<li>Being multilingual</li>
<li>Being the 2nd generation in your family to go to university.</li>
</ol>
<p>I do well in school and am in the gifted/talented program, but I heard those rumours and was wondering if they were true. My parents immigrated from Somalia to Canada, had me and two of my siblings, moved to the US for work (dad works for Nokia) and had my other two siblings. I speak English (obviously), Somali, and understand basic to intermediate French and Italian, which I hope to be fluent or proficient in the future. My mom and dad were the first people in their families to attend university, but my mom’s not done yet, since she’s had to look after us, but takes night classes. My dad has his master’s in electrical engineering.</p>
<p>Yep, so, is that rumour for real?</p>
<p>Unfortunately no. Many people in the US are bilingual (most spanish) and 2nd generation won't do much for you. You can use your somoli heritage in your essay though.</p>
<p>Thanks, Erin's Dad. I knew something like that didn't make sense.</p>
<p>Although I'd have to agree that it won't give you much of an advantage, I think that discrediting it completely isn't the way to go either. Universities love to have a diverse student body, so dropping your proficiency with languages, especially your ability to speak Somali, in an interview or elsewhere in your application will definitely not hurt. Especially if something related to language is something you're interested in pursuing as a career.</p>
<p>2nd generation doesn't really mean much, though, nowadays.</p>
<p>Unless you can take an SAT II, AP exam, or IB exam in the language, it really can't help much, unless it's truly uncommon. Somali fluency might actually help, but 2nd generation doesn't.</p>
<p>I disagree! </p>
<p>Bilingual Spanish is not an unusual hook, but being fluent in Somali is a great hook, especially if you can talk about some aspect of coming from a Somali family or Somali culture in your essay.</p>