<p>Hi, I’m Chinese but I am mixed. I’m part Chinese and part Mexican. I want to take AP Chinese. I am wondering if I do will it hurt my chances? Currently for high school I am just putting that I am Mexican. Do you think I can take AP Chinese then and it wont hurt my chances of getting into Harvard? Also did I make the right choice of putting that I was only Mexican? I heard that the Asians were graded as a group whereas Lationo’s were individual. Is this true?
Thanks!</p>
<p>You can definitely take AP Chinese and it is among the highest percentage to score 5 in AP exam. As AP World Language is not a requirement for admission, I don’t think it makes any difference. Nevertheless, I am not sure if they would consider your Chinese classes in high school as foreign language or not. For SAT2, any native language would not be considered as part of the minimal requirement but it will be considered as additional SAT2 test score.
If you have sufficient heritage from Mexican, you can be considered Hispanic/Latino and that may give you some benefit. Nevertheless, you need to pay attention to your world language requirement accordingly. </p>
<p>Oh, I’ve heard people say that if you Chinese then taking AP Chinese is bad since to colleges it looks like your trying to get a easy A. Is that accurate? Also I live in a predominately Chinese area and all the Chinese kids tell me that’d they do anything to be Mexican since Latino has a better chance of getting into Harvard then Chinese. How accurate is this in your opinion?</p>
<p>If you’re American-born of Chinese/Mexican descent Taking AP Chinese is fine. Think of all the Mexican-Americans. Puerto-Rican Americans, etc. who take AP Spanish. Even if you speak the language at home, that does not mean that you know how to read or write it.</p>
<p>Now if your Chinese-born, going to school in Beijing, I would think differently.</p>
<p>As to describing yourself as Latino vs. Asian, it depends on which group you more closely identify yourself as. Personally, I would check them both. I would also check to see how your HS identifies you, and if that appears on any material sent to the colleges. If your surname is obviously Chinese or Mexican, this may further impact your decision.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, Harvard will reject 94% of the applicants, so your race or choice of language classes will probably not be the defining factor of whether or not you get in.</p>
<p>I’m not sure whether race will be a factor or not. A lot of the Asian kids at my school like I said before would give anything to be counted as Mexican since it seems like the Asians are graded as a group. I’m regarded as Hispanic at my HS. I’m just worried since a lot of Asian’s always tell me that it’s better to be Mexican rather then Asian. I know Harvard would never say that they accept you depending on race but I’ve had a lot of top kids at my HS who are Asian not get into Harvard whereas there are a lot of Latino’s at my school who are just ok and they can get into Harvard.</p>
<p>Dunno about Harvard, but UIUC gives 20 credit hours for a 5 in AP Chinese. Personally, I find the focus on Harvard to be silly.</p>
<p>When your source is other hs kids, well H is looking for a bit more dig than that.
I heard that the Asians were graded as a group whereas Lationo’s were individual. Is this true? No. Nor are Asian Americans stereotyped as boring or overly interested in academics. </p>
<p>But really, how much have you actually looked at what H says they look for? Not hs kids, but the school itself.</p>
<p>You can mark both Hispanic and Asian American. That’s an interesting combo, are you sure you want to try so hard to game this? As for AP Chinese, have you been taking Chinese in hs? Any other languages? </p>
<p>It won’t hurt to get a 5 on the AP test, but, if Chinese is a heritage language for you, it may not be as helpful as getting a 5 on the AP test in a non-heritage language.</p>
<p>Unless you opt for “Advanced Standing” (graduating in 3 years instead of 4) Harvard DOES NOT give credit for AP courses. The only exception is Foreign Language – if you score a 5 on an AP Foreign Language exam, you are exempt for Harvard’s Foreign Language graduation requirements. Many colleges also do likewise, giving full or partial exemptions, so students should try to take an AP Foreign Language course and test in HS. <a href=“http://handbook.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k95151&pageid=icb.page584293#a_icb_pagecontent1262246_2”>http://handbook.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k95151&pageid=icb.page584293#a_icb_pagecontent1262246_2</a></p>
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<p>In addition, please note
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<p>Are you self-studying or taking it as a school class or as an outside class. As long as it’s not a school class , just wait to take it senior year so Harvard won’t know before you apply. Being Latino vs Asian will help you a lot, but beware that Harvard could tell your Asian by your Asian parent’s name and birthplace if it’s in his/her native country.</p>
<p>How does Harvard tell if what your native language is? For all they know you could be born in say Japan, have spoken Japanese as your first language, but put English as your native language. How does Harvard know your not lying?</p>
<p>^^ On of the questions on the CA is about language</p>
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<p>Thanks, but my question is how does say Harvard know that your native language is English. For all they know you could have been born in the US, but until you went to preschool the only language you spoke was Japanese.</p>
<p>^^ If you are fluent in two or more languages, meaning you can speak, read and write well enough to pass their Foreign Language exam in one language other than English, then you are exempt from the FL graduation requirements. </p>
<p>In your example, once admitted to Harvard, the student would have to take a Japanese exam to prove proficiency, if that student had not taken AP Japanese and scored a 5, or scored a 7 or higher on an IB Higher Level exam. Harvard does not require the TOEFL, so Admissions assumes a student is proficient in English through their essays, SAT/ACT tests scores, SAT Subject Test scores, non foreign language AP exams scores, and comments from their recommendation writers.</p>
<p>Taking the exam won’t hurt, it just won’t help. Also I don’t really know for Harvard, but most schools use the exam for credit only and not admissions</p>
<p>OP is making this too convoluted. In itself, that raises concerns. It’s not unheard of for a native speaker to study the family language, to hone reading, writing and a higher level of speaking skills. If OP told us what language(s) he studied in high school, I missed it.</p>
<p>The logical progression is AP for the language he’s been taking all along. If he just thinks he’s going to pop in AP Chinese out of the blue, adcoms will likely notice. I think it will look like an optional choice, not a tip. If so, it shouldn’t replace other rigor, nor really AP in whatever language he did study.</p>
<p>(Adcoms can look at the scores, for some verification of grades. Better to not assume they won’t. When you’re talking about the most competitive colleges, all aspects of the app come into play.)</p>