Ok, so I am an immigrant from a far away land (I moved here when I was pretty young). But anyways, I was at the Social Security Office a couple days ago and it turned out that the way I have been writing my name pretty much everywhere IS WRONG.
Ok so let’s just assume my name is Sarah Emily Grace Johnson (it’s not). I have been assuming that Emily Grace are both middle names for the past 7ish years, but it turns out that Sarah Emily is my full first name, according to official records and Grace is my middle name.
So far, what I can think of is PSAT, AP tests, thankfully I haven’t taken SAT yet. But that’s what I have been putting on those documents. What should I do?! Apologies if my calls for help sound idiotic, I’m not really used to this stuff. Please offer your wise advice to this poor little stressed out junior. Much thanks.
It does not sound like you have any issue of real concern since your name is still the same regardless of how the two in the middle are characterized. You should find out what name is being shown in your high school records. Whether you list your name as one first, two middle and one last, or instead as two first, one middle and one last, is not really going to make any difference to your tests or applying and being accepted to college. What can make a difference is inconsistency because more important than the precise designations of your first and middle name is that it be the same on all the forms you submit so that, for example, your test scores can be matched with your college application. I mention checking your high school record because your high school will be sending a transcript and you want the name used on your transcript to match the one you use for SAT tests and college applications so the college can easily match the transcript and test scores with your application when they arrive.
Note I do not know whether in the country you came from, you had two first names or two middle but I am aware that yours is a common social security issue for immigrants who come to the US. I have a swedish immigrant acquaintence who has a first, two middle, and last name. In the US most have only one first and one middle name and thus when government agencies create forms, they do so with only three spaces for names and allow for only three on the form and in the computer system. Government agencies like the social security agency are incapable of varying from a form and the result is that sometimes the records end up showing the first and first middle name as a first name. Despite being shown as having two first names in his social security records, my swedish friend has always fiilled out forms and signed documents using his actual single first name, and provided his two middle as middle names if asked, and has never had a problem.
