Applying for modern languages at uni - advice needed

Hello there! I'm a year 13 student studying Spanish, Biology and Geography. I'd like to study modern languages at uni. Specifically, I'd like to study Spanish in combination with another language, which I would be studying from a beginner level. However, I'm having problems with pinpointing what that second language should be. I'm very interested in studying Japanese, for example, but very few unis offer it in conjunction with Spanish, and among those unis I don't think I'd be able to pick out a whole set of 5 that I'd actually be happy to go to. Which leads to my question - do you guys think that applying for different second languages at different unis (for example, if I applied for Spanish and Japanese at Cardiff, and Spanish and German at Reading) within the same application would be plausible, or should I focus my application on a single combination of languages in order to have a good chance of getting offers?

Any input from people working in foreign languages admissions, or uni admissions in general would be the most helpful, but any advice at all would still be greatly appreciated!

Yes, applying to different combinations of languages is plausible and admission tutors will to some extent expect it and factor that it when reading your personal statement, especially if you're applying to do a less common language like Japanese. You will need to work a bit harder on your personal statement to ensure you are talking about all your languages enough, but it's possible - in fact, there are some good examples of multi-language personal statements here: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Category:Languages_Personal_Statements (this one is a good one).

I think you probably could make a more general application work. When you're applying for a more unusual combination of subjects, unis do realise this and are less concerned about a perfectly tailored PS than when you're applying for a common single honours subject. MFL can be less competitive, and if your grades are strong, this will matter more than a weaker PS. Although unis do often like to see an interest in the specific language and culture, you can also demonstrate your interest in MFL more generally.

Some unis offering unusual subject combinations also offer you the chance to send a supplemental PS for your course, so you could email unis and ask about this.