Does Chinese SATII really help that much?

In Princeton’s ReadySetGo pdf (talks about how to apply, requirements, etc) they strongly recommend taking an SATII in the language you studied in high school if that’s the language you’ll complete Princeton’s language requirement with. However, I’m taking Chinese in HS, and while I’m among the best students in my class, I’m nowhere near the level of a native speaker… and there are lots of native speakers taking the Chinese SAT II. I’ve heard that because of this, the curve for the Chinese Subject Test is among the hardest there are. So, does taking a language SATII actually increase your admissions chances? Would I be looked on favorably if I took a language test even if I didn’t get a great score compared to other test-takers? Thanks.

If you are of chinese ancestry, even if you are non-native speaker then getting a high score will not impress. However if you are of non-chinese ancestry and then learned the language, it would be impressive if you could get a high score.

No.

Well, you would not be looked upon unfavorably. With an overall 7.4% acceptance rate, taking a language subject test as a non-native speaker, although commendable, will not move the needle significantly.

@skieurope thanks for the info. I’m aware that of course, at a place like Princeton, no single thing can really tip the balance much. However, would not taking a language test tip the balance against you in any way?

No.