refinement

Hi all, It appears I'm late to this thread, but I'm applying next year too (just registered here). I've been out of undergrad for coming up on five years (good lord), which presents a host of challenges. Three of my best professors have died in that period, and I'm wondering how well the remainder remember me. I was a bright, if precocious and immature, undergraduate with good but not perfect grades. I never stopped reading, though, and in my time away from school I've really solidified my research interests and writing skills. In the time before application I'm hoping to develop my German reading knowledge and try to get some Italian under my belt, in addition to the usual rigamarole of GRE, SOP, LOR, OMG, WTF, ETC. I'm primarily applying to Comp. Lit, though I'm still open to pursuing pure English for the right program. I'm open to any and all recommendations! The current strategy is to stay organized and tenacious with what I assume is a pretty typical Excel spreadsheet setup. Right now I'm most curious as to how prepared Comp. Lit. students are in their secondary languages. Obviously this is central to these programs, but I have little in the way of institutional proof of study (except for Latin, which is not really relevant to my interests). Should I shell out the (deeply needed) cash to take a program at the Goethe Institut? Or should I just study on my own? Good to meet you all!