<p>Don't sweat it.</p>
<p>Two key concepts here:</p>
<p>First, read carefully. "Recommend" is not the same as "require". (And even "require" is not always the same as "require", but that's a more advanced class.) If someone recommends that you do something, but it's impossible or unreasonable for you to do it because of factors beyond your control, that's a pretty good answer (if one is needed) to the person who did the recommending.</p>
<p>Second, use a little disciplined imagination and put yourself in the shoes of the University of Chicago. Would you throw out your application, and all others like yours, because the students' high schools didn't offer four years of Spanish, or made the fourth year conflict with other important choices? If you were in the admissions office, could you explain that policy to the president and Board of Trustees? Not bloody likely.</p>
<p>You really aren't likely to be treated arbitrarily, at Chicago or anywhere else for that matter. That's not what college admissions offices are about. </p>
<p>It may make sense, however, to contact your regional admissions counselor and ask whether you should put a sentence or two in your application explaining why you were unable to take a fourth year of Spanish. The answer is probably "no", but the contact will probably go in your file, and will pretty much immunize you against being penalized on this issue.</p>
<p>One final thing: Chicago is not being arbitrary by recommending four years of a foreign language, either. It is taking a principled, well-documented position that (a) fluency in a foreign language is a valuable skill in almost any discipline, (b) the experience of learning a foreign language well has educational benefits beyond just learning the language, (c) fluency in a foreign language has moral importance in a diverse world, and (d) willingness to pursue a foreign language to fluency is one of the things that often helps distinguish serious students from poseurs.</p>
<p>Your statement "I want to major in Econ . . . not Spanish," implies that you disagree with, or fail to understand, all four of the foregoing reasons. That's NOT the way to approach it with Chicago. To say the least. No one is going to throw your application out because you couldn't take four years of Spanish, but anyone might throw your application out because you seem like a narrow-minded dumbass.</p>
<p>You should also recognize that, Econ major or not, Chicago is going to make you take that fourth year of Spanish if you go there.</p>