So I’m already a junior with no Spanish under my belt (and applying this cycle), though I do have a few years of another Romance language. I have very limited room in my schedule and also want to take some additional courses in my non-science major as well as a CS class so I feel adequate in this increasingly technological society. The intro Spanish offered at my school comes in a 2-semester series (meaning I can only get credit for 1 if I take the other), which means I’d have to devote 2 whole slots in my very limited schedule to this language.
Which means I have a few options:
a) take Spanish and sacrifice my additional major class and the CS class, which means I would have only completed the bare min. required for my major and also be technologically hindered compared to many of my peers
b) take everything and overload myself massively and risk damaging my GPA
c) not learn Spanish and give up on having the huge advantage of knowing Spanish while applying to CA/TX med schools
d) not take Spanish courses but somehow try to learn the language myself (but then how would that even help me in admissions if med schools can’t know about it? I might as well wait until I have more time further down the line and just take a medical Spanish course in med school instead)
Basically which of these options do you think I should go for?
Take Spanish over the summer and next year (if you’re applying this cycle, it means you’d be interviewing in 2017 and hopefully entering medical school in 2018)?
Can you self-study? There are online programs. My kids have some language learning apps on their phones.
What about another college’s online class? One where you only have to take one class to get credit? See if your instate CC has an online offering for cheap. And you could take it over summer as well, but you’ll be busy with secondaries. (GET your AMCAS and TMDSAS apps submitted by JUNE!!!..I think Texas apps can get submitted in May)
If you’ve already taken a Romance language then learning another one won’t be as difficult. Which one did you take? French? If you took Italian, then learning Spanish will be a snap.
Trying to cram in Spanish into your schedule and/or learn it online at this point, and then claim you “know” Spanish on an application seems dumb. What if an interviewer starts talking to you in Spanish??? I suspect someone will correct me, but I don’t’ think there’s a “huge advantage” in med school admissions, especially if you’re less than proficient.
@Jugulator20 I wasn’t planning to become fluent in it. I was told even knowing the basics helps immensely.
@doctorgirl after getting into med school/residency, you will be immersed into a new very complex foreign language (aka medicine) that you will need to thoroughly absorb and have become part of your day to day life. I just don’t think at this point (ie junior) taking some intro Spanish gains you anything application wise whereas continuing to maintain a high GPA and taking courses in your major will mean to you. Good luck.
Well, yes, being fluent helps immensely, and knowing basics also does. Now’s not the time though.
This summer, take intensive classes (if you’re really motivated, the Middlebury Summer Intensive application has opened and you’ll have something worthwhile on your CV - you’ll have to absorb in about 6 weeks what most people need 4-5 years to grasp, so it’s a serious commitment. You also have the Penn State or Ole Miss intensive programs, which are a bit less hardcore and give you roughly 2 semesters worth in about 8 weeks. Sufficient to function in basic Spanish.) Even your local community college will have a shortened, more intensive version of Intro to Spanish 1 then 2 in its summer session, and that’ll serve you well without burdening your current semester schedule.
What’s the language you learned? If French, switch to the basics of Creole in a community education center, it’ll be useful too - it won’t go onto your transcript and it’ll “count” for med school too.
A knowledge of Spanish is a grace note on your application, not the main melody. And frankly unless you have some service with Spanish-speaking communities, having very limited fluency in Spanish isn’t to help you get admitted.
Texas med schools are not OOS friendly**. If you’re not already a TX resident, being able to speak Spanish isn’t going to help you get accepted there.
** TX med schools are mandated by state law to accept >90% of students from instate.
CA med schools all have specific missions. Unless you’re already a “fit” for the mission, knowing Spanish isn’t going to help you. (OTOH, if you grew up in the Inland Empire and want to attend Riverside, knowing Spanish will be a plus.)
Datapoint of 1: Friend of D2. US citizen, native English speaker, native level fluency in Spanish-- her husband is a Mexican citizen and practicing physician in Mexico, near native fluency in Italian, UCD grad, decent GPA & MCAT scores, tons of ECs with medically underserved Spanish speaking communities in CA and with the rural poor in Mexico. ZERO acceptances in CA. Didn’t apply to TX because she wasn’t a TX resident. Friend did get accepted to other med schools though and will graduate in May.
@MYOS1634 Yes, the language I know now is French. I’ve thought about taking summer classes but they’re all thousands of dollars. If anything I’d rather find a free method.
From what you all are saying, I think I’ll just wait until medical school to take medical Spanish or something.
Would it help if I take one more semester of French? I think with one more semester, I could become pretty much fluent in the language, but I was debating the usefulness of doing so since there doesn’t seem to be much use for it in the South, or frankly, in the US at all (except maybe Louisiana).
@doctorgirl putting aside its usefulness, if you like French and can do well in it, by all means go ahead and take it.
No, but switching to community education classes in Creole (which is based on French) would, as it’d help with the Haitian community as well as immigrants from some islands. There’s actually a rather large French immigrant community (although it currently seems to concentrate on Brooklyn, the entire Eastern Seaboard, Florida, and Texas have French and Creole speakers. The French Brooklynites would pay top dollar for French speaking doctors but the larger need is in Creole.)
As noted above, it only helps as cherry on the cake for admission - everything else being equal, it can tip the scales, especially if your interview is strong (we’re talking interview stage here). However, for practice, it’s very useful regardless.
California is peculiar though - what state are you a resident of?
If you’re a Texas resident, your odds are good in Texas if you have everything and don’t bother with California.
You never know when knowing a bit of a language will come in handy…
D1 used her limited French fluency to talk with pharmacists and a doctor in French Polynesia while she was on vacation there after med school graduation and her companions got bitten by a stray dog on the beach. She was able to order the appropriate medications/treatments for them so they could fly home the next day.
She’s also used it when visiting her high school friend who now lives in Geneva and she’ll use it April when she’s going to Paris.
D2 has used her Spanish much more often while traveling than she has with Spanish speaking patients. (There’s a liability issue w/patients unless you’re a certified medical translator.) D2 is moderately fluent in Spanish–speaks with noticeable American accent-- but she understands it well enough she’s been able to travel throughout South and Central American on her own.
I don’t think it helps in admissions. It’s much easier to teach a great future doctor Spanish than to teach a Spanish speaker to be a great future doctor. I certainly wouldn’t give any boost to knowing Spanish.
Will it help on the wards - absolutely. Frankly though, other than patients on contact precautions, it’s fairly easy to pull up the translator on my phone so I get by just fine with zero Spanish speaking skills. If I’m with an attending or resident who speaks Spanish I’m picking up enough of the words to generally follow along (especially since I was a Classics major in college proficient in Latin as well as a decent French speaker in high school) and then I just ask the doctor to fill me on in the rest after we walk out of the room.
Definitely would not have known that from the way I see people use their Spanish skills (or lack there of).
Casual conversations are OK. “How are you doing to day?” is OK. Warning a patient at a community clinic you’re going to touch their eye while doing a glaucoma exam is OK. Taking a detailed patient history or explaining a diagnosis to a non-English speaker—that requires a certified translator. At least at our county hospital.
1/3 of the local population speaks a language other than English as their primary language so there is almost always someone at the clinic or ED or ward who speaks Spanish–including many of the doctors & nurses.
The more important aspect to this question is that a resident of TX shouldn’t be applying to CA med school, and vice versa. It’s a waste of time and money.