Does it look bad if..

<p>I take an SATII in a foreign language (Spanish) that I speak at home? It was my first language, and due to my stupidity when it comes to math, I highly doubt I will score higher than a ~600 on any math test. So let's say a shool requires 3 SATII's, if I have Spanish, Literature, and Biology, with one of those possibly being replaced by Latin, is that okay? I remember reading somewhere it looks "lazy" if you just take an SATII in a language that you know, but I know many kids who have done it with Chinese. Then again, that's much harder so...yea. Thoughts?</p>

<p>A lot of schools discount an SAT II score if you speak that language at home. So it won't be held against you, it just won't matter for anything.... I think.</p>

<p>You can take the Spanish, but take three others as well to make sure that if the college doesn't count it, you have other scores.</p>

<p>It's a lose/lose situation I think. If you take it, the adcom will just say "Oh, he speaks it at home. This particular test isn't that impressive," but if you get a low score on it, the adcom may think you're a fool for not getting an 800 in your own language: "This kid got a 670 in his own native tongue??"</p>

<p>Hmm. That's a good point, legend. </p>

<p>Gah! I think I'm definitely taking Literature, and I guess I have no choice but to retake MathIC. The fact that Latin is only (usably) offered in Dec. doesn't help.</p>

<p>Is it bad if you didn't get 800 on a language you speak at home? Like for example, would 780 be too different from 800??</p>

<p>^^^780, for all intents and purposes, is the same as an 800</p>

<p>Woohoo! I got a 780 on both MathII and Literature, and 770 on Biology. Now I can call up that guy in my class who got an 800 and say "I got the same score!" :)</p>

<p>It definitly could be a lose/lose situation. If you take the test and score well the college may think "of course he or she did well he or she speaks the language." On the other hand if you don't take the test the college may say "why the hell didn't that student take that test, he or she speaks the language at home and could have done well on it."</p>

<p>It'd be a waste of time to take the test. I would only take it if one of your other SAT IIs is bad (650-) to sort of 'trick' the adcom into seeing a better score. </p>

<p>tkm256, when did I say a 770 was an 800? ;)</p>

<p>Indeed, by that standard, 2 of my three SAT's are bad. I got a 560 in MathI and a 630 in Chem. The latter was due to my lack of background, as I had only taken a 22-day summer course. I got a 700 on Bio, which isn't great, but still good for me. I'm still unsure if I should take Spanish, but I guess it's at least worth a try. Since I have to take Latin in December anyway, I have a second shot at the Math if the Spanish score sucks in Nov.</p>

<p>What schools are you applying to?</p>

<p>Boston College, Bard, Brown, Brandeis, and UCONN. I might also apply to Williams and/or Amherst. So yea, my scores are definitely low for those schools.</p>