<p>From what I’ve seen, at least as far as East Asian languages go (outside of which I have little experience), Dartmouth is really no match for Chicago.</p>
<p>For example, by [Japanese</a> Exercise with Kanji / Japanese Language, Literature and Culture/DAMELL’S JAPAN PROGRAM](<a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/~damell/Japanese/exercise.html]Japanese”>http://www.dartmouth.edu/~damell/Japanese/exercise.html), it seems that Dartmouth only covers 300 kanji through 3rd year Japanese. Considering that there are 2000 Jouyou kanji (and 3000 in common use), this seems to be skimping in the extreme. At Chicago, you’ll know AT LEAST 500, but closer to 1000 kanji after 3rd year. At the end of 4th year at Chicago, you’ll know 1500-2k. If you’ll look at the sample sentences from that link, too, it’s quite clear that Dartmouth is lagging behind other schools such as Columbia ([Columbia</a> University Japanese Program](<a href=“http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/japanese/studentworks.html]Columbia”>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/japanese/studentworks.html)). And Columbia’s 5th year is equivalent to Chicago’s 3rd year. By Chicago’s 3rd year, you will be reading works from intellectuals such as Itami Mansaku, Amino Yoshihiko, and Miyazawa Kenji, whereas at Dartmouth, it seems you will be learning to read sentences such as “Since we have twenty more minutes we should be on time for the 9:30 super express train.”</p>
<p>At Chicago, they have to cater to the graduate students as well as the undergraduate students, so the level of classes has to be very high. By the end of 4th year at Chicago, you will be fluent, which can hardly be said of other schools. In this year’s 4th year Japanese, for example, there are four students remaining, and three of the four are Japanese and were raised in Japan. There is very little hand-holding at Chicago like there is at Dartmouth, which is why Chicago is so much more advanced.</p>
<p>There is also to be said something of Chicago’s prestige in East Asia. Chicago is easily within the top 5 prestige-wise in China and Japan (and I assume Korea, although I don’t have much experience here), and Dartmouth hardly has any international reputation. It would be greatly beneficial to your future career to choose Chicago.</p>