<p>Long story short, I was born in China with a Chinese first name. I'm very proud of my first name because it's one of the most educated and elegant sounding Chinese names ever in my opinion. However, when I came to the U.S., things didn't go very smoothly. My teachers always have trouble pronouncing my name on the first day of school. I have to explain to almost every single one of my friends about the "uniqueness" of my name. When go take my license test or any of the official appointment, people always pronounce my name incorrectly. And the list goes on... Even though I go by a nickname, it's very inconvenient to have a foreign-sounding name. So, I'm thinking about changing my name after high school graduation but right before college starts (since I'll be eligible for applying the American citizenship). Is it a good idea? I'm gonna be a senior within a week and I have to start applying for college soon. I'm planning on changing my legal first name to an Anglican-sounding name, then keep my original legal first name as my middle name.
Would you guys recommend it? If not, when would be the best time to change my name? By the way, please don't convince me to NOT change my legal name. After comparing all the pros and cons myself, I've made a solid decision.
I don't care if I have to change my social security, license, passport, etc. I don't care if I have to go to court and explain everything to people. However, I do concern about college. Will it cause a massive number of troubles and problems? Since my SAT, ACT, AP, high school diploma, etc. are shown with my original name, would it cause a problem? Again, I don't care if I have to explain everything to the admission office, but I don't want to cause any problem (for example, not being able to get AP credits for having a different name).
I'll appreciate any comment, suggestion, recommendation, advise, etc.</p>
<p>This is pretty much outside the scope of college admissions. It seems to me that you will already have been accepted to college and know where you are going. Once you have a legal name change, it may just be a matter of submitting a form to your college with appropriate documentation:
<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/tuba/registrar/name_SSN_change.pdf[/url]”>http://www.yale.edu/tuba/registrar/name_SSN_change.pdf</a></p>
<p>this will not effect AP credits or anything like that–nothing changes but the name.</p>
<p>If you want to change your first name, or to add an English middle name to use instead of your legal first name, the easiest time to do this would be when you naturalize. Discuss the process with your immigration lawyer and/or your interviewer at USCIS.</p>
<p>I don’t think it would hurt your chances at university. In fact, you could get a pretty cool essay out of it!</p>
<p>Thank for all the answers. But just let me clear one thing. I’m planning on change it in the next summer. This means that it will NOT affect any of the college admission process whatsoever. I’ll get accepted into the whatever colleges that accepted me, then I’ll pick one to attend. Then after all, I’ll change my name and notify the admission office. Instead, I’m concerning about my AP credits and things like that (since I will have 16 AP exams taken before high school graduation). Since my college board account will be written with my former first name, will it cause any problem when my former first name (which is one that is on my AP report) is different than the name that will show up on my passport and everything? Will my college doubt any of my identity?</p>
<p>As happymomof1 said, the easiest way to do this is during the naturalization process. During your citizenship interview, they offer you the option to change your name - free, simply by filling out a form. You will get a copy of this form, showing BOTH your former and new names. You can use this form (with your social security card) to prove your identity.</p>
<p>You don’t have to legally change your name to go by another first name during college. You can think of your new college first name as a nickname and try it out, while leaving all of your legal documents with your name that you like.</p>
<p>@Bornemissza I’m going to legally change my name during the naturalization. Are you saying that I’ll get a prove to show my identity to my college? If so, that will make everything go much more smoothly.</p>