But this is actually a good question, too. I have heard that it will probably not be of any very substantial help to know multiple languages beyond the usual Spanish/French/Latin/German/Chinese ect that you would learn in high school, one of which I already have. But I believe the fact that they ask the question in the first place means that it is not completely irrelevant to them. So, since I do sort of know one, I would like to put it down and see if it gets me anywhere, even if it may do absolutely nothing. </p>
<p>Especially if they test me on it and I freak and fail. See my earlier post and answer that question for me please.</p>
<p>^ haha yeah i totally got it from you.</p>
<p>@everyone: Thanks guys! I guess I gotta go cure cancer or something. Or is that a normal thing too? lol</p>