From those who have done it..Major in Spanish and got accepted to Med School...

[youngpremed]

Okay, still weighing my options before transferring to a 4 yr university. I was hoping for some input of someone who has "been there." I am not so fluent in Spanish, but my mother is hispanic and father is Irish. Anyways, I was wondering if it's possible to Major in Spanish and minor in Biology to get all the premed reqs complete?
BTW: I work in a pharmacy and love to be able to help translate, I feel it would be a greater way to help the community, along with being a future M.D.
Are there any students that have chosen this route for undergrad? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

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[Perrotfish]

It is perfectly possible to major in Spanish (or Gameboy, if you'd prefer) and still get into medical school. I'm not sure that a minor in biology will encompass all of the prereqs, as you'll probably need a few chemistry courses on top of that, but plenty of people take the medical school prereqs outside of their major.

However, if your goal is just to get fluent you don't need a Spansih major. You just need a semester in a language school abroad (like these guys: www.ecela.com). I was able to translate after just 16 weeks. Spanish majors study Spanish literature more than interpretation. Do you really care about Don Quixote that much?

 

[The Angriest Bird]

I personally know a friend who's majored in Spanish in Duke University who got accepted to my medical school, which is very prestigious. So it is possible.

 

[youngpremed]

It is perfectly possible to major in Spanish (or Gameboy, if you'd prefer) and still get into medical school. I'm not sure that a minor in biology will encompass all of the prereqs, as you'll probably need a few chemistry courses on top of that, but plenty of people take the medical school prereqs outside of their major.

However, if your goal is just to get fluent you don't need a Spansih major. You just need a semester in a language school abroad (like these guys). I was able to translate after just 16 weeks. Spanish majors study Spanish literature more than interpretation. Do you really care about Don Quixote that much?

Thanks for the advice. I am just curious about which major to take, I'm sure that the Biology major is the way to go. I really appreciate your input. I know I'll probably be more dedicated and motivated to the science courses, but I'll still have fun with a few Spanish courses. I wish you luck in medical school. I hope to be where you are at in a few years, as I am just a freshman. Anything you wish you would have known before getting into medical school? Or done?

 

[Perforin]

One suggestion is minoring in Spanish. That is what I did. It still gave me plenty of time to do all of my pre-med courses, and to be honest Spanish was a nice break from all of my other classes filled with neurotic pre-meds.

I studied abroad for a summer, which helped me get that minor, and it was one of the best things I ever did. I would recommend it.


However, a major in Spanish is a great way to go as well. You should have time to do that, and do all your pre-med stuff. My cousin did that and it worked out well for him, because he knew what he was doing and started knocking down classes his first semester. It took him four years to graduate, which is normal, but he had some friends that it took them 5 years to graduate because they weren't as efficient, and took some classes they ended up not needing in the end because they changed majors.

 

[Mattabet]

It is perfectly possible to major in Spanish (or Gameboy, if you'd prefer) and still get into medical school.

I'd second Perrot's advice and go a step further. I think (at least the way I've had premed advisers explain it to me) that come application time a non-bio or non-chem major is an advantage. It's a form of diversity. Med. School Admissions folk are going to be looking at a stack of well-qualified science majors, and having a different undergrad career will help set you apart.

That being said, the nice thing about a biology or chemistry major is that it provides a nice tidy way to get a good chunk of your prerequisites done. Basic sciences that all medical schools require will also fulfill your major requirements, which can be an advantage when it comes down to crunch time and you can only ace so many classes on your schedule.

Bottom line: if you have a passion for Spanish, major in Spanish. Just make sure that you don't neglect medical school prerequisites. As an added bonus, languages tend to be relatively easier to double-major in, especially if you have some familiarity with it going in.

As far as other advice goes, don't neglect the extra curriculars. Translating stuff in the pharmacy is a great start! I'll bet that as an hablante, you'll have all sorts of great outreach opportunities that other people (read: applicants) might not.

Best of luck!

