Languages on the Common App

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>This is so confusing!!! I do not like the way a 1st language is defined by the Common App. They say the first language spoken, but it is not my primary language. My parents both spoke Spanish, and only my dad was proficient in English. I believe I spoke in Spanish first, but I know that by the time I was 4 I spoke both languages. In the present, I am most preficient in English.</p>

<p>I simply don't want language to be a detraction on my app. But I know if I put English as 1st language and Spanish as language spoken at home, it may raise some red flags. Despite the fact that when I was 2 or 3 I mainly functioned in Spanish, I now am better at English.</p>

<p>Also, would scores like 730s on both CR and Writing SAT and 5 on AP English Language neutralize any concerns on language skills. Except for a lisp and the "th" sound, I'm really perfect at English.</p>

2

<p>Don’t panic! I promise you are not the first applicant your colleges have seen who has been speaking both English and Spanish from an early age. Don’t over-analyze this. Simply answer the questions in the most correct manner possible. If you first spoke Spanish, put that down. If anything, the fact that you are proficient in more than English is a plus! You have great scores, too, and colleges won’t miss that fact.</p>

3

<p>At least your primary language spoken at home is listed on the Common App!!</p>

4

<p>What is your primary language spoken at home n0vad3m0n?</p>

5

<p>[Taiwanese</a> Hokkien - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_Hokkien]Taiwanese”>Taiwanese Hokkien - Wikipedia)</p>

6

<p>^^ My dialect is very similar. I can’t imagine such dialects becoming an option on the language part of the CommonApp anytime soon.</p>

7

<p>What do you do if a dialect is important to you, but it’s not on the Common App? Is it advisable to specify it under “other”?</p>