I have been taking Chinese for 4 years in high school and will double major in Chinese and business in College. I have been accepted to Indiana University Flagship Chinese program. Does anyone have any information on these programs? (my HS Chinese teacher suggested I look into these. Univ of Rhode Island has one also and I have been accepted there as well. Thanks
That’s cool! I’ve always wanted to take chinese. Hopefully this coming fall I will take a class! Do you recommend anything that can help me achieve?
The Chinese Flagships are special programs that receive funding by all kinds of government agencies. You’ll study Chinese is special intensive classes so that, instead of studying CHinese on one saide, and studying Business on the other side, you’ll be studying Business IN Chinese, going to China to study business, have an internship in China, etc, etc. It’s a fantastic opportunity - and those who graduate from the program don’t have to worry about finding a job. 
Both programs are good, so you should choose the one that’ll be the least expensive and/or comes with an offer of Honors Program.
University of Mississippi has a nice program.
Thanks for your feedback @myos1634. At IU I also got direct admit to Kelly business school and at URI I got into the honors college. IU will be about 40k and URI about 30k - any thoughts on which you would suggest - I live int NYC area - thanks so much. @NotoriousJYD I did not ally to Ole Miss but wish I had!! Thanks both
If you’re interested in the program at Ole Miss but missed the deadline, it can’t hurt to give them a call. Sometimes schools have space in the spring. I wouldn’t try this with an elite private school, but larger public schools, especially those like Ole Miss that are trying to grow, may consider a highly qualified candidate after the official deadline.
What’s your parents’ budget?
(without taking out loans)
@myos16434 -They can afford either as they have saved. As I am the oldest kid and have done very well in school they want me to attend the school that will give me the best opportunity with 1) the college experience (my mom says college years are the best) and 2) opportunities for job after graduation. thanks
thanks @Hanna but I have applied to 7 schools and will pick from one of them at this point.
Did you also get Honors at Indiana, or can you apply to that? It’d make a big different to your experience (better dorms, priority registration, smaller/more interactive classes…)
Are those your two safeties?
These programs were a game changer for my D. I have a colleague with a son in OU’s Arabic Flagship program. The kid was born and raised in Oklahoma but is fluent at the college level in Arabic. We went to a Lebanese restaurant and he started speaking Arabic to the owner who was amazed by his abilities. He speaks Arabic with an Egyptian accept and is now purposely developing a Moroccan accent.
So, my D looked into Chinese, her preference, and found the program at the University of Mississippi. Only a few of these schools had engineering programs too. We believe that Ole Miss has the best combination of Chinese and engineering because they admit their students into the flagship program as freshmen, they begin the program before the fall semester and then continue courses every semester. The other programs offered admission during the sophomore year. I think at the end, it is a matter of preference.
Search BYU’s program on YouTube. They have extensive videos promoting their program and may answer a lot of your questions.
Thank you -
@myos1634 and @frugaldoctor - I am currently visiting IU. I found out on Wednesday that I was accepted to Univ of South Carolina which has a good Chinese Program (not flagship) and has top rated undergraduate international business school (Darla Moore) - no direct admit however. I rec’d a substantial scholarship such that all in cost for USC would be approx 25k vs IU at about 40k - any thoughts here ?
Do you feel the flagship opportunity at IU (and I love the campus - although I like USC’s as well) warrant the additional cost of approx 60k over 4 years ? I do not want to be short sighted about the money (as my mom is saying) if the flagship program will offer returns on the investment as far as studying abroad as well as job opportunities.
Would appreciate your thoughts ( YI - we can afford both schools ).
Are you a direct admit to the critical language flagship at IU?
What is your parents’ budget?
The Critical language flagship DOES add something important and no direct admit to USC’s Moore is a risk. Ho<wever, too expensive is too expensive…
Tough question. I typically lean on keeping expenses very low. I do not know enough about USC to give you good advice as it relates to them. I don’t remember if you would be a direct admit to IU’s Flagship program either. That is a big consideration too. We loved IU’s program but looked elsewhere because they lacked a chemical engineering program.
My best advice is to construct your career goals, envision the jobs you want, and examine which schools have placed graduates into those jobs. That’s a very objective way to assess them. Say you want to do international consulting at KPMG (on my recent flight, I sat next to a KPMG partner). Had IU or USC graduated students who are employed in that job? That’s the type of scrutiny I would use in my assessment.
The KPMG partner I sat next to attended a college I never heard of, then received an MBA from a school in Bangkok, Thailand of all places and then became a consultant at KPMG. He does work all over the world. It was one of those weird backgrounds. But goes to show that in most careers you are more responsible for paving your future than the school you attend.
The critical flagship programs have a special relationship to all the alphabet agencies, in a way that is impossible to replicate elsewhere. For government/international work it’s topnotch and it can lead to anything.
But checking where former graduates went to work (even if it’s a broad category, because the aforementioned agencies don’t actually get listed) would give you an idea.
@MYOS1634 and @frugaldoctor Thanks for your comments - yes I am a direct admit to the flagship program at IU as well as Kelley - Also no direct admit to Darla is a risk I will have to consider.
@MYOS1634 have you decided where you will be going?
I know Ole Miss provided us with a pdf showing metrics for the admitted classes and a list of where the graduates went. Please find out if USC and IU will do the same. It should be interesting to learn of their outcomes and especially learn your choice for college. Keep us posted.
I think URI has a stronger Chinese and engineering combo, than business. I would probably choose IU if the cost is not an issue though only you know your fit.
@MYOS1634
Thanks for mentioning the BYU videos. I had never heard about the Critical Language Flagship program until yesterday. My 16 yod and I traveled for her to participate in the Russian Olympiada and we met with her tutor IRL yesterday (she takes Russian via Skype.) She told us students would be hearing a talk about the flagship program today. It was nice to watch the videos and read about it before we head over so that she can ask questions.
OP, were you awarded scholarship $$ connected to the flagship program? My understanding of the program is very limited ( hope to have a better grasp this afternoon), but her tutor mentioned scholarship $$ and fully funded study abroad. Good luck with your decision. It sounds like an awesome opportunity.