<p>To what extent does proficiency in Spanish determine your chances in getting into top medical schools? I noticed that some schools such as UCLA and UCSD consider it as "highly recommended". Is it a must-have to be competitive in the admissions processes of those schools?</p>
<p>well it isn't going to hurt you if you can take one or two spanish classes. im pretty sure it's not that hard to fit into your schedule at some point during your four years in college. if you think it's going to hurt your gpa, then take it as a senior. you could also do some volunteering in latin america and do an immersion program at the same time.
bottom line, its highly recommended, meaning they would like it if you had some exposure to spanish. it may not hurt you, but it certainly would help you.</p>
<p>How about french? would that be good or not?</p>
<p>Spanish is going to be the most useful probably everywhere in the US.</p>
<p>1.) UCLA's benchmark is proficiency, not necessarily coursework, I think.</p>
<p>2.) Nobody cares about French.</p>
<p>3.) When things are "highly recommended", remember that this is coming from people who tend to dramatically understate things. (For example, these are the people who won't tell you what their real deadlines are.) So language like "highly recommended" is a big deal.</p>
<p>Oh thanks Bigredmed...</p>
<p>Not to be rude or anything BDM, but that was very harsh.</p>
<p>Harsh but true...I suppose that in Quebec French would matter.</p>
<p>I don't think he meant to be rude. It's great that you have another language, but the reality is that in America the majority of the people speak English and those who don't more often than not will speak Spanish. Many of our southern states are currently experiencing an overload of Spanish speaking people in their emergency rooms. As a practical response, I would assume that medical school admission reps would view Spanish as a second language as a definate plus. French would not carry nearly the same weight.</p>
<p>Oh dang...I guess I misinterpreted bdm's comment. I didn't mean to do that. Sorry.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. I guess I'll take some Spanish classes at a local community college to get some experience.</p>
<p>What's wrong with, you know, the college you attend?</p>
<p>I'm an incoming bioengineering major, and so I suspect I'll be directing most of my energy to learning the material in those classes. I also want to take particular social science classes with the few open slots I have for GE's (I'm really interested in political science as well), so I'd like to avoid taking a foreign language course during the year, if possible. </p>
<p>When I say taking Spanish in a local cc, I mean during the summer.</p>
<p>Any other med schools "highly recommend" Spanish?</p>