Mandarin or Arabic? I think I want to switch!

I'm pretty sure Scottish unis also offer it (Edinburgh, St Andrews). However I've seen more people doing Arabic and Spanish than combining it with German, I suppose it's more logical to choose Turkish do to evident links between the two languages. What made you choose German?

Annoyingly, Edinburgh do not do Arabic & German, at least not as a named course that you can apply to (though they do do Arabic & Spanish and Arabic & French, obviously more natural combinations for historical reasons, much like, as you say, Turkish and German).
My interest in German is quite separate from my interest in Arabic (although there are some links, like the rich tradition of German Orientalist scholarship of teh Middle East). But it's quite simple really, I just like German literature (I do like me German Romantics, not to mention all the modern writers I'm keen on like Gunther Grass, Thomas Mann, Herman Hesse, Franz Kafka, etc etc) Also, I'm interested in history and philosophy (was close to studying something like that), and Germany has an interesting history (besides the obvious stuff like World Wars and Communism, plenty of interesting stuff happening during the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment) as well as producing its fair share of the West's greatest philosophers- learning German is worth it if only to be able to get your head round Kant, not to mention Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietszxctschse (however you spell it), Marx (and the Arabs have produced their fair share of thinkers too, as well as a fascinating religion and culture in which I happen to have a background). So yeah, there you have it. (Sorry for going on a bit, but somebody did ask...)

To make this more relevant, I should advise people looking into studying languages to make sure there are course options that interest them- some unis have very literary courses, and if that's not your thing, you won't enjoy it, while others have practically no study of literature in the course, which would annoy me. Quite nicely (certainly for me), Exeter and Cambridge, from what I recall, have some nice history and philosophy options for German too, so if that's your cup of tea, look into it.

It's Nietzsche, poor guy, haha (yeah, I got his name wrong at least thousands of time when I studied Philo before getting it right) . But yeah, Germany has an amazing literature, indeed (it's probably only for cultural reason that I'd like to learn it), I was just curious because it's not really easy to explain any combination with Arabic apart from maybe French that shares lots of links with Arab countries, and Spain too, but Germany has not so much to do with Arabic countries, so I was wondering . I have to say that I'm pretty crap at explaining why I chose my degree . Where did you apply, btw?

Ah, well-spelled, but at least I can pronounce it correctly (am reminded of Posner in the 'History Boys' who pronounces it 'Nee-Shaw')...
Yeah, it's only for cultural/historical/literary reasons that I would study anything at all... practical benefits were negligible when I made my language choices (though I may regret that). I applied to Durham, King's (for Comparative Literature- where you can supplement studying German lit with Arabic at the language centre), Edinburgh (I emailed them about doing German & Arabic and they said I should apply to do Arabic and it will likely be possible to study German alongside it even if it's not an official course), Cambridge, and also UCL (where I actually applied to do German & Hebrew...)
I take it you are studying Arabic and Russian? Nice combination. Interested in Central Asia, much?

I worked with my dad. Could have decent conversations with his business partners in Arabic.

If you choose Mandarin, maybe I'd help you with your mandarin.