<p>its more impressive for an indian(like me) to get a high score on chinese then an chinese person. thats what im trying to say. not trying to belittle anyones capabilities in a language, but a native speaker should score above 750 easily, right?</p>
<p>I agree that it is an unfair advantage (perhaps I'm just bitter, lol). I go to an international school, and a ton of people I know took the Spanish test, even though it's their mother tongue. It's like Americans taking the Toeffl. It's seems ridiculous to me that I studied for all three SAT IIs I took for hours, while they could just walk in on test day with like three hours of sleep and still get an 800.
But then again, I can see why it would be valuable to colleges since they don't know that they are native spanish speakers (the ones with American passports, anyway), unless they explicitly stated so in the personal statement or additional info section. Anyway, the language tests don't really speak much for you if you are specifically interested in a science, math or even humanities major. Although, bilingualism is definitely a plus for applicants, no doubt.</p>
<p>i did ok on my math II. i'm good at math (i have an A in Calculus I) but i've never ever been good on standardized math tests.</p>
<p>MathII 800
MathI 730
Physics 740</p>
<p>it is NOT an unfair advantage</p>
<p>let me tell you why.. kids who score "750+" on SAT II language tests are obviously native in that language.. which is all the reasons WHY they will probably NOT be as good on the English Critical Reading / Writing section of SAT I (like me)</p>
<p>it all balances out.. if the kids who score 750+ on SAT II tests score high on SAT cr/writing, why hate? Kudos to them for mastering a new language while balancing their native languages.</p>
<p>honestly, i dont think a chinese person should be allowed to take the SATII chinese subject test, nor a latino person the spanish test, etc. just my opinion.</p>
<p>Credits to you, an Indian who mastered Chinese. I'm sure the colleges will value your 800 in CHinese more than a Chinese person's 800</p>
<p>But you don't have to bitter about it. I'm sure if they offered Indian as an SAT II language test, you would have taken advantage of it as well, would you not?</p>
<p>You can't possibly tell me that another 800 would hurt...</p>
<p>Look man, I know how it is. I'm trilingual in Japanese, Chinese, and English. </p>
<p>And I would have surely taken both Japanese and CHinese subject tests if I had the chance.</p>
<p>on the application im pretty sure it asks what language you speak at home bsesides english, so if you mention chinese for example, then you SAT 2 score is probablly not going to be as impressive...i think things probablly balance out, all things taken into consideration</p>
<p>^ yea i think ur right, and yea i guess am a little stressedout about the whole admissions process. just wish they would even it for everyone.</p>
<p>exactly..^^ it balanced out..so why be bitter? people who's native tongue is english already to have an advantage on the actualy SAT critical reading & writing section. so if someone else worked on mastering and actually KEEPING their native tongue, why should it not count...?</p>
<p>It really screws people who learn languages like Chinese from scratch and are not native speakers because the test becomes too hard for them. Yet it's ridiculously easy for native speakers.</p>
<p>True, but that is noted like he said on the section of your heritage and language spoken at home? Not to mention the fact that..native speakers had to learn ENGLISH from scratch and be compared to all the other Americans here? So I don't really get where you get off being mad?</p>
<p>Being asian automatically gets you screwed in the admissions process anways...so why is it sooo upsetting for you for us to have a 800 in something we actually know. It's not as if we get any benefit for learning english and getting just as great if not better scores on our SAT critical reading n writing? So at least those people who learn languages from scratch get that added benefit. =]</p>
<p>atleast some1 agrees with me....</p>
<p>About the non-native-English speakers: they're supposed to take the Toeffl. Supposedly colleges compensate if you take it and add points to the CR section of the SAT. But to the people who've lived here all their lives, who have parents that ONLY speak Spanish, it's not much of an achievement to score an 800. And for colleges that require 3 subject test, it's a bit ridiculous, IMO. And okay, it may pose a challenge on the CR/W, but they've been to international schools all their lives, so they've been fluent in both languages since elementary. There's no way you can be fluent in Bio or Chem since elem, so there's definitely a difference between language and science tests.</p>
<p>But for those who do take language tests and get perfect scores, it makes you a great candidate for your multilingualism and if you want to study linguistics or something...</p>
<p>
[quote]
True, but that is noted like he said on the section of your heritage and language spoken at home? Not to mention the fact that..native speakers had to learn ENGLISH from scratch and be compared to all the other Americans here? So I don't really get where you get off being mad?</p>
<p>Being asian automatically gets you screwed in the admissions process anways...so why is it sooo upsetting for you for us to have a 800 in something we actually know. It's not as if we get any benefit for learning english and getting just as great if not better scores on our SAT critical reading n writing? So at least those people who learn languages from scratch get that added benefit. =]
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The language of instruction at colleges in the United States is English, so it's fair to assess your mastery of the English Language.</p>
<p>On the other hand, SAT II's are supposed to measure how much you have learned - the "value-added" of your education. If that knowledge is innate, it doesn't tell the admissions office much about the applicant's ability to learn.</p>
<p>Additionally, not all schools take into account what language you speak at home. Most UC's plug your SAT II's into a formula and spit out some number, which they use in admission decisions. They don't care whether you are a native speaker or not.</p>
<p>I am an immigrant myself, and English was not my first language, so impugning my integrity ("why is it so upsetting to you?") isn't going to get you very far.</p>
<p>i think my username is an oximoron b/c I am probably the most chilled out of all you guys... </p>
<p>RELAX... </p>
<p>everything balances out.. there's tons of unfair **** in the world that are beyond our control.</p>
<p>^ Agreed. It's not like apps accurately represent who we are to start with. In any case, there are pros and cons to taking any SAT II, and submitting them additionally to a college that doesn't require them is only going to work to your advantage.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, when I said "here" in above post, I meant Latin America.</p>
<p>blue beard: i didnt sign up for any SATs (1s or 2s). took the act 1 time and boy that was enough standardized testing for me. but if i had taking SAT IIs , yea i would have chosen french as one. hey... how do you know i speak french?</p>
<p>
[quote]
hey... how do you know i speak french?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hehe, just a guess but maybe "pas moi!" had something to do with it? :p</p>