Best language to fulfill an Undergrad foreign language requirement?

[Lana.Bella]

Should I learn Spanish, German or Russian to fulfill my foreign language requirement for undergrad? * Which is best for medical school?

*** I understand that Spanish is very practical and widely spoken across the US. However, will learning a different language other than Spanish set me apart or hurt my chances for Med School?

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[manofsteel9]

I don’t wanna sound jaded, but learn the language that you are most interested in, not what is “best” for medical school. College should be a time for you to explore you passions and develop as a person; it shouldn’t simply be a stepping stone to medical school.

 

[FreeRadicals]

I agree with the above, but I've shadowed numerous physicians and in the hospital - Spanish was the MOST helpful when trying to communicate to patients (the hispanic population near where I live is pretty dense).

 

[Catalystik]

Should I learn Spanish, German or Russian to fulfill my foreign language requirement for undergrad? * Which is best for medical school?

*** I understand that Spanish is very practical and widely spoken across the US. However, will learning a different language other than Spanish set me apart or hurt my chances for Med School?

Knowing Spanish has saved me unknowable hours of waiting for a translator, which makes me happy, but you do what is best for making you happy.

 

[gyngyn]

Spanish. It's not for medical school, it's for patient communication.

 

[Lucca]

Unless you live in certain parts of Maine, Spanish will be the most useful language to speak. When I was an interpreter we sometimes also needed Vietnamese or Mandarin but they are far rarer than Spanish speaking patients

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Spanish will be the most helpful, but I've had plenty of patients from the Middle East as well. Farsi or Arabic would also be helpful, as would Mandarin. But if you're looking for the most useful, it's Spanish.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

For med school it won’t matter. For being a physician Spanish is by far the most useful (of those three and overall). Many parts of the US have large populations that speak Spanish as their primary/only language. Virtually all Russian and German speakers speak English as well.

I learned Russian in college (it had more to do with my original career goals/plan b than anything relating to medicine)

 

[TheBiologist]

french is the easiest imo if you are coming from english

some schools 'recommend' spanish or at least look nicely upon it, UCLA I think is one of them

 

[fi3451]

Spanish not only because it’s the most widespread but because it’s the easiest of the 3 to keep up. I use Spanish everyday.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Spanish

 

[aldol16]

None of this is going to help you get into medical school. But the most useful one, given the rapidly growing Hispanic population, is Spanish. You'll come across Spanish speakers a lot in med school, residency, and practice and it can be useful to speak Spanish. But that assumes that you'll remember the Spanish you learn in undergrad, make extra efforts to learn medical Spanish, and retain all that by the time you're interacting with patients in the future.