 

[Perrotfish]

Thanks for the advice. I am just curious about which major to take, I'm sure that the Biology major is the way to go. I really appreciate your input. I know I'll probably be more dedicated and motivated to the science courses, but I'll still have fun with a few Spanish courses. I wish you luck in medical school. I hope to be where you are at in a few years, as I am just a freshman. Anything you wish you would have known before getting into medical school? Or done?

In my opinion: when choosing a major you want three things:

1) You want the major to help you get into medical school (i.e., very high average GPA)

2) You want to enjoy what you're doing

3) You want to be employable if you don't get into medical school. (lots of people don't, after all)

The problem is that you're not going to get all those three things. You have to choose.

The employable majors like engineering and CS tend to have low average GPAs, meaning you have to be at the very top of your game to have a good enough GPA to get into medical school. At my school's Aerospace engineering program there were several years when not a single person graduated with more than a 3.55. Also I don't care how left brained you are, the math involved in engineering is just miserable. Designing a system can be fun for a certain type of person, but just learning engineering math (most of what's involved in Ugad engineering education) is NOT fun, at least for anyone who doesn't have Aspergers.

The really interesting social science/history/language majors tend to also have low GPAs and, iff you don't get into med school, your job is going to involve a nametag and a paper hat. Would Noam Chomsky have wanted fries with that? Now you know.

The majors that always lead to a high GPA and are therefore your best shot to get into med school (communications is the standby, though UGA has a program in turfgrass management if you want to be a little more obvious about your cynicism) are mindnumbinly boring and completely unemployable. On the upside, you'll get to me your school's various NCAA division I athletes.

The premed majors like bio and (maybe) chem, I feel, are generally an attempt to try to balance all three desires, but as jacks of all trades are masters of none. The only mildly boring material leads to a not terrible averge GPA and is marginally employable (everyone gets a bio related job, but most of the salaries aren't exactly great). Bio definitely isn't THE way to go. The way to go is to decide what your priorities are and what major best fits those priorities.

Stuff I wish I knew? Read Panda's blog. He's better at this than I am. Other than that I guess mainly you should read through these forums and get an idea of how the admissions process before you accidentally dig yourself a hold you can't get out of.

 

[Ashers]

My sister majored in Spanish and minored in art. She had to do a year of post-bacc work for biochem and possibly something else, but she didn't decide to go to med school until late in college (Jr or Sr year). So yes, it's possible to not have anything to do with science except pre-reqs. I think she did the bilingual track at her med school and was a Spanish tutor.

I majored in bio, but I almost majored in Spanish; however, the Spanish dept wouldn't answer my questions (when I was a freshman and totally clueless and overwhelmed), so I quit after I finished my 3 courses and my minor. I didn't do anything with Spanish at my med school, except use it when needed and surprise people that I can actually speak it. Majoring in bio made it so I didn't need to do the post-bacc since I had all the pre-reqs done by the time I decided to do medicine (Sr year).

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

In my opinion: The problem with choosing a major for medical school is that you have three things that you want from a major:

1) You want the major to help you get into medical school (i.e., very high average GPA)

2) You want to enjoy what you're doing

3) You want to be employable if you don't get into medical school.

The problem is that you're not going to get all those three things. You have to choose.

Yes I'd agree -- this is why I changed from a spanish major to a business-related major around 2 courses shy of completing it (nearly doubled, but couldn't fit those 2 classes in). The points above are spot on, although I believe it is possible to get all three as I definitely did!

Being a Spanish major probably isn't as good as spending a semester abroad, although many of my peers did both. In every class I'd taken in Spanish, around 10 or so, the classes were conducted fully in Spanish, which helped with my speaking ability quite a bit. As another poster posted, great grades are requires so you'd need to enjoy and likely have an aptitude for foreign languages to go this path. I definitely enjoyed it!

 

[sarahg]

Being fluent in Spanish can be a huge factor in medical admissions in some states like TX and CA. You can also major in pretty much anything and get into medical school. I suggest you try out different classes when you get to college and major in what you enjoy most.

Also, I echo the sentiment about studying abroad. I think you need it to become fluent unless you live in a border town. It doesn't even have to be through a university -- it can be way cheaper if it's not. There are little Spanish immersion schools in almost every Spanish-speaking country that will get you fluent faster than a university class. In Nicaragua, packages including accommodations, some meals, activities, and 20 hours of Spanish instruction/week will run you about $200 -- try finding that value at a university in the US! I did the same in Costa Rica and could have basic conversations and use the present tense very well within a week.

 

[cpants]

I personally have done it. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are interested in the language and the LITERATURE aspect. A collegiate Spanish major, at least at a good program, is similar to an English major. It's reading literature, writing a lot of papers, discussion groups, seminars, etc. The language instruction classes don't even count toward your major. In other words, it's pretty difficult to do if you don't come in with some decent Spanish skills. If you have the interest and the capacity I highly recommend it. It certainly won't hurt your chances at admission.

Feel free to PM me or ask here if you have any questions about the Spanish/Pre-med route.

 

[megan143]

I started off as a Biology major and missed not taking Spanish freshman year. So soph. year I decided to take some Spanish classes and in junior year I had a teacher that suggested I double major. I didn't declare a double major until Junior year of college. It definitely can be done, however I did take summer classes every summer. That might be an option for you, double majoring in Spanish and Bio....

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I know a girl who did this. Majored in Spanish at U of Texas, then was accepted to UTMB as an out-of-state student (she went to UT, but was not a TX resident), with a not-so-great MCAT. She was an intern at the hospital where I used to work, which might be the most competitive transitional program in the country, or one of them, and now she is doing her derm training at Duke. She is also not hispanic, or a minority of any kind, I don't believe.

So no it should not hold you back. Major in whatever you like the most. You'll get better grades.

No, you do not have to love biology to do well in med school. A few things might help you out here and there, but for the most part, it is totally different.

 

[Black Surgeon]

Major in golf course management if you please, just perform well and it won't be an issue.

 

[neb85]

Major in golf course management if you please, just perform well and it won't be an issue.

I agree. Whatever you major in is not a big deal - I don't think that any major has a concrete advantage over another. In fact, your activities may actually say more to an admissions committee than your major does - they can help to separate you from everyone else. Just make sure whatever classes you take, you knock them out of the park.

 

[youngpremed]

Okay thanks. So coming from your perspective, having a major is something other than Biology would be a plus towards my entrance into medical school, just as long as I can "ROCK" my GPA and actually put effort and learn the material? I would hope I wouldn't be behind in the sciences required at the beginning of medical school,compared to the others who DID get their major in Biology?

 

[cpants]

Okay thanks. So coming from your perspective, having a major is something other than Biology would be a plus towards my entrance into medical school, just as long as I can "ROCK" my GPA and actually put effort and learn the material? I would hope I wouldn't be behind in the sciences required at the beginning of medical school,compared to the others who DID get their major in Biology?

Nah you'll be fine in med school. A bio major does not help you in med school. The only classes which will help you are biochemistry, genetics, and possibly immunology. If you want to be ahead of the game you could take those three, but it really isn't necessary.

 

[elderjack21]

Nah you'll be fine in med school. A bio major does not help you in med school. The only classes which will help you are biochemistry, genetics, and possibly immunology. If you want to be ahead of the game you could take those three, but it really isn't necessary.

True. Very true.

 

[Ashers]

Nah you'll be fine in med school. A bio major does not help you in med school. The only classes which will help you are biochemistry, genetics, and possibly immunology. If you want to be ahead of the game you could take those three, but it really isn't necessary.

Bio's good if you start college wanting to do a PhD later (like I did) or just really enjoy it (like I). I never thought biochem was helpful for med school since they cover 1 semester of undergrad in 3 weeks (at my school anyway). Genetics, possibly. We didn't have that much of it for me to remember if I could've done it without undergrad genetics. It reminded me more of high school from my vague memories.

Immunology was definitely the most helpful for me. The immunology at med school was 1 semester of immuno crammed into 3 or 4 weeks of micro. It was also much less detailed than my college class, so while everyone else was struggling to learn the alphabet soup that is immuno, I could review things and be OK. I also helped my friends go over immuno when they didn't understand it.

Endocrine phys was also super helpful.

Immuno and Endocrine phys were both electives. None of the core courses from my major were helpful.