<p>I need to decide whether or not to study abroad or take more pre-med reqs. I could complete all of the requirements except for a few which I wouldn't need for the MCAT if I were to spend 2 semesters abroad; or I could complete all of the requirements and only spend 1 semester abroad.</p>
<p>Any advice? I want to go abroad so badly and I know that after college, I won't have the chance to (I plan on taking a gap year but I will spend it working to save some money!). At the same time, I don't want to spend any more money outside of college on med school pre-reqs. Any advice/tips?</p>
<p>No matter where you go, studying abroad will be so worth it! I recommend 1 semester because it sounds like your tight on money and you’ll still have an amazing time even for a semester But either way you’ll be fine for med school ! In fact it will increase your chances especially if you become fluent in another lang!</p>
<p>This is incorrect on two counts. Studying abroad is a nicety–but it won’t increase your odds of being accepted into med school.</p>
<p>Fluency is tough to achieve in a semester abroad. (Are you fluent enough to conduct your med school interview entirely in another language? Can you comfortably discuss your research in another language?) Fluency in only some languages will benefit your med school application. And then only at some schools/locations.</p>
<p>And only so much. It’s easier to teach a med student a foreign language than it is to teach someone fluent in a foreign language to be a doctor.</p>
<p>I’m sorry I should’ve noted at the bottom of my reply that my responses have no reliability whatsoever and will probably be quoted and refuted by more qualified experts such as WestMOM hehe</p>
<p>Well, you did mention “in fact…”. Do you have some facts to back up your claim that studying abroad and/or fluency in another language increases your chances? If you don’t, then something like “I bet studying abroad and becoming fluent could improve your chances” or “And hey, if you study abroad and become fluent in another language, it might even boost your chances at admission” or some other similar conditional language would probably negate the need for such disclaimer. (See what I did there!)</p>
<p>The bummer of these forums is that it’s pretty impossible to know how something is intended, so it’s often easiest just to read it at face-value. The face-value of your statement was that studying abroad and achieving fluency will increase your chances; it looks like WOWMom was just pointing out that that may not be the case.</p>
<p>but how can adcom not look at “Fluent in Spanish” on an application and simply just ignore it?? I find it almost almost inevitable that they would pick your app over a similar app that did did not have Fluent in Spanish! It must count for something unless the adcom is still hanging onto the 20th century haha</p>
<p>And someone fluent in Spanish can pick up all the medical jargon in a couple months with enough practice though Medical Spanish is a bigger plus I admit</p>
<p>If the patient population that the med school typically serves is not predominately Latino/Hispanic/Spanish-speaking, then fluency in Spanish is not going to be valued by the adcomm. </p>
<p>(And for the record, I live in a region with a high proportion of Spanish speakers. The med school used to ask applicants if they spoke Spanish, but has since dropped the question as being discriminatory, unfair and potentially racist. As Brown said–much easier to teach everyone enough Spanish to get by, plus there are Spanish medical translators available 24/7 at the teaching hospital.)</p>
<p>Also consider that the mission of the medical school will influence what the adcomm looks for and values in a applicant. A research-oriented school is going to place very little value on being multi-lingual.</p>
<p>And there are different degrees of fluency. One applicant I know this cycle is “fluent” in that she has spent substantial time in Mexico (measured in years, not months) and her Spanish is good enough to attend and understand medical school courses taught in Spanish, but even she didn’t list herself as “fluent” since Spanish isn’t her first language.</p>
<p>ok ok ok i give up I made a sweeping claim that does not apply everywhere. I live in California and I know of a lot of clinics that seek bilingual doctors.</p>
<p>I want to know where the OP is going now because there’s a huge possibility it could not even be a Spanish speaking country hahaha</p>
<p>It is hard to give advice on this topic as I do not know where you plan to go or the status of your finances. On one hand I agree that study abroad will not impact your medical school application very much. There was an opinion, which I shared, that one applying to a medical school far from home might be more likely to come if one had spent time abroad or otherwise away from home. Fluency in a second language is also a plus and if you study broad in a native University with native students it would good. Taking a gap year is fine but doing so to save money makes no sense as you are unlikely to save enough money to offset your loss of future income as a physician.<br>
My personal opinion is that most people would gain by living in another country for some time. If you pass up this opportunity it is likely you will never have another chance until you retire.<br>
I think that taking a gap year is fine but you should do something meaningful. Doing so to save money makes no sense as it is not likely to make up for a loss in future income as a physician. Could consider applying for a fulbright or teach English somewhere in Asia.</p>
<p>yeah, if EVERYTHING else is equal, they’ll choose the kid who is fluent, but the fact is the whole “all else being equal how will X impact me” is stupid because there will never be an “all else being equal” scenario.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! It’s been good food for thought. I wasn’t planning to go abroad because I thought it would “boost” my application. I don’t really care if it does, it’s something I really want to do for personal reasons.</p>
<p>Coincidentally, I was thinking about going to a Spanish speaking country. I would like to improve my language skills, but my main dilemma as far as pre-med went was whether or not it was worth to not take all my premed reqs to spend an additional semester abroad.</p>
<p>Over my gap year, I don’t have the luxury of going abroad or whatever because I do need to make money. I need to start saving up for textbooks, food, etc. because I don’t have parents who will pay for those items maybe I can balance working full time and doing something else I’m passionate about, but we will see.</p>
<p>When were you planning on taking the MCAT? </p>
<p>Will you be able to complete all your major/minor requirements and graduate on time?</p>
<p>Assuming that your year abroad won’t interfere with your preparation to take the MCAT, won’t delay your graduation and won’t cause you to run up more debt, then there’s no real reason not to consider at least a semester abroad.</p>
<p>I would take the MCAT at the same time regardless of whether or not I would go abroad (end of senior year). If I were to go abroad 2 semesters, I would need to take some extra science classes that are required for most med schools but not needed for the MCAT.</p>
But either way you’ll be fine for med school ! In fact it will increase your chances especially if you become fluent in another lang!</p>
I made a sweeping claim that does not apply everywhere. I live in California and I know of a lot of clinics that seek bilingual doctors.</p>