Middlebury Language School During Pre-Med Summer?

[doctorDoctor.]

Hello everyone,

I am a current senior in high school and a rising freshman for this coming Fall of 2016. I have always been very interested in the intensive/immersive summer program at Middlebury; however, I am not quite sure if I can afford to spend an entire 7-8 weeks (basically all or most) of summer break not doing things like internships, research, and other med-school-applications-related stuff.

(for those of you who don't know about the program, you essentially sign a "language pldege" and swear to speak your target language 24/7 for 2 months of intensive classes/curriculum. It is also very possible for you to get expelled from the program with no refund if you violate the pledge)

From what I hear, the language improvement in those Middlebury Summer Programs is ridiculously high, and I myself am extremely serious and passionate about languages. I'm sure the programs will be very useful; I do believe that, for example, if I study a different language at Middlebury every summer, I'll have at least a conversational level of various foreign languages by the time I apply to medical school. And that's a very big plus not only for my application but also for me personally.

Also, I worry that simply doing research and volunteer work like every other pre-med in the universe won't help me distinguish myself as an applicant, whereas speaking 6 languages acquired through self-study/passion might. I think I can utilize the languages I learn to participate in foreign volunteer work, internships, etc. as well throughout the school year.

Is this feasible and/or recommended? Or would it be wiser to stick to summer research, volunteer work, and other pre-med stuff?

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[ifnotnowwren]

Hello everyone,

I am a current senior in high school and a rising freshman for this coming Fall of 2016. I have always been very interested in the intensive/immersive summer program at Middlebury; however, I am not quite sure if I can afford to spend an entire 7-8 weeks (basically all or most) of summer break not doing things like internships, research, and other med-school-applications-related stuff.

(for those of you who don't know about the program, you essentially sign a "language pldege" and swear to speak your target language 24/7 for 2 months of intensive classes/curriculum. It is also very possible for you to get expelled from the program with no refund if you violate the pledge)

From what I hear, the language improvement in those Middlebury Summer Programs is ridiculously high, and I myself am extremely serious and passionate about languages. I'm sure the programs will be very useful; I do believe that, for example, if I study a different language at Middlebury every summer, I'll have at least a conversational level of various foreign languages by the time I apply to medical school. And that's a very big plus not only for my application but also for me personally.

Also, I worry that simply doing research and volunteer work like every other pre-med in the universe won't help me distinguish myself as an applicant, whereas speaking 6 languages acquired through self-study/passion might. I think I can utilize the languages I learn to participate in foreign volunteer work, internships, etc. as well throughout the school year.

Is this feasible and/or recommended? Or would it be wiser to stick to summer research, volunteer work, and other pre-med stuff?

I'm no adcom but I think it's a neat thing, you are clearly passionate about it, and it would be a great thing to discuss in secondaries and interviews, especially with medical schools that have global medicine programs. As for the other activities - why don't you do your best to arrange your class schedule so that they are three days a week, or even four, and then you have a whole weekday (or two) to do lab research or volunteer work. I set this up starting my second semester freshman year, and I started working in a lab two days a week. I found a volunteering gig that allowed me to volunteer on weekends. In the summers I stayed on at the lab and took summer school courses. Or you could give up just one summer to do research, etc. I think it's definitely possible to have the best of both worlds if you plan ahead.

 

[Dr.NickRiviera]

Hello everyone,

I am a current senior in high school and a rising freshman for this coming Fall of 2016. I have always been very interested in the intensive/immersive summer program at Middlebury; however, I am not quite sure if I can afford to spend an entire 7-8 weeks (basically all or most) of summer break not doing things like internships, research, and other med-school-applications-related stuff.

(for those of you who don't know about the program, you essentially sign a "language pldege" and swear to speak your target language 24/7 for 2 months of intensive classes/curriculum. It is also very possible for you to get expelled from the program with no refund if you violate the pledge)

From what I hear, the language improvement in those Middlebury Summer Programs is ridiculously high, and I myself am extremely serious and passionate about languages. I'm sure the programs will be very useful; I do believe that, for example, if I study a different language at Middlebury every summer, I'll have at least a conversational level of various foreign languages by the time I apply to medical school. And that's a very big plus not only for my application but also for me personally.

Also, I worry that simply doing research and volunteer work like every other pre-med in the universe won't help me distinguish myself as an applicant, whereas speaking 6 languages acquired through self-study/passion might. I think I can utilize the languages I learn to participate in foreign volunteer work, internships, etc. as well throughout the school year.

Is this feasible and/or recommended? Or would it be wiser to stick to summer research, volunteer work, and other pre-med stuff?

Go for the language thing. There's really not much you can do in your pre-college summer that would have any real effect on med school applications (unless you're rescuing orphans from cancer, in which case, go do that). Also, you can't list anything you did in high school on your med school application and I think the pre-college summer might count as part of that.

 

[Lucca]

If you care about it, do it.

 

[doctorDoctor.]

Go for the language thing. There's really not much you can do in your pre-college summer that would have any real effect on med school applications (unless you're rescuing orphans from cancer, in which case, go do that). Also, you can't list anything you did in high school on your med school application and I think the pre-college summer might count as part of that.

Thanks for the advice. I was referring to all subsequent summers throughout college, if that makes a difference in your answer.

 

[Lucca]

Thanks for the advice. I was referring to all subsequent summers throughout college, if that makes a difference in your answer.

For the subsequent Summer's you should keep doing things you are interested in but you will find that as you go through college one of two things will happen (and they are both Ok): one, you figure out specifically a subject or activity or problem you want to focus on and think about and gear everything around that or you don't and keep exploring. Research and shadowing are good things to have on an application, and a competitive application will not be lacking in any area, but not every ounce of energy has to be devoted to the "traditional" components. Maybe this summer you do middle bury. Maybe in college you study abroad in a country where your studied language is lingua franca. Maybe you choose to do something else but keep learning language as a hobby. It's all acceptable. What is important is what you get out of it, your ability to articulate that all the while making sure there are no major deficits in your whole application.

 

[Dr.NickRiviera]

Thanks for the advice. I was referring to all subsequent summers throughout college, if that makes a difference in your answer.

I'm well familiar with Middlebury's summer immersion programs. They're great, no doubt about it, and if you do what you're required to do, you'll come out speaking your target language much more comfortably. However, will you become fluent in that language in a single 7-8 week period? It depends on how long you've studied the language beforehand but if you go in a blank slate, it's definitely not enough time to become fluent. So I wouldn't plan on spending every summer at the Middlebury programs if your final goal is to be fluent in 6 different languages. And really, there's no need. Some estimates report that only 20% of Americans speak a second language so if you have even just a second language under your belt, you'll already stand out, especially if that second language is Spanish.

I echo Lucca's advice above this post. Do the Middlebury program this summer. Study abroad in a [language]-speaking country. Volunteer in low income areas where [language] speakers are the main population. Put your skills in one or two languages to good use as opposed to "collecting" languages and I think you'll find that everything will come together.