I was born in Israel, while my parents are from Ukraine and Russia. I lived in Israel until I was 4 years old when I moved to the states. My first language was Russian, and I only speak Russian at home. I taught myself English through school, watching television, and some reading. I was wondering if this gives me some sort of “hook” or “help” when applying?
P.S. Since English is not my first language and is not spoken at home does that help “excuse” a slightly lower SAT score for writing and critical reading? I don’t have BAD scores, but they are not in the 700s for those sections.
Thanks!
No, but it might make an interesting essay.
Nope. Absolutely not. You get no pass for that.
But isn’t the point of the SAT to have an even playing field? I understand the Math section is not forgiven I guess, but someone who grew up in the USA with an English speaking family will have a much greater advantage on the English sections on the SAT, no?
When applying to an American university as a member of a non-English speaking family, you are expected to have a firm grasp on English. How else will you be able to learn and benefit from the academics and the student community?
I speak and understand English very fluently. It’s the “nooks and crannies” of the language that get me; grammar, certain idioms, and things of that sort that get me on the SAT. My grades are great and I take the most challenging course load offered at my high school. It worries me that my SAT after one attempt is only a 1930, with 750 on Math, 630 CR, and 550 W. I hope to get it up a bit but would my background give me slight leeway with CR and W?
I came over to the US when I was 4 as well. To be honest, I think 4 is pretty young and able to adapt to a new language easily. Your not even fluent in your native language that young. The English portion was actually my highest subscore with a 32 even though I am much more of a math & science type.
@SchalkeJunge that’s a great accomplishment. However, I was simply asking if colleges would see my family more of “international” than American and consider that to an extent. I completely agree with you that I could have immersed myself more in books and such, but hindsight is 20/20.
@onmyownway You and I are at a disadvantage when it comes to the english and writing portions, but remember that the test is supposed to test your strengths and weaknesses in english (not to test your fluency like the TOEFL). The “nooks and crannies” you talked about, are faced by everyone who takes the test whether fluent or not. But you could use your story to an advantage when writing your personal statements. You should talk about the difficulties of being a first generation American and pursuing your American dream despite your circumstances.
@SchalkeJunge That’s a valid point. Seems like a good idea to brainstorm about potentially writing my college essay about landing in a different country without speaking a word of the language, yet even being in the position to apply for the top universities in the nation. Great idea.
It could make a difference if you came to the US much later in your life, or were a member of an immigrant community living in an underprivileged neighborhood where your first language is spoken constantly, by everyone around you, and English is just for school and on the TV. (Many Hispanic kids have to deal with that.)
But that’s not your situation. You came to the US at four. I doubt very much you live in a poor Russian neighborhood where everyone around you – not just your parents, but everyone – speaks Russian constantly. There are lots and lots of kids overseas who speak English only at school and are still getting high English marks on their SATs. Your marks aren’t actually low – they’re perfectly respectable, if not competitive for selective schools – but apparently English just isn’t your strong suit on tests. Your background is interesting and being bilingual is a real plus in life (and possibly for the application too), but the idea that a college would look at your application and mentally bump up the score because you’ve only been in the US for 14 years and only speak English all the time except with your parents is just wishful thinking. (Sorry. It can be a great essay, though. And your math scores are good. Lots of engineering types – native speakers included – don’t score wonderfully in English and it turns out fine for college.)
@MomOnALaptop Thanks for your feedback. Once again, I know that I am very privileged to live in the Unite States, let alone Boston area. I was simply curious as to whether it was a small “hook” or not. I am not trying to excuse my lesser scores with having a family that does not speak English at home, I was just wondering about how colleges would view that.
I believe the SAT’s fundamental purpose is an “even playing field” assessment for AMERICAN universities and colleges. Those linguistic nuances (“nooks and crannies,” as you term them) are important in that evaluation of your readiness for success at AMERICAN schools.
Accordingly, no 'hooks" provided and no mitigation of standardized test results (although, an essay written about this would alert university admissions to the subject).
When you apply to college, be certain to check the rules at each place about the TOEFL or other English proficiency tests. I know of situations like yours where the applicant was required to take an English proficiency test. It is not likely considering that your entire education has been in the US (and presumably in English), but it does happen occasionally.
Since you are unhappy with your SAT scores, take a couple practice ACT tests, and see if you think that is a better exam for you.
You’ve asked the question four different ways; the answer does not change. There is no “hook;” you are held to the same linguistic standard.
You are applying to schools in the US where the language of instruction is English. It really should come as a surprise to nobody that colleges expect their students to be proficient in the language of instruction.
Especially if you moved to the USA at age 4, you will be given no slack for the Reading/Writing portion of the SAT (although your scores are not bad at all).
@skieurope I really don’t understand why you seem so mad lol. I absolutely disagree that knowing whether or not a a certain comma happens to be misplaced or the wrong modifier is used changes your ability to learn. I understand if one cannot communicate and/or learn in English, but the SAT writing section, along with many words that are never used in dialect on the CR section determine one’s intelligence whatsoever. The SAT is a game in a way, the more money students have for tutors the better they do usually. The English section on the SAT does not test your ability to learn in English classrooms whatsoever in no way, shape, or form.
@onmyownway (re post #15): I suspect a fully nuanced understanding of the instructional language enhances education. However, I am certain that lack of this high degree of English competency adversely impacts the learning of your classmates. So much undergraduate teaching (in and beyond the classroom) is student-to-student initiated and your self-admitted failure fully to understand “grammar, certain idioms, and things of that sort” is an impediment to mutual-teaching/learning.
@TopTier So the fact that I have no accent, speak fluently, and am great at math and science, will be negated by the fact that I was not sure whether to use a plural modifier or not? That’s just plain BS. Some of the most brilliant professors in college have thick international accents and some have trouble with English, yet you still believe a mistake with a comma here and a mistake with a modifier there will adversely affect my classmates? I completely disagree.
You wouldn’t have a TOEFL because you’re not technically an international. In this case, your SAT Writing and CR scores would be analyzed to see if you can grasp the classroom environment. Professors’ abilities aren’t relevant in this situation.
@TheDidactic I have been in English classrooms throughout my entire life and have not once felt a language barrior. I can say I have little to no English accent at all, so that’s not an issue. I was simply saying that the SAT writing and critical reading sections do not measure intelligence whatsoever. The only part I believe that does measure intelligence is passage based questions, but the fill-in-the-blanks? Pointless.