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Foreign Languages

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seanpatin
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Foreign Languages [#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 12:10
I know a lot of Foreign schools like, require, or advocate the learning or knowledge of foreign languages, but how do U.S. schools look upon them? I currently have a pretty strong grasp of Spanish, but am looking to learn possibly French, Manarin Chinese, or both at least to a moderate degree. Would this be beneficial in the application process at all? I know of course that it could help me in my career later on, but do adcomms look favorably upon such knowledge?
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mNeo
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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 12:36
Are you planning to learn one of these languages for this years app season?
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seanpatin
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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 12:40
I have more time than that... so no, it is not urgent to do so!
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aviroop
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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 13:11
I asked this question in an info session and was told that the business schools (atleast GSB Chicago, UCLA and Columbia) do not emphasize a lot on foreign language skills, but its always a good thing to bring it up in your essays, if you can incorporate it.

I speak a few languages, so it always adds more color to your profile
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lepium
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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 19:08
aviroop wrote:
I asked this question in an info session and was told that the business schools (atleast GSB Chicago, UCLA and Columbia) do not emphasize a lot on foreign language skills, but its always a good thing to bring it up in your essays, if you can incorporate it.

I speak a few languages, so it always adds more color to your profile


I agree. I was all excited about speaking 5 languages and later on learnt that it was almost a non factor. The exception would be with schools such as IMD which emphasizes speaking several languages, or Thunderbird, which has a specific two-languages requirement.

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Re: Foreign Languages [#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 19:14
seanpatin wrote:
I know a lot of Foreign schools like, require, or advocate the learning or knowledge of foreign languages, but how do U.S. schools look upon them? I currently have a pretty strong grasp of Spanish, but am looking to learn possibly French, Manarin Chinese, or both at least to a moderate degree. Would this be beneficial in the application process at all? I know of course that it could help me in my career later on, but do adcomms look favorably upon such knowledge?


I applied last year while completing a six year assignment abroad and actually did emphasize my foreign language skills. If you are targeting a school with a strong international business program (Wharton-Lauder, Georgetown, Washington, Thunderbird, etc.) then by all means refine your current Spanish ability. You might even want to look into a national certification or license because it will give you an advantage.
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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 19:16
Do you have any idea where I can find out what types of certification are "accredited"? I have ran across like 30 things on the net regarding it, so it is hard to really decide which one to do so that I could actually use it.
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lepium
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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 19:26
seanpatin wrote:
Do you have any idea where I can find out what types of certification are "accredited"? I have ran across like 30 things on the net regarding it, so it is hard to really decide which one to do so that I could actually use it.


Check Wharton - Lauder's program. They have an accreditation requirement for languages which should be reputable (since they endorse it).

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[#permalink] New post   26 Jul 2007, 21:40
Lepium's right. There is an accredited language certification that Wharton (and Thunderbird) uses to gauge the skills of it's applicants. I think it's the same test the government requires for some of it's foreign service and national intelligence applicants.

Alternatively, you could look into certifications offered by the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, California. They now offer licenses (and even advanced training in interpretation/translation) to the general public.
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