If you taught yourself a language, is it regarded more highly than just knowing a language?
How hard is it to teach yourself Spanish or French?
<p>No, however you should take an S.AT II in the language as an indicator</p>
<p>Are the SAT II languages used strictly for placement, or could an 800 in Hebrew be a hook?</p>
<p>It's great but not a hook. Someone needs to write the definitive piece on what constitutes a hook because so many here are confused about this. A hook is something truly exceptional. Rare, national level recognition, something that truly sets you apart.</p>
<p>If you are self taught in spanish and french and took the SAT/ or even an AP EXAM and did extremely well while it would be impressive to the Adcoms, it would not be a hook, but it may give you a tip (not a big one) compared to other candidates with all other factors being equal</p>
<p>It would be seen as a passion, which is a great thing!</p>
<p>Rumor has it that a girl from another local high school (good friend of ours) self-taught herself Japanese of all things. She went to visit at Cornell (or was it Columbia?), went to a Japanese class there, had a conversation in Japanese with the prof., and she was accepted after her junior year of high school.</p>
<p>willywonka, if that's true, i guess she had amazing, truly amazing stat and courseload beforehand.</p>
<p>i dont think ONE foreign language would be a hook.. well but if you know.. say 7 different languages, take all AP lang exams / SAT 2 lang exams and do well, and you got many awards(national perhaps?) = that can be an awesome hook.</p>
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Someone needs to write the definitive piece on what constitutes a hook because so many here are confused about this. A hook is something truly exceptional. Rare, national level recognition, something that truly sets you apart
[/quote]
Thanks for clearing this up kirmum. "Hook" is used quite loosely here on CC :p What I meant was more of 'a small tip or highly appealing quality' in the sense that Northstarmom conveyed: If you teach yourself a language, you must show great passion and intellectual curiosity. In college admissions, those can't be bad qualities.</p>
<p>a bit off-topic but if you're self-studying French, and you don't know too much yet, [url=<a href="http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/index.html%5Dhere%5B/url">http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/index.html]here[/url</a>] is a great site. Spanish and French are pretty much the easiest languages to self-study outside of Esperanto but they are also the easiest languages to find CC courses for, etc. are you sure you don't have any other options open? Don't fall into the logic trap "difficult => noble", because it's extremely easy to fall behind and lose motivation. that said, good luck!</p>
<p>Also, if you want to really learn any language, I strongly suggest that you move heaven and earth to immerse yourself in the language by studying it abroad.</p>
<p>If your parents can't afford to send you, then it would be worth it to get a job during the summer or school year to pay your way to such an experience. (And, in case you are wondering, this kind of demonstrated effort to achieve your dreams is very impressive to colleges, far more impressive than when students simply get these expererience via their parents' fat wallets!).</p>
<p>There are immersion French programs in Quebec Provence, which are probably the cheapest way to do French immersions. One also can do them in France. For Spanish, AmeriSpan has some wonderful opportunities, including some designed for high school students.</p>
<p>I knew a h.s. student who through using the Internet managed to find a summer job as a waiter in France. I know other students who through their teacher or family contacts arranged to spend time living abroad with people whom their teachers or family knew.</p>
<p>It is very difficult to truly learn a language unless one has spent time immersed in it. One can learn the basics -- grammar, how to read the language -- by self study, but it is living in the culture that results in fluency.</p>