A Comprehensive Guide to Showcasing Language Skills on the Common App
With a Global Seal of Biliteracy or State Seal of Biliteracy
If you're a bilingual student or a high school counselor assisting to apply to colleges through the Common App, you have a unique advantage that can set you apart from other applicants: your language skills. This guide aims to simplify the process of highlighting your proficiency in multiple languages, particularly if you've earned a Global Seal of Biliteracy or a state-specific Seal of Biliteracy.
The Common App, used by over 1,000 universities, provides several sections where you can showcase your language skills. The challenge lies in deciding where your language proficiency will have the most impact. The sections to consider include your Profile, Honors, Testing, Essay, and Additional Information.
Let’s start with your Profile. As you fill out general information about yourself, after the Geography section, you’ll see Language Proficiency. The question is “Languages in which you are proficient.” That means if you had to write a lengthier essay or conduct a college interview in that language, you could do it. You can identify up to 5 languages (including the language you speak best, such as English) in which you have proficiency. Use the pull-down menu of 171 languages to find the language(s) you have acquired. This section includes a pull-down menu to allow you to be specific about your skills. You’ll be asked to check as many that apply: First Language (if the language was the first language you spoke), Speaking, Reading, Writing, or Spoken at Home. If you have taken a language proficiency test such as STAMP 4S or AAPPL to earn a Seal of Biliteracy and you scored at the Advanced-Low level or above on the ACTFL scale for that skill or you scored a 5 on an Advanced Placement Language and Culture course, it’s safe to claim proficiency in this section. For scores below the advanced-low level, you might consider not claiming proficiency here but adding your skills or your Seal of Biliteracy to another section of the Common App.
The next area where a State or Global Seal of Biliteracy (or both) can be added is to the Honors section. The Common App allows you to add up to 5 Honors. If you are a student who has achieved multiple honors, you may want to feature your Seal of Biliteracy in another area so that you can include other awards. If you have only a few honors or awards to list, add them here. Common App suggests that you list your honors in order of importance (national, state, local, etc.). If you have earned a Global Seal of Biliteracy, that would be considered an international/national honor, and a State Seal of Biliteracy is a state-level award.
The Common App also includes a Testing section where you can list tests and test scores such as SAT, ACT, and AP or IB. One suggestion is to list the tests on which you scored highest first and to not include tests you may not have passed. If you took a test to qualify for a State or Global Seal of Biliteracy (or both), it’s a good idea to include the name of the test and your score here. Be aware that colleges may also request that the scores be sent to them. Because the criteria for each state’s Seal of Biliteracy differs, the college may be more likely to base your placement on your documented language test scores.
If language is something in which you are especially interested or skilled or strongly connects to your identity or future career interests, and you did not include your Seal of Biliteracy in the Honors section, you might want to build your essay around your bilingualism.
Two possible perspectives around which you could focus your essay (250-650 words) are:
How your language skills relate to your background,heritage or identity and will impact your future plans.
How your language learning and Seal of Biliteracy accomplishment has resulted in personal growth and a new or greater understanding of yourself or others.
Lastly, if you chose not to include your Seal of Biliteracy in the Honors or Essay sections, you can always include it in the Additional Information portion of the Common App.