<p>Hi, i'm a sophmore and i'm going to be a Cosmetic Surgeon. I was wondering what the effect of having three or four credits in a foreign language, as opposed to two, will be when it come to applying to a college for a pre-medical degree? I already have 2 credits in Spanish, but I really don't enjoy the language and it's the only one offered at my school. So if it doesn't make that much of a difference then i'd rather register for AP Psycology or Art instead.</p>
<p>1.) Too early to declare what you're going to be, although of course it's not wrong per se to have a goal.
2.) When you go to college, you won't be getting a "premedical degree." You'll get a degree in some subject -- biology, sociology, etc. There's nothing to officially designate you as a premed.
3.) Since you're asking about college admissions, you might be better served in the Search and Selection forums.</p>
<p>no i don't think you should continue taking it if you can take something that's better suited to what you want to be, ie AP biology.</p>
<p>I'm going to drop spanish my senior year for Econ since I'm going to be majoring in some type of business or math.</p>
<p>And just as a warning, in my sophmore year i was ABSOLUTELY intent on becoming a surgeon of some sort, but now I've totally done a 180 =) so you might not want to plan your future on something that's so far along in your future unless you're absolutely positively (add more adverbs) sure.</p>
<p>Spanish is extremely useful in medicine in general and is actually a requirement for UCLA Medical School. Colleges aren't paying attention to this, obviously. But I wanted to warn you that Spanish is useful in medicine.</p>
<p>Also take a look at the colleges you are considering; some require (or highly recommend) a certain number of years of instruction in a foreign language.</p>
<p>may not be the right place to ask but..</p>
<p>is it ok (ethically, i guess) to take up to an AP lang class in HS, not take the AP test though, and then take easier (possibly lower level) classes of that language in college?</p>
<p>Also think about where you might want to live when you grow up. If you wanna live in California, Florida, or Texas it's good to know some Spanish.</p>
<p>It's very useful everywhere. It's especially useful in those three (and New York, the other Southwestern states, agricultural states, etc.) but is very good to know everywhere.</p>
<p>I really think Spanish was what got my son accepted at all his colleges. His essay was about how he plans to use the language in medicine. He also wrote about an incident in the emergency room, when he was volunteering. No one else spoke Spanish when a migrant worker was admitted. If you could make a trip with a group such as Operation Smile, you would not only see how valuable the combination can be, but it would also make a great essay.</p>
<p>A lot of colleges require (to repeat CDN_dancer) a certain number of years of a language, or proficiency in a foreign language. </p>
<p>For example, the UC system requires 2 years of a foreign language, and recommends 3 for getting into their undergraduate programs.
Princeton recommends 4 years, although I don't think they have a requirement. </p>
<p>Also, most colleges require a certain number of language credits for the Gen. Ed. portion of majors. Taking a few years of Spanish (even if this isn't the language you choose to study in college) will probably help when you have to take a language in college.</p>
<p>Note: when a school requires 2 or 4 years of a language... it has to be the same language (ie. you cant take 1 year of spanish, 1 year of german, 1 year of french, and 1 year of chinese and call it four years), though if your school only offers spanish, this probably wouldn't be a problem. </p>
<p>You also might want to talk to an academic counselor at your school. There might be a local college or another local highschool where you could take a different foreign language, if you really dislike spanish.
PS: bluedevilmike: "Spanish is extremely useful in medicine in general and is actually a requirement for UCLA Medical School." Is Spanish specifically required, or just a foreign language? Just out of curiosity... I'm taking Spanish now, and dislike it, and was hoping to take a different language in college/ next year.</p>
<p>Spanish is specifically "Strongly recommended" for UCLA's medical school, meaning it's a big deal to them but they reserve the right to admit stellar applications without it. I have never seen a foreign language requirement anywhere else. It makes sense -- you don't exactly have a large French speaking contingent in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>^^ Quite true... (about the French)</p>
<p>Sports-</p>
<p>You're not REQUIRED to take any AP exam (your school may require it, but that's a different matter), and if you want to take a lower level of a class I don't see why that would not be OK. Sure, it might be an easy class for you, but if you felt your knowledge was shaky, it could be a good way to get a better grasp of the material. If you just want an easy class, that's OK too, although you might want to spend your time doing something more intellectually rewarding. It's your decision, ultimately.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice eg1; actually looking at it again, my knowledge is a bit shaky so i would like to getter a better grasp of the language</p>