cGPA 3.50 sGPA 3.44 MCAT: 37 Should I take 1 or 2 years off

[pcn33]

Hey Guys,

I'm a senior at Cornell, with parents both from Peru, trying to decide if I should take 1 or 2 years off before medical school. I have a lot of volunteer experience (1000+hours) both domestic and abroad, a summer's worth of research experience where I published a paper, and plenty of shadowing experience from my summer's as well. My major is economics and my minor is nutrition. Next year, I will be working in a clinical research lab as an RA. I am trying to decide if taking 2 years off would be more beneficial to my chances at more top tier med schools since I could have the chance to publish more work. Will this benefit me or should I just stick with the one year off?

Thanks for any advice!

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[Jay11jayjay]

Hey Guys,

I'm a senior at Cornell, with parents both from Peru, trying to decide if I should take 1 or 2 years off before medical school. I have a lot of volunteer experience (1000+hours) both domestic and abroad, a summer's worth of research experience where I published a paper, and plenty of shadowing experience from my summer's as well. My major is economics and my minor is nutrition. Next year, I will be working in a clinical research lab as an RA. I am trying to decide if taking 2 years off would be more beneficial to my chances at more top tier med schools since I could have the chance to publish more work. Will this benefit me or should I just stick with the one year off?

Thanks for any advice!

Be careful about taking 2 years off depending on when you took your mcat. You run the risk of having your mcat expire depending on the schools. Every school is different but it's generally 2-3 years after. Also, taking 1 or even 2 years off JUST to try to increase your chances at a top school doesn't seem wise to me. If you're passionate about medicine - and not merely after the prestige - any good US MD school would be a place where you can excel and match to a great residency. Also, taking 2 years off does not come close to guaranteeing that you will significantly improve your chance at top 20 schools (your gpa will still count). Your mcat is great now (since its not expired) and your ECs are pretty good. Apply this cycle (unless you legitimately want to take a year off to pursue an interest and not to increase your chances). Best of luck!

 

[Catalystik]

I'm a senior at Cornell, with parents both from Peru, trying to decide if I should take 1 or 2 years off before medical school. I have a lot of volunteer experience (1000+hours) both domestic and abroad, a summer's worth of research experience where I published a paper, and plenty of shadowing experience from my summer's as well. My major is economics and my minor is nutrition. Next year, I will be working in a clinical research lab as an RA. I am trying to decide if taking 2 years off would be more beneficial to my chances at more top tier med schools since I could have the chance to publish more work. Will this benefit me or should I just stick with the one year off?

You already have one publication which is more than the vast majority of med school applicants can claim. If you apply this summer, and take one gap year, the planned research won't do much for your application, as you won't yet have accomplished anything. If you apply summer 2015, you'd have the extra year of research to include on your application, but would it be research where you have creative control, or would you be following someone else's protocol? That type of research may not help your application a great deal either, if you're aiming for top research schools. It often takes a year of experience with a given research group before you are trusted enough to create your own project and take off with it. And some PIs who have spent time training you want you to stick with the tasks you've already mastered and won't permit an independent project. Do you want to invest that much time with a PI only to find that you need another year to show your potential, or that it won't be permitted at all? I suggest you need to be crystal clear about the expectations of your planned research activity and how much autonomy you'll be granted, so you can decide how much value it will have to a med school application before you delay your plans to apply this summer.

 

[deleted480308]

just apply this year and go where you get in.....a few pubs isn't going to sway anyone who would still take a 3.5gpa. Do not let that mcat expire

 

[pcn33]

Thanks for all your replies guys, this has been really helpful to put things in perspective. I just need to take the time now to sit down and sort out my priorities. If I'm not looking for an MD/PHD am I correct in assuming that my dilemma over this extra year matters even less in terms of improving my attractiveness to schools?

P.S. Took the MCAT in August 2013 so the extra year wouldn't void the scores in the schools I'm interested in.

 

[deleted314957]

Why take any time off? Realize that a year off knocks 1 year off your peak earnings. That may easily cost you 300-400K

Hey Guys,

I'm a senior at Cornell, with parents both from Peru, trying to decide if I should take 1 or 2 years off before medical school. I have a lot of volunteer experience (1000+hours) both domestic and abroad, a summer's worth of research experience where I published a paper, and plenty of shadowing experience from my summer's as well. My major is economics and my minor is nutrition. Next year, I will be working in a clinical research lab as an RA. I am trying to decide if taking 2 years off would be more beneficial to my chances at more top tier med schools since I could have the chance to publish more work. Will this benefit me or should I just stick with the one year off?

Thanks for any advice![/QUOTE

 

[lmn]

Unless you have some awesome PI and lab, I wouldn't guess you would get more than a publication at best in that year, and doubtfully a first author by that point. Even if it was, you already have one published, I seriously doubt having that second will greatly improve your chances. You also already have shadowing and volunteer experiences, so any volunteering during that year will also doubtfully improve anything significantly. I would just apply now if you can, or else you are really just wasting time without really improving anything much. I would only possibly say it is worth it if you can't afford the costs of applying and need to save up for a year, or if you were going to do something more meaningful, such as a prestigious year long internship, research program, etc.

 

[pcn33]

I really appreciate all the help here guys! It looks like I'm leaning towards doing my original plans of 1 year now thanks to your advice and some thinking on my part. Just wanted to be sure I was making as much of an informed decision as possible.