I’m a heritage Chinese speaker who, while fluent, is far less proficient at reading and writing, which is why I decided to study Chinese in school instead of French or Spanish. I’ve gotten a lot more out of the classes than I would have if I had gone with another language, but will colleges see things the same way? I’ve heard it frequently said that they frown upon heritage speakers taking a class on their ‘native’ language, and I’ve also heard conflicting opinions on finishing the course in three years instead of four. I realize that the issue of what language a heritage speaker should take was covered somewhat in the FAQ, but since I’m not truly proficient in Chinese, I’m not certain whether or not that scenario applies to me.
I don’t mean to repost, but the Foreign Language FAQ thread doesn’t seem to be very active.
Does your school offer appropriate level courses, or courses for heritage speakers?
It is also likely that different colleges’ expectations vary on this subject, so there may be no general answer.
There aren’t any special classes, but I’m a year ahead.
Just don’t take the Chinese SAT II if SAT II’s are required.
Why not, if it is an additional one beyond those normally required or recommended (i.e. if the college asks for two, the heritage language one should be the third one)?
You heard wrong. Assuming that you are not trying to game the system by starting with Chinese I and have not lived in China for several years, it’s fine, since you are not proficient in all 4 skills (reading/writing/speaking/listening).
Keep in mind that basically every person who graduates from a US HS has taken 12 years of English, and most of them are native speakers. Finetuning your language skills will not be looked down upon.
Agreed. Submitting it as an extra score is fine, IMO. It won’t tip the scales for admissions, but many colleges use Subject Test scores as an option to waive the college FL graduation requirement.
I plan on taking the AP test. Would the SAT II be better?
Those two are fairly different things and you shouldn’t use one to replace the other.
AP=matters less for admission, will get you out of a foreign language course in college if you score high enough (generally a 4 or 5, but some colleges take 3+)
SAT II= matters more for admission, will not get you out of any classes in college.
@ConcernedRabbit
This isn’t true. Many colleges use the SAT II as an option for foreign language placement. At my university, a 630 on a foreign language SAT II grants you exemption from the foreign language general education requirement.
If you can afford it, and can do well on both, I would take both.
@guineagirl96 is correct, which mirrors what I said earlier. The cutoffs, though, will vary by college. AT my college, one needs a 700 to be exempt.
This part I disagree with, for this poster. Since she/s a heritage speaker, the Subject Test would only be useful for placement/exemption, not admissions. Since AP tests foreign language to a higher llevel than the subject test, I would do AP over the Subject Test if cost is not an issue. While both with allow the tester to waive out of the FL requirement, the AP test might also give some type of general credit. Again, it’s college-specific. But for a heritage speaker, I see no reason to do both.
@skieurope Your post has made me question my registration for the SAT Spanish Subject test. I’m a heritage speaker of Spanish, and I know how to write and read, but I only took one year of Spanish during high school (Honors Spanish III, as I moved to a different school that year). I’ve taken AP French V and will be taking Honors German V, but I wondered if I should do anything to demonstrate my fluency in Spanish. I inquired on another thread how I should go about this, and was recommended to both the SAT II and the AP test. Was my decision to register for the SAT II a good one?
On the Common App, you can indicate which proficiencies. Why are you concerned about confirming this for Spanish?
Agree with skieurope, but suggest this OP check the target colleges before testing. Some schools may want the college language to be other than heritage. Worth checking.
For starters, don’t hijack someone else’s thread; it’s rude to the original poster.
Well, it’s not “bad,” but it’s a bit of a waste of time and money, IMO. No college is going to make you “prove” anything with regards to language proficiency. It’s just not that unique. List your proficiencies on the Common App, if you like, as @lookingforward mentions. You can take the Subject Test and/or AP test in one of your languages in order to get exempted from the college’s graduation requirements, but taking them in multiple languages, IMO, is overkill. Exception: if after you get accepted, your college will give credit for all those languages, then it may be worth taking those AP exams as a senior.
Without knowing the specifics regarding the OP, my 2 cents is: while one can, I personally would not. First, I can’t think of a college that would advise that and you run the risk of a student worker answering your question incorrectly. Second, if that was an issue, the GC should have advised differently when the OP was an incoming freshman. No college will ding an applicant for the guidance received from the school. Third, the OP is a rising junior. If s/he happens to hit a college that asks for a different language, should s/he just shift gears at this late point? Again, as I said from the beginning, assuming the OP did not live and study in China, there is no reason not to study Chinese. My experience with heritage speakers is that few of them are as proficient as they think. 
YMMV.
It is perfectly fine to take both of these tests. Each of them serves a different purpose.
If you are applying to places where a CLEP score can get you exemption from a foreign language requirement, placement into higher level courses, and/or academic credit for your language, take that one too. It is shorter than the AP test, is scored immediately, and can be taken at a CLEP testing location at any time of the year.
For some state universities (e.g. in California), the foreign language requirement for frosh admission eligibility is a check box that can be fulfilled with a high enough SAT subject test score in a foreign language.
In terms of advanced placement in foreign language courses in college, note that colleges often have multiple ways of getting it besides AP scores or SAT subject scores. Their foreign language departments may have placement advice based on their own placement tests and/or level completed in high school.
Ski, I’m referring to any lang requirement for college grad. No idea where OP qualifies, so won’t speculate. But the theme turned to exemptions or credits for college courses and he can check online whether his targets would allow that for the heritage language.