For the Activities part on the Common app.
Ok, I’m a bit stuck-up when it comes to summarizing - can anyone help me to describe my activity short and sweetly?
I taught underprivileged people, most of them syrian refugees and chinese immigrants German, so they can study in Germany (The entire year, we prepared for the A2 Certificate, which makes them eligible). I taught them everything in a rather playful way so it’s more fun. I took them to museums, exhibitions, played games because i didn’t want it to be 2 boring. How do I summarize that well without sounding lofty and please please please short, while not losing its value.
I know or have known a few people who have two first languages. In two cases both parents were fluently bilingual but when their children were babies one parent only spoke French and the other parent only spoke English. This way the kids grew up learning which language was which. In another case the parents were fluently trilingual but the grandparents who lived with them only spoke a language which was unusual in their part of the world.
I don’t know what the common app says but it should certainly be a normal occurrence.
Personally I would leave off Latin. If you are taking it in school it will be on your transcript and in the section where your self report courses so it will still get on your application.
Yes. When I applied to college a few years ago, I actually listed 3 as “first language” since my father spoke one language to us kids, my mother spoke a second, and the language of my country of birth was a third. Although I am sure someone with a Ph.D. in linguistics could have pinned down which one was truly my first language, since “mama” is the same in all three, I don’t think it’s really a critical distinction for the application. 
Note that the Common App asks (with a bit of grammatical incorrectness), “Number of languages you are proficient in.” AP in any language is far from proficient. I personally would omit any language in which you would not be comfortable having your college admissions interview conducted or in which you would not want to write your application essays, if it were allowed.
Regardless, it’snot one of those things that will make or break your application. Good luck.
Yes! Definitely do that. You don’t have to sound like a victim. Just state that you do this.
DISCLAIMER: i am currently working on the common app as well, so i do not have any credibility. i am just trying to brainstorm ideas to help you decide on what exactly to put as the description.
you could say something along the lines of:
At my school, I grant underprivileged students the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the French language and improve their performance in French courses by providing classes that supply them with extra homework and studying options.
let me know what you think and i can try to come up with other ones that may fit your needs better. i also can’t decide if the sentence is too long to just put as a decription lol lmk
Thank you for the quick answer. It’s really good, but way too long. could you maybe shorten it a bit and indicate the case of the boy who went from d’s to b’s?
1
I grant underpriviledged students the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the French language and significantly improve their performances in French courses: often from a D grade to a B.
2
I grant underpriviledged students the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the French language by supplying them with extra homework and study options; I have seen significant improvements in their performances in French courses: often from a D grade to a B.
the semicolon separates it into two individual sentences, but connects the thoughts.
any tweaks you’d like me to make? i feel like it would be hard to include everything you’d like and embellish it in a way that sounds professional. you could always go with a simple, concise description.
3
I give underpriviledged students homework and studying options for the French language and have seen significant results in French courses: often from a D grade to a B.
Just add a line in the additional info section about Latin if you want to…they will see it on your transcript regardless.
Those are all really good! I went for a mix of #1 and #3. Do you think that it sounds lofty because that’s really not what I want to attain. And in case you need help with anything, let me know 
what do you mean by lofty? what are you planning on putting? and thank you!
Ok guys, I’m confused about the language sections in the Common App
Let me give you a brief summary of my linguistic skills
German: first language, spoken at home
Turkish: first language, spoken at home
French: Speak, read, write
Arabic: read, write
English: read, speak, write
Latin: I’m taking ap latin this year.
1.) So which language would you omit?
2.) Can 2 languages be “first languages”(if your parents are speaking 2 different languages)?
I oftentimes need to look after the household, partly because my Dad works long hours and my mom is mostly sick (migranes etc) So I usually have to clean dishes, cook, vacuum, tutor my siblings to save money etc etc. My question is: Is this worth mentioning in the activities section? Does it sound awkward? And if yes, how do I summarize that without sounding like a victim?
I give French classes to underprivileged students at my school, how do I mention that in my Activites Section in the Common app? I just need a summary because i really cant. Simply what I do is provide them with homework and study, I even managed and helped a girl to get a A from a D