<p>You write “I’ve taken 3 years of H.S. French and 4 years of M.S. French. However, I’m still not that good at it. I can memorize vocab and grammar rules, apply them reasonably well, etc., but when it comes to speaking or writing with any degree of fluency, I’m hopeless. Actually, my speaking isn’t too bad, but my composition and reading comprehention are terrible.”</p>
<p>The above posters are right, taking the placement exam will give you an idea of where you would be most comfortable with French. It’s unfortunately the case that a year of most H.S. language classes are worth about a 1/3 year of university level language.</p>
<p>The advantage of persisting with French is that you could actually get to the level past memorization and grammar rules, where you can start to have fun with it.</p>
<p>Another aspect of taking university level language classes is that the people teaching them tend to be very, very devoted to it, and very good at it. They want to “sell” you the language to which they have devoted many years of study. They think carefully about presentation, and about the social situation of the classroom. H.S. teachers don’t often have that luxury, as well as smaller classes. </p>
<p>If you want to try another language, you might look at Latin (as other posters have suggested) or another Romance language. Italian is much easier than French. Spanish has many practical applications.</p>
<p>Have fun!</p>