<p>So, I want to study mechanical engineering at Princeton, but I would also love to learn and become fluent in Spanish. Would this be possible? And would i be able to study abroad in a summer program or something? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>A few semesters of a foreign language is an academic requirement at Princeton. So I guess the answer would be yes. I believe they have a study abroad program, but I’m not sure. I know there’s the very interesting Bridge Year program, which would sort of force you to become fluent in Spanish (so long as you chose a Spanish-speaking country to go to for 9 months.)</p>
<p>Engineers are not required to become proficient in a language but many do. You have a lot of freedom to take other courses at Princeton and you can definitely study abroad in the summer. There’s a program for 107 and 207 in Toledo, Spain and probably in Argentina as well.</p>
<p>My son did a summer program in Argentina for Spanish literature. Because he was a Comp Lit major, the university paid!</p>
<p>The languages here are amazing, but very demanding. As a MAE student, you might be a little crunched for time with Spanish thrown in the mix because, interestingly enough, the introductory levels can be the most time consuming. When I took Japanese 101, we were knocking out an alphabet a week at least (there are 3 alphabets, but I’m referring to Hiragana and Katakana, which have 42 characters a piece). It was hard to stay on top of that and a bunch of math/science classes at the same time.</p>
<p>I also took Japanese! xD Weird. It was kinda intense but also a lot of fun, though I eventually couldn’t keep up with the classes long enough to become truly fluent. I did go abroad one summer, though. (I’m BSE.) I’d highly recommend it. I think that some languages make more sense to study than others from the perspective of time available; in a year and a half you’ll have pretty good Spanish. Compare with Japanese. Ack! So yeah, I’d say, go for it, even though it might be a bit demanding.</p>
<p>Honestly a study abroad or an immersion program is the best way to really learn a foreign language fluently. Classes can only do so much. Being forced to use it on an everyday basis in the real world will truly allow you to maximize the fluency and understanding of the language. You also wouldn’t have the stress of classes hanging over you as the program can be done during the summer.</p>