Confused about gap year

[cristinayang16]

So I am definitely want to take a gap year but I have seen so many posts about how you need to apply right after senior year? How would I get in all my gap year activities then? If I want to show my gap year activities then I would have to apply the next summer right? Which means two gap years? Then another year where you just do interviews and such? Or am I wrong? That makes like three years before matriculating into medical school, which is not my plan. Can someone explain?

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[NotASerialKiller]

You apply in the summer to start ~14 months later. So if you apply after your senior year and get in, you'll have spent one "gap year" out of school. If you accomplish anything major you can update schools, but most of your volunteering/shadowing/clinical etc. has