Foreign Language Spoken at Home?

I speak a foreign language at home (Dutch) and I was wondering how I can show colleges that I know this language. I know there is a section where you say what languages you speak on the common app, but is there a test or something to show that you know it well? I speak more or less fluently at home but would need to work on my writing abilities if there is a test. Also, can I get credit for Dutch as my required foreign language requirement? My school requires through level two and at the end of the year I will have accomplished that (two years in middle school and one in high).

Is there a Dutch AP test or SAT 2?

I don’t think so.

No.

You list it on the Common App, as you note. I highly doubt that any college will ask you to prove it. While not necessary, you could explore the CNaVT (Dutch as a Foreign Language Certificate). The challenge is that the exam is only given once a year in May and the number of US test sites is limited. See more info here:
https://www.iamexpat.nl/expat-info/dutch-language-certification

For high school graduation requirements, it depends upon the HS; you would need to ask the GC. For college admissions, the preference is that it is a foreign language that you learned in school. But if the HS accepts it, the college probably will as well. But ask your prospective colleges to confirm. For college graduation requirements, probably not unless the college offers Dutch (which are few and far between; Columbia, Penn, Berkeley, UMN, and a couple of others) or if the college is willing to ask a professor at one of those universities to extend a professional courtesy and offer you a placement exam by distance. But you can cross that bridge when you get to it and ask the department at the college you will be attending.

You can list it in your Additional Info section on your college app. I would put it in.

Try a placement exam at college.

Does one of your parents come from a Dutch speaking country? That will probably show in the parent section as well. If nothing in the application connects you to the language you might want to add a blurb somewhere to show how come you speak the language so well. It has to be some other really big red flag for colleges to doubt you otherwise they will not. My kids are bilingual and do not have any “proof” but in our case is very transparent.

Some colleges and universities will accept scores from proficiency exams in languages that they do not offer classes in from students who want to use those languages to meet graduation requirements. So it is worth investigating the options for meeting language requirements at the places on your potential application list. If you speak Dutch, but do not read or write it very well, you can look around for places where you can improve those skills. A quick Google search along the lines of Dutch language proficiency test, or Dutch language reading instruction, will pull up useful links for you.

Would you count a language you can hear fluently, but can’t speak? Or no…

No. The questions on the Common App are:

My own rule of thumb is that if one would not be comfortable have the admissions interview in the foreign language, one should not list it. YMMV

@skieurope
ha ha ha
I told my D the exact same thing about the interview and she thought that would be so much fun. But it did not happen.

I will retell a story that I have told here before:

3 years ago, when I was applying to college, I indicated on the Common App that I am proficient in Italian (which although I’m not Italian and don’t live in Italy, I legitimately am fluent). I had a couple of interviews where the interviewer did ask questions in Italian - nothing terribly profound, more like “Which region of Italy is your favorite?” Again, that experience is probably the exception, but just know that one should be prepared to back up what one lists on the application.

Both of my parents grew up in Holland so yes.

I can speak hear and read well but need to improve writing.