<p>I've asked this on CC before, but now that I know I'm going to the University of Chicago, I figured I'd ask again for people familiar with the programs.</p>
<p>I'm trying to decide on a language to take. I took four years of Spanish in high school, and it's likely that I'll completely pass out of a foreign language with the placement test. But that would be boring, and I want to learn another language.</p>
<p>I want to study abroad. Since I come from a high school with no AP courses, and the only AP test I took was Literature (which doesn't help much in the core), I probably won't have time for a full year abroad, but who knows. The university says it requires two years of study in the local language for study abroad, but there was a clause in there that basically said they're just kidding.</p>
<p>I'll be an economics major.</p>
<p>My options are French, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese. I'm also vaguely considering German, though it's a distant fourth behind these three choices. Really, any of them are applicable to an economics major.</p>
<p>I like French because I love Europe, and I'd love to live there for a while sometime. I like the whole Paris Center thing. But French is probably losing influence, and I'm not sure how useful it will really be in twenty years.</p>
<p>I like Russian because of the alphabet, the literature, and the history. Russian history has been of interest to me since I was about ten years old, so I go way back with Russian. However, I know that Russia is quite dangerous for foreigners, and foreign students are especially targeted. I'd think seriously about my safety before running off to study in Russia.</p>
<p>I like Chinese because it sounds and looks beautiful. It will probably be useful in twenty years. But it's a difficult language, and I don't really have much desire to live or study in China. Sure, I'll visit once in a while, but China doesn't seem like a good long-term destination for me.</p>
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<p>Sorry about the rambling. Is anyone familiar with the strength of these programs at UChicago? I've been thinking about this for months, and I have yet to arrive at a conclusion. It's sort of beginning to bug me, now that I have less than three months before I register for classes.</p>