Does Being Bilingual Help With Vet School Admissions?

[all605]

I'll be starting college this fall, and I plan on majoring in biology but can't decide whether or not to add a spanish minor. There a few reasons I'm considering this:
1) I've taken spanish throughout middle school and high school so I'm already decent with it, but definitely not fluent
2) the prediction that spanish will eventually become as or more common than English in the US
3) I'm not sure about this, but I'm thinking maybe it'll help with vet school admissions being able to speak two languages. Will this give me any edge at all in the admissions process, or do vet schools not really care at all?

If I didn't add the spanish minor, I'd probably just take more science courses to prepare for vet school or maybe add a business administration minor to help with the management side of being a vet. Also, I'm kinda worried that after college, I won't use my Spanish enough anyways in order to stay fluent in it.

If anybody could offer me any advice, I'd greatly, greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

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[twelvetigers]

I don't think it will make much of a difference either way. You can certaily have Spanish as a minor if you would like - it couldn't hurt, and it certainly could come in handy. But what will really set you apart as an applicant is good vet experience, sound recommendations, good science grades, and a good GRE score. Throw in some extracurriculars and interests and you're the perfect applicant. Spanish could possibly fit in as a hobby and show that you are well-rounded, but so could playing the clarinet. So it's up to you, of course - but I wouldn't choose to do it because you think it will help you for vet school, because it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Now, that business thing might be a pretty good idea. Very practical.

All, of course, my opinion on the matter. I'm sure someone else will pitch in! 🙂

 

[laurafinn]

If you do large animal or equine, I think Spanish will help you a lot. I think it can be useful in small animal too, just maybe not as often. I would stick with Spanish 🙂

 

[zpinkpanther]

I think you should make this decision based on whether or not you really like Spanish as a field of study. I don't think vet school ad coms really care what you majored/minored in, as long as you've gotten good grades in all of the prereqs. I majored in French in college, but I still was able to get all of my prereqs done and I'm going to vet school this fall.

One thing I would definitely suggest is don't minor in Spanish if you don't love it to death. You can take a few classes and still be able to say you're bilingual, but if you minor in it, you'll have to get into the upper level courses, which is all advanced reading and writing (trust me- I took every French class my school offered, except Basic French, which I tested out of my first year). Now if you love Spanish, that won't be a problem- it wasn't for me. But I guess my point is I don't think you should do it if your main reason is to impress a vet school ad com.

If I can be obnoxious and offer you some unsolicited advice, I'd take some random classes to see if you like them. College is the only time you get to do that kind of thing. Since you'll probably only need one or two classes per semester for your major/vet school prereqs, that leaves you with endless possibilities to take classes that you'll never have to opportunity to explore again. You could take photography, art, psychology, music theory, or some random sport you've never heard of (my school had something called quaffle ball). And you may end up enjoying one of these subjects so much that you want to minor in it.

Okay, I'm done. Taking off my wise old lady hat now. 😀

 

[msmrtrthnyllb]

I'll be starting college this fall, and I plan on majoring in biology but can't decide whether or not to add a spanish minor. There a few reasons I'm considering this:
1) I've taken spanish throughout middle school and high school so I'm already decent with it, but definitely not fluent
2) the prediction that spanish will eventually become as or more common than English in the US
3) I'm not sure about this, but I'm thinking maybe it'll help with vet school admissions being able to speak two languages. Will this give me any edge at all in the admissions process, or do vet schools not really care at all?

If I didn't add the spanish minor, I'd probably just take more science courses to prepare for vet school or maybe add a business administration minor to help with the management side of being a vet. Also, I'm kinda worried that after college, I won't use my Spanish enough anyways in order to stay fluent in it.

If anybody could offer me any advice, I'd greatly, greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

I live in Florida and can definitely relate to Spanish coming handy now and then. Definitely, I can see how being bilingual might help you get hired or gain clientele that you otherwise might not have, but I really don't think it's a deciding factor for vet school admission. Then again, anything that separates you from the crowd might be good.
I really can't remember, but I don't think schools see a big sign that shows them which, if any, minors you may have, but they can for sure see the courses you've taken. I love Spanish and tossed around the idea of a Spanish minor in college. I took plenty of upper level Spanish courses just to entertain myself, probably one short for a minor. I took many more upper level Biology courses that'll make the transition into vet school easier, I think. It's a coin toss. I went somewhere in the middle. I don't think it's going to make or break you either way.

 

[Chaco]

One situation where I could see bilingual abilties helping would be if you actually used them in your veterinary experience, for instance, working at a hospital with some Spanish-speaking clientele, and then you could talk about how your Spanish-speaking abilities contribute to your value as a veterinary professional. I guess what I'm saying is that if you really think being able to speak Spanish will help you in the veterinary field, and especially if you can demonstrate that, it could be a cool thing to talk about during the application process. Of course, you don't need to minor in a language to become conversational in it, so if that was your goal (as opposed to studying literature and history and such, as was mentioned above) I would suggest taking enough classes to get a good handle on the language and minoring in something else.

 

[twelvetigers]

You could take photography, art, psychology, music theory, or some random sport you've never heard of (my school had something called quaffle ball). And you may end up enjoying one of these subjects so much that you want to minor in it.

DUDE. I want a minor in quaffle ball.

 

[TCVM808]

I think you should make this decision based on whether or not you really like Spanish as a field of study.

I think this is key. As others have said, college is a great time to explore what you are interested in. There is so much available (haha, quaffle ball!) that I would never advise anyone to choose a path of study just "to look good" and not because their heart was in it. You might really come to regret such a decision. So I feel like whether or not you enjoy studying Spanish is really the main issue here IMO.

In general, I also feel like having an unrelated (non-science) minor can definitely be advantageous. One of the goals of vet school apps is to provide proof that you are well-rounded person and showing that in the academic realm is one way to go about highlighting this quality. I feel like foreign language really ties back nicely to the sciences because medicine itself can be seen as a type of foreign language. There are a lot of similarities!

I am probably biased, but I had a foreign language minor and was accepted this year. I think it helped make my application stand out! I never really had official feedback on my application, so I guess that's just conjecture. 😉

I had one undergrad pre-vet advisor tell me that my choice of minor was "distracting" and "irrelevant" and he urged me to drop it. I didn't listen to him because I really loved it and I thought it made me unique. He gave me a lot of good advice, but I chose to tactfully ignore that particular suggestion.

When I was a college freshman I was in a situation similar to yours. I had studied Mandarin Chinese throughout junior high and high school. I knew that it was and would continue to be a very important international language. I knew I could test out of some of the lower level college Chinese classes and I was excited to hit the ground running!

Maybe you aren't quite at the same place...but as a freshman you have plenty of time to change your mind. You have something invested in this venture already, so I think it's worth thinking about possibly pursuing a minor carefully. I say see how you like the college Spanish classes and then reevaluate things after the first semester is done. 🙂

In terms of anticipating lapses in fluency...I think people worry about it too much. You eventually forget many of the things you learn if you do not use the knowledge on a regular basis. Be it foreign language, physics, bus. admin., whatever....that's why we have reference texts, dictionaries, etc. Even if your Spanish feels "rusty" it will come back to you when you need it...to the point that you will probably even surprise yourself.

Good luck with starting college in the fall!!

 

[dyachei]

I don't think it helped me get into school, but I did get an awesome opportunity once at UTK to use my 2nd language. Apparently UTK hosted some Japanese students and the fact that the associate dean knew I had Japanese language abilities caused him to invite me to a cook out with the Japanese vet students and we conversed (in both languages) about vet schools (similarities and differences) and I have contacts in Japan now.

On the other hand, if being bilingual helps you gain unique experiences, those will look good on an application.

 

[BlistexWorks]

Spanish could possibly fit in as a hobby and show that you are well-rounded, but so could playing the clarinet.

Another language such as Spanish is not something that fits like a hobby that makes you a well-rounded person. It is an asset that is extremely important if you are the only person in a situation that can translate what a Spanish-only speaking person is trying to convey about his or her pet. A hobby such as playing the clarinet cannot be incorporated directly into the job, but knowing another language can.

I would shoot for the Biology and Spanish major...a minor in Spanish is pretty much useless. Also, if it is important for you to be fluent, spend at least 3 months in a Spanish-speaking country or Miami. 🙂 You will forget the language if not fully immersed for some time.

I think!

 

[zpinkpanther]

DUDE. I want a minor in quaffle ball.

I know, right? All I can think of when I see it is Harry Potter. I wonder if they named it after that... hmm.

 

[twelvetigers]

It's true that being bilingual could actually come into play at work and could be seen as an asset, but I still think that adcoms will see it as a "in your spare time" sort of thing and not a driving factor in strengthening the application. I could be wrong, of course, and it also could depend on where you apply. If Oregon... they might not see it as much, but if Florida... they might see it as a plus right away, considering the concentration of Spanish-speaking residents there.

I still say, if you enjoy Spanish, pursue it! If you don't, don't.

I don't know what a quaffle ball is... but they aren't the ones that fly out and chase you around. Those were bludgers, or whatnot. Rowling had an amazing knack for naming things to where they do what they sound like they would be/do. Bludgers would bludgeon you, prefects are perfect, etc... Sorry for the HP diversion. 🙂

 

[zpinkpanther]

I don't know what a quaffle ball is... but they aren't the ones that fly out and chase you around. Those were bludgers, or whatnot. Rowling had an amazing knack for naming things to where they do what they sound like they would be/do. Bludgers would bludgeon you, prefects are perfect, etc... Sorry for the HP diversion. 🙂

I'm pretty sure the Quaffle is the one they score with... isn't it? Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I thought I remembered Ron blocking the Quaffle as a Keeper. Of course I would remember it if Ron did it (*swoon*). 🙄

 

[twelvetigers]

Nerd.

Yeah, the quaffle is for scoring, but since catching the snitch earns the team 50 points, the seeker is definitely a key position.

NOW who's the nerd! 😉

P.S.

 

[nyanko]

I think that Harry Potter nerd language can almost be construed as being bilingual, so that doesn't hijack the thread TOO much.

(nerds)

 

[zpinkpanther]

Nerd.

Yeah, the quaffle is for scoring, but since catching the snitch earns the team 50 points, the seeker is definitely a key position.

NOW who's the nerd! 😉

P.S.

Hehe... I'm proud of my HP nerdiness. 😀 Actually, isn't it 150 points for catching the Snitch? I always thought seeker would be a fun position because you basically don't pay attention to the rest of the game at all, just look around for the snitch. Anyway, I kinda wish I'd taken quaffle ball now. Oh well....

 

[all605]

thank you so much everyone for all your great advice!

I think I'm gonna hopefully go for the spanish minor then. I was looking over the requirements for a spanish minor at my school, and I think I could easily fit it in over the next four years and still have ample time to take some courses I enjoy just for the fun of it as well as some extra upper-level science courses to prepare for vet school. The only problem I'm having now is that I signed up for classes a couple of days ago and couldn't fit the spanish I placed into into my schedule, and the class isn't offered in the spring. So it looks like I'll have to put it off til sophomore year, but I figure that's not a big deal as long as i try to keep up on my spanish periodically over the next year.

thanks again 🙂