<p>Is fluency (total and unquestionable) in a foreign language at all a significant element of the Ivy and other elite colleges' admissions process, or is it something that is glossed over or simply expected?</p>
<p>I would expect if you're an immigrant it would be very useful, but simple fluency in a langauge wouldn't really be a factor.</p>
<p>if you learn a language in your own time as say one of your interests then i can't see how it would hurt</p>
<p>Being demonstrably proficient in a particular foreign language is what the SAT II language tests and the AP language tests can show, and plenty of applicants to the top schools are proficient in a language other than English--because plenty of them are first-generation immigrants or Americans who have lived abroad. Any characteristic that is shared by MANY applicants to the top schools is not bad to have, but not particularly noteworthy either. </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>