<p>LACs rarely can compete with large universities on breadth and depth of course offerings in virtually any subject. This is a generic relative shortcoming of LACs, not specific to language instruction.</p>
<p>With respect to my prior post, when I meant good I meant that d has taken a number of courses in these areas and has reported the level of courses and instruction to e excellent. LACs generally don't have TAs, though in this case I vaguely recall a mention that some native-speaking students are available for extra help. They also have language dorms and language-only lunch tables.</p>
<p>Well, Bigtwix wants to major in Japanese, AND study Italian, Spanish & Mandarin. There aren't many LACs that are going to have full offerings in all those areas. It's one thing when a student wants to major in a more common language, like French -- quite another the farther you get from the mainstream. It really isn't quite the same as other offerings, because as far as the language instruction goes -- you need to have faculty who are fluent speakers. It's just harder.</p>
<p>On the bright size, for us, starting the college search with a less common language in mind, we quickly narrowed down the college list.</p>
<p>One other thing that I found, and this is also important to the OP, is that outside of the LACs, the only colleges that offered my daughter's language beyond beginner level were all highly selective colleges. The OP has a 3.5 GPA and probably correctly sees Middlebury as a reach. That's why I suggested looking at publics - it is going to be very, very hard for OP to find a private college that is a match for and has the language offerings that he/she is looking for.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Collegehelp's listing of mostly publics above is a great start -- and many of those are schools where OP's high ACT may bring in some merit money.</p>
<p>connecticut college is similar to middlebury, but easier to get into. offers japanese, chinese, italian, and obviously spanish. huge emphasis on global awareness/study abroad/international relations</p>
<p>The point is that you aren't going to find that many LAC's that have the offerings in the languages that you want. It doesn't matter what the quality of the instruction if the class isn't offered.</p>
<p>Agree that adequacy should not be just assumed. Relatively easy matter to check websites & verify, one way or the other, if the # of potential schools is reasonable. This step should not be skipped.</p>
<p>D#1 actually turned down a particular LAC, known for international orientation, when it turned out, upon investigation, that they didn't offer Mandarin beyond the intro levels. In her case, she was able to find other LACs that did in fact meet her specific needs.</p>
<p>And, if the class IS in fact offered, then IMO quality of instruction can matter a great deal.</p>
<p>I would suggest that a large well known university will have a better chance at getting the best coming our of grad school. Just more to offer--more fellow profs, more specialization, more resources.</p>
<p>barrons has stated a preference for universities vs.liberal arts colleges. This is often discussed, and there are different opinions on either side. This opinion as expressed is global- i.e., transcends just the issue at hand, study of languages, which in any event will be a minority of OPs coursework.</p>
<p>OP might do well to select colleges based partly on which side of this "big vs. large" argument OP agrees with. Having decided that, there are probably schools of either type that will work just fine. More universities will work than LACs, however.</p>
<p>But it is true that there are tradeoffs involved.</p>
<p>Italian
SMITH COLLEGE
VASSAR COLLEGE
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
BARNARD
BRYN MAWR
DICKINSON</p>
<p>Spanish
DICKINSON COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS
AUGUSTANA COLLEGE
DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
HOPE COLLEGE
MUHLENBERG COLLEGE
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND
GETTYSBURG COLLEGE
WHEATON COLLEGE
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE
WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
GRINNELL COLLEGE
BATES COLLEGE
DAVIDSON COLLEGE
DENISON UNIVERSITY
OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
COLBY COLLEGE
WELLESLEY COLLEGE
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE
SPELMAN COLLEGE
MACALESTER COLLEGE
SAINT OLAF COLLEGE
COLGATE UNIVERSITY
HAMILTON COLLEGE
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
ST LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE
EARLHAM COLLEGE
HANOVER COLLEGE
CARLETON COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF SAINT BENEDICT
SKIDMORE COLLEGE
URSINUS COLLEGE
AUSTIN COLLEGE
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY</p>
<p>Italian
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON-SEATTLE CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEW BRUNSWICK
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH-MAIN CAMPUS
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY</p>
<p>Spanish
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA-TWIN CITIES
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEW BRUNSWICK
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-MAIN CAMPUS
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND-COLLEGE PARK
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON-SEATTLE CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH-MAIN CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS
INDIANA UNIVERSITY-BLOOMINGTON
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
AUBURN UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY
MIAMI UNIVERSITY-OXFORD
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
DUKE UNIVERSITY
TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY-MAIN CAMPUS
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT</p>