<p>So next year I'll be headed off to Stanford. During highschool I've studied Japanese and German and love both languages. My SAT 2 Japanese score will allow me to place out of beginner Japanese classes (my proficiency level is probably upper-intermediate/early advanced). And this year I'm taking the German AP and I'm pretty sure I'm capable of pulling off a 4 if I study hard enough and Stanford will allow me to skip out of beginner German classes as well with an AP score of 4. My Japanese proficiency is higher than my German proficiency though (by how much I'm not so sure, the two languages are hard to compare).
So, basically I'll be entering college with the ability to start right off the bat taking higher level courses in two different languages. Now, the problem is, will I be able to fit both languages into my schedule and/or will it be too much work? If I do take two languages would I have to forego the opportunity of taking other interesting elective classes? I don't intend to be a language major (although I am considering International Relations which does incorporate a good deal of language study, but that's just one of several possible majors running through my mind. Others include physics, econ and psych which are all completely random, I know. I'm pretty much undecided...)
So basically what all this comes down to is will I have to ultimately wind up dropping a language? Because if I do, it'll be a really difficult decision for me to make.</p>
<p>bump (10char)</p>
<p>I think that you will be able to fit both languages into your schedule-esp. with Stanford’s quarter system. You can sign up for both in a quarter or do Japanese in the fall quarter and German without Japanese in the winter quarter. However, I think that you will be able to fit both in one quarter.
Congrats on going to Stanford!</p>
<p>I cannot comment much on the undergrad Japanese at Stanford, but my graduate studies there were certainly difficult. Intermediate classes you should be able to fit into your schedule fine, but advanced courses in EAL can eat you alive if you’re trying to focus on too many things at once. As I said, I am not sure about their undergraduate program specifically, but in general you can often expect to learn upward of 600-800+ new kanji in a single semester of advanced Japanese. That is a piece of cake if it’s your major, but if you’re trying to focus on other subjects dilligently at the same time, it might prove to be a challenge.</p>
<p>All in all it just depends upon you specifically. I’ve met undergrad students who were able to juggle Italian, French, German, Mandarin, and Arabic advanced courses simultaneously without suffering too badly :)</p>