My main question is, is there any real difference between taking a language that you’d be closely affiliated and a completely foreign language in terms of how colleges would view them?
For example, would a Chinese student taking French be regarded exactly the same as a Chinese student taking Chinese, or would the French be more favorable?
I personally feel like colleges, employers etc. want to see you reach out of your comfort zone. At my school, there are a few Hispanic kids who self-study languages with software provided by the school. It is better to work hard at a new language than to get an easy A in a language that you already speak fluently.