Which language to study?

[moop]

ETA: I had an interviewer drop in a second language casually and without warning halfway through a language (I've lived and studied abroad and reported my level of language ability in AMCAS). I think that there is a justified and inherent suspicion of people who claim to be in the top 1/3 of the AMCAS language proficiency rankings (I forget the categories just now and don't care to go look them up), and some schools are looking to catch those that over-estimate or over-report their ability.

At the same school, I heard an interviewer come in to the shark tank (interviewee holding area) and GREET a fellow interviewee in a language I'd never heard before. It turned out to be an African tribal language. The interviewee LMK later that she'd done humanitarian work in that part of the world, indicated it on their application, and that the interviewer DID continue to feel out their proficiency.

Just a cautionary tale for those that might embellish: this stuff does happen.

That sounds awesome. I would actually love for an interviewer to bust in and try to qualify my claims on a second language. God forbid s/he's not native, and that'd be an embarrassing conversation when I turn out to be more proficient lol...

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[Spinach Dip]

ETA: I had an interviewer drop in a second language casually and without warning halfway through a language (I've lived and studied abroad and reported my level of language ability in AMCAS). I think that there is a justified and inherent suspicion of people who claim to be in the top 1/3 of the AMCAS language proficiency rankings (I forget the categories just now and don't care to go look them up), and some schools are looking to catch those that over-estimate or over-report their ability.

At the same school, I heard an interviewer come in to the shark tank (interviewee holding area) and GREET a fellow interviewee in a language I'd never heard before. It turned out to be an African tribal language. The interviewee LMK later that she'd done humanitarian work in that part of the world, indicated it on their application, and that the interviewer DID continue to feel out their proficiency.

Just a cautionary tale for those that might embellish: this stuff does happen.

I approve of this strategy.

People who would gladly lie about a notable accomplishment (like knowing a second language) deserve to be embarrassed in front of their peers.

 

[Spinach Dip]

I'd never thought I'd see the day when Spinach Dip got 0 acceptances in a cycle. The number of people you've helped immensely with your MCAT tips (myself included) should be enough philanthropy for med schools to take you.

You deserve better, bro...


...so don't dick around during your year off thinking that learning language will bump you in. That's ridiculous and you know it.

Thanks.

And I didn't say that learning a language would be my only accomplishment during my 'gap year'. It is not like I'm going to sit on my ass playing LoL while looking at a "how to learn spanish!" book during the loading screen.

If I do this (and I still haven't decided on anything yet), I'm going to be 100% serious about it. I dont expect to be fluent in 12 months, but a decent level of proficiency is (IMO) within reach.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words.

 

[Willy38]

Não muito, desafortunadamente. Estudei Portuguese faz 4-5 anos e não tinha oportinidade pra practicar-lo. Vôce é brazileiro?

Nem meu, não sou do Brasil mas minha namorada e do Portugal e aprendi algumas coisas dela. E tenho Rosetta Stone haha

 

[graviton]

Russian

 

[Dr Peper]

Ancient Etruscan.

If nothing else, its good for coming up with un-crackable passwords.

 

[dap]

Just to throw this out there for everyone acting like Spanish is so obviously the right choice: at one of my interview lunches, when half of the applicants were all "subtly" talking about their Spanish skills, the dean of admissions said something like "of course it is nice to speak a language commonly used in the hospital, but we are never lacking in translators for Spanish. As you can see from this table, on every team there is going to be someone there or nearby that can speak Spanish. What is often more helpful is when we have people in the hospital who know unusual languages, as we would normally have to call and wait for a translator, or use a translation service over the phone which is never ideal." She then glanced at me briefly before continuing to eat her salad. (I have advanced proficiency in Turkish)

Result: accepted.

 

[roxor88]

Short story: I have a 3.4/40, an MS in biochem, and 0 acceptances so far this year. One thing I am going to do over the next year (if I have the time) is study a second language.

I am NOT asking which language would be most useful as a med student/resident/doctor. The answer to that is spanish.

I am ASKING which language would be most impressive to adcoms and help guarantee an acceptance. Something close to home (french, german)? Something unusual (sign language)? Something exotic (swahili, ukranian)? Or something that will see the most use (spanish!)?

What are your thoughts?

It's hard to believe securing zero acceptance with the stat above..

How are you ECs? Are they satisfactory?

How did you do on the interview? Are you easy to talk to?

Did you apply to top ranked schools only? In other words, did you apply broadly?

 

[Spinach Dip]

It's hard to believe securing zero acceptance with the stat above..

How are you ECs? Are they satisfactory?

How did you do on the interview? Are you easy to talk to?

Did you apply to top ranked schools only? In other words, did you apply broadly?

I am honored that you would bump a month-old thread just to ask these questions, but perhaps they are off-topic?

 

[Served]

Short story: I have a 3.4/40, an MS in biochem, and 0 acceptances so far this year. One thing I am going to do over the next year (if I have the time) is study a second language.

I am NOT asking which language would be most useful as a med student/resident/doctor. The answer to that is spanish.

I am ASKING which language would be most impressive to adcoms and help guarantee an acceptance. Something close to home (french, german)? Something unusual (sign language)? Something exotic (swahili, ukranian)? Or something that will see the most use (spanish!)?

What are your thoughts?

Xhosa, the African click language.

 

[shenellica]

I was able to learn a foreign language in one year. But I was also able to practice with several native speakers everyday at my job. Some of them don't speak much English so we would only speak the other language. I also used Pimsleur, Anki and a great grammar book. It's funny because some of those people haven't really improved in their English but now I am pretty fluent in that language