Take Spanish or take a language I'm pretty good at?

[deleted838145]

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I took Spanish for three years in high school but I'm not that great. Spanish is extremely useful where I live (SoCal) but I don't have the confidence to get straight As while I take the course.

I'm Korean and have learned the language naturally over the years, but I never had formal instruction. Foreign language is part of my GEs so I have to take a language either way. I can test out of Korean if I prove that I'm good enough, and possibly make more room for prereqs, ECs, etc. What's the wiser choice? Do med schools care about the type of languages I take, and does college Spanish really help in the professional world?

 

[Dr. Gamer]

Just take the class which is an easy A...


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[fursty13]

I took Spanish for three years in high school but I'm not that great. Spanish is extremely useful where I live (SoCal) but I don't have the confidence to get straight As while I take the course.

I'm Korean and have learned the language naturally over the years, but I never had formal instruction. Foreign language is part of my GEs so I have to take a language either way. I can test out of Korean if I prove that I'm good enough, and possibly make more room for prereqs, ECs, etc. What's the wiser choice? Do med schools care about the type of languages I take, and does college Spanish really help in the professional world?

I chose to minor in Spanish. I don't believe they look at that/which language you study heavily unless you do something with it. I involved myself with the hispanic community where I live and did a medical trip lasting over a month in a Spanish-speaking country, so I demonstrated that it's a part of who I am and that I have functional use with my Spanish. I certainly think that helped me in interviews and gave me a talking point for being a culturally competent individual. All that being said, I interviewed at Miami and I think a big reason I got that interview was my background in the stuff I mentioned. Something like 65% of people speak Spanish in the city, so it'd obviously be a useful skill to have. They did mention that Spanish wasn't required and they do have instructional courses for interested students.

Big takeaways here:
1) Don't think it matters which language you end up choosing, especially if you choose to only go as far as your university's requirements.
2) If you do pursue language studies beyond university requirements, it can help, but only if you demonstrate some element of cultural competency that can accompany your studies. I believe AAMC has a breakdown of what schools value, and ability to speak a second language ranks in their 3rd tier of importance (out of 3 tiers).
3) You'll want to get good grades and you should value that highly. It's in that 1st tier that schools look at.

 

[gyngyn]

Spanish. Just look at the MSAR. CA schools really value the effort toward improving communication skills.

 

[thisismyacct]

Spanish would be more useful but Korean would be an easy A. Take the A.

 

[Geo16]

Take Spanish, 구름!
I speak native-level Korean but it never crossed my mind that I should take Korean for that niche A or pass the exam to by-pass the language requirement.
It's a free language class (or you've already paid your flat-fee), so why not take another language? Don't let this opportunity go..
Also, Spanish is fun! Also, it's hella useful in SoCal while you volunteer or work.

 

[LizzyM]

Take Spanish. You will use it. Don't bother minoring in it -- that almost always means taking courses in literature and/or composition and what you want/need is to fill your GE and learn to understand spoken Spanish and to speak it. Even if you have to resort to interpreters for the tough stuff (like explaining a colonoscopy prep) being able to ask questions, understand the answers, and respond to questions will go a long way.

Adcoms see through the "heritage language" easy A; it does not impress some of the tough cookies who want to see that you've not only earned a high GPA but that you've worked hard.

 

[Welshman]

Maybe test out of Korean and take Spanish pass fail? You get to learn it but it won't hurt your gpa

 

[Wiesal]

Either choose an easy A or improve your communication skills.

 

[fursty13]

Whether it helps or not in admissions, it will be useful and practical in medicine and life in general

+ 1. I genuinely love studying Spanish and that's why I continued with classes beyond requirements. And I think it's awesome that I can communicate with so many different people I otherwise wouldn't be able to because I kept at it.

Agree with everything that's been said here. You can already speak and understand Korean so I'd go with Spanish, especially being from CA. Taking Spanish would really help improve your ability to communicate with future patients and people in general.

 

[Welshman]

I was shadowing a preventitive medicine doc the other week and 70% of her patients were Spanish speaking only. Considering I live in a large northeastern city, I can only imagine how much higher it is in the south.

 

[Lifeblood_20]

As others have said, I think the point of learning a language (or anything, really) is so that you can do something with it outside of classroom. If learning Korean gives you an edge for the opportunities you want, do Korean. If you think that applies to Spanish more, do Spanish. However, it does take time to gain fluency in a new language, so if you decide to go with Spanish it might be a while before you can do something significant with it. But patience does pay off, so don't be discouraged if you don't get fluent quickly.

 

[814965]

Take the easy A.