<p>Unless you are pre-engineering, demonstrating academic breadth is always better than the alternative. Thus, one strong subject test in math-science and one in humanities-lit is better than two in math-science.</p>
<p>considering that a fair amount of native speakers get 800 on their sat2 language, I would say you wont be able to impress anyone. personally I think thats just lame and you are not gonna really fool anyone (adcom people arent as dumb as you think). but if you already have 2 other sat2s then I guess go ahead.</p>
<p>Take it if you have no other humanities course in which you can score well. Three good scores is probably better than two good scores and a mediocre or weak one. But just know that if your humanities score is a language test in your native language in which most native speakers earn a high score, that’s going to be heavily discounted by many adcoms, so don’t be surprised if you get beat out by a candidate who has three top scores in three legitimate (for that candidate) academic subjects.</p>
<p>I say take it, as long as it’s more of an “addition” to other SAT II subjects. I’m French, took SAT II French and got 790 (I know shameful; it was harder than expected!) but still managed to get a spot in the school of my choice.</p>
<p>Wow, double standard much? I mean, Caucasians can take the English Literature SAT II test without people accusing them of taking a test in their native language.</p>
<p>BIG difference between the languages and Lit. For example, the Spanish language test requires zero high school Spanish for kids who speak the language at home, but the Lit test requires several years of HS honors classes to even break 600 for a “Caucasian.”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>English Lit a very different test, and IMHO is far more difficult for a native speaker of English than the Korean, Spanish, Chinese, or French Language tests would be for a native speaker of those languages. The language tests merely test your knowledge of how the language works. The literature test tests not only reading comprehension, but also the ability to pick up subtleties and draw inferences. A Korean or Spanish literature test would be more appropriate for native speakers if such SAT IIs existed.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t take the test. From what I understand, schools want subject tests scores as further proof of a applicant’s ability to handle difficult subjects. I’ve read that most schools are more impressed with an 800 in Biology, Physics, or Chemistry than an 800 in a foreign language. I can’t imagine an 800 in your home language would do anything other than irritate an adcom, especially if that language is something not taught in high schools. If your native language was Spanish, the adcoms might not even realize it’s your home language when they saw a score for the Spanish subject test on your record, but what high schools offer Korean? The adcoms would know that you didn’t learn Korean as part of your high school experience. They would have to assume it’s your home language. Why risk irritating an adcom? </p>
<p>The subject tests aren’t difficult. If you know the subject well enough to get an A in school, you’re almost guaranteed above 700. Just take 2 or 3 other ones.</p>
<p>I will tell you what. honestly it depends on when you came to America. Were you born here? Did you come to US like 4-5 years ago? that was my case and I felt no need to take it because the adcom will already know that i can speak korean fluently. But if you were born here or lived in US for a longgg time, i would say that taking the test would advantage you a lot more than in my case i would have taken it.</p>
<p>The SAT II Language tests are designed to test the language competence of non-native speakers who’ve studied the language for up to 4 years in high school, and perhaps a bit more in lower grades. With that as the bar, it perhaps shouldn’t be too surprising that 77% of those taking the Chinese test and 76% of those taking the Korean test score 750 or higher, as many of these high scorers are native speakers taking a test that for native speakers is pretty elementary. It’s like a native speaker of English doing well on the TOEFL test of basic English proficiency that many colleges require international students to take; the native English speaker could take the test and probably do very well, but no one would be impressed—which is precisely why colleges don’t require native English speakers to take that test.</p>
<p>As wrathofachilles correctly points out ^, the SAT II Literature test is NOT a test of basic English language proficiency. It tests one’s ability to read and interpret difficult literary texts in a variety of styles and genres, and from a variety of historical time periods (consequently sometimes using very different language). Many students find it the hardest of all the SAT II tests, and it’s certainly the most difficult to do well on with only 6% scoring 750 or higher.</p>
<p>It’s not a “double standard” for adcoms to take the difficulty of the test into account in deciding how much to credit a top score. A native Korean speaker doing well on the Korean test or a native Spanish speaker doing well on the Spanish test just isn’t going to impress anyone.</p>
<p>I am told several times by other Japanese and Japanese American parents that being bilingual would be a plus in college admission. Most of their children took Japanese AP test and SAT II Japanese. Of course, they did it as an additional to subject test requirements to prove them bilingual.
1st question: Is being bilingual a plus?
2nd question: Is it possible to submit the score as additional or supplemental?</p>
<p>The deal is I am in the same spot as you samdawitness, and Im not going to take the test. If you don’t get a perfect score on the test, it would not help to send it. Colleges will like the fact that you are capable of using two languages. In my opnion though, your SATII are good enough. Take the Korean if u can get 800</p>