<p>is it suggested to take a foreign language during undergrad years for med school admissions? do med schools require any amount of foreign language?
i'm kinda stuck because i took latin in high school and do not want to take it again. i would prefer spanish (the most useful) or german or italian. any thoughts?</p>
<p>Suggested? No
Required? No
Is there any downside to taking a new language if you want to? No
Should you take Spanish if you do a new language? Yes</p>
<p>perfect answer. thanks! i guess i’ll see if i can fit it into my schedule without being too busy.</p>
<p>Go for Spanish! Very useful and might open doors for some opportunities at Med. School. D. is actually taking Medical Spanish while at Med. School (outside of Med. School program).</p>
<p>interesting! i think spanish would be the best choice for me because i took it in middle school and still know a bit of it. do you think i should take it all throughout undergrad, or just for the first two years, last two years, etc. thanks for the suggestions!</p>
<p>take as much of it as you can without sacrificing other course options. Being proficient enough at Spanish where you would just have to learn medical vocab in order to conduct a medical interview in Spanish will feel really nice if you go to school in an urban area.</p>
<p>okay. sounds good. i need to think when i would be able to take it and i will probably need to talk to my advisor when the time comes.</p>
<p>I’ve never known a school to make it a requirement for a foreign language, but I wish I knew Spanish. All my time in healthcare I have needed Spanish more than any other language other than English. My school (LMU-DCOM) has no requirement for it.</p>
<p>Two of my interviews started off in Japanese (which I speak) so make sure that you don’t imply that you know a language you don’t know.</p>
<p>I have a similar question, except, for me spanish is not an option. This is because I’m still unsure of whether or not I want to go to med school, or grad school for something math related. Most grad programs in math though, want you to know one of the following- French, German, or Russian. IMO German sounds the most interesting out of all of these. And in addition, none of them are widely spoken, except for french, but most french speakers speak English as well. Do you think it matters very much which I choose?</p>
<p>*I want to apologize now for and poor english I had when typing that. I’m really tired; too tired to try to make it sound better.</p>
<p>Used to be German or Latin “required”. Not anymore. But a student who is fluent in a foreign language who has studied overseas always looks better to the adcom than one who has not. All other things equal, guess who I will pick?</p>
<p>“do you think i should take it all throughout undergrad”
-it depends on person. D. took only one semester. However, she has placed in 3rd year and commented that her one semester of Spanish was one of the best UG classes that she took. She was able to speak in Mexico after 2 years gap and despite claiming that she did not remember much. After this class she also was able to place into intermediate level in Med. Spanish class that she is currently taking outside of her Med. School program. However, D. has 2 other foreign languages (unrelated to Spanish/English), languages are easy for her and she had great Spanish teacher in HS.<br>
So, take a class and see where you are. Take more if you feel that you need to improve and if you have time.</p>