I’m an american citizen living abroad who spspeaks English at home. I got a 790 on the SAT CR section and therefore exempted by most schools from taking the TOEFL test, but for some school the only reason not to take the TOEFL is having English as a native language. I was wondering whether being an american citizen who speaks english at home means English is my native language?
Well it is YOU who knows what your native language. You speak English in daily basis AND learnt it as a first language? There you go!
Plus, 790 in CR section means you not only are fluent in language itself, but also good at critical analysis(at least that’s what CB says). I know lots of native speakers who was miserable in CR
Was English your first language? If not, how old were you when you learned to speak English?
I started speaking both Hebrew and English roughly the same time so i guess both are my first languages. what does it mean? @Hunt
Yes, if you speak English at home English is your native language, since I assume it means “my parents speak English with me and my first words to them were in English”.
Each college and university sets its own policy about requirements for English proficiency exams. There is no explaining how some of them come up with their rules. I am an ESL teacher, and I have to say that I think it is crazy to use “English as your native language” as a reason to not require the TOEFL/IELTS/other exam. There are scads of students living abroad like you who do have English as a first/native language but who have received their entire formal educations in other languages and who consequently lack the ability to read and write the kind of Academic English needed to succeed in college.
All that ranting aside, your CR score is excellent so clearly you have made an effort to develop higher level skills in English, and will probably be just fine in college here without any need for ESL classes to get you up to speed. Check that “English is my native language” box, and be happy that it is one less TOEFL/IELTS test score that you have to pay for!!
Where can i find this “English is my native language” box. Does it appear on the commonapp? If so where.
Thanks for the help. @happymomof1
The colleges are just trying to determine if u are fluent enough in English to do college-level work That’s all.
If you got a 790 on the CR, you’d crush the TOEFL anyway, so don’t worry too much if some school makes you take it.
I just dont wanna pay another 75$ for a test i dont need to take. i just find it stupid or me to take it thats all. @Hunt
If u are an American citizen educated in an English language international school, then i seriously doubt you’re going to be required to take the TOEFL.
it’s under languages on the profile section.
FWIW, my parents each spoke a different language to me when I was growing up, each of which was different than the language of my country of residence. My first words were mama, which exists in each of the three languages. 
No wonder I was so confused.
My first language is English but the institute I studied at doesn’t teach in the English language. That’s why is not sure. @GMTplus7
Well, it looks like you can mark both first language and spoken at home–and again, your CR score is going to mean that nobody is likely to question your English proficiency. Of course, you may have some adjustments in switching to instruction (and writing) in English.
That your education has not been in English will be obvious to the colleges and universities when they get your academic records and information from your high school. Because of that, some will absolutely require the TOEFL/IELTS/other English proficiency exam even though you do have an excellent CR score.
So ask each place on your list what their policy is for students in your situation. Then you can decide if it is worth it to you to take the TOEFL, or if you just want to scratch any place that requires it off your list.
All of the school I’m interested emailed me that if my native language is English i am not required to take the TOEFL. I just want to know how can I make sure the schools know my native language is in face English. @happymomof1 @Hunt
Great. Problem solved.
No need to beat a dead horse. Simply list English as a first language as indicated in post #11 above and move on to other parts of your applications. Admissions id not going to second-guess you on this score.
^^^^^ Exactly.
Good luck with all of your applications!
I’d say you should not need to take the TOEFL, especially since you hold US citizenship and speak English at home.
Some schools will also waive a TOEFL requirement if you have studied in a school for some amount of time, where the primary language of instruction is English.
@MITer94 - As far as TOEFL requirements go, for a student educated abroad the student’s home language and citizenship don’t matter at all. Each college and university sets its own policy about this, and some (as I wrote above) are truly inexplicable to anyone outside that particular institution. Normally colleges and universities set a minimum number of years of formal education in schools where English is the medium of instruction. Sometimes a specific SAT CR score will waive the TOEFL requirement. But there still are plenty that would require the OP to take the TOEFL.