Applied Languages in UL or DCU??

So I'm doing my Leaving Cert in a few weeks and the "change of mind" window opens soon and I can't decide between Applied Languages in UL or the Applied Language and Translation Studies in DCU. I want to do German and Spanish(beginners) and in the case of UL where you can do a third language, Japanese.
Could someone who does/is thinking about doing either of these courses give me some information regarding:the electives you can take (are they hard? interesting?), is doing Spanish at beginners level difficult? What's the overall quality of the courses and what are the career prospects?
And also I've heard that the study abroad year in DCU is better as they have better links with more prestigious universities worldwide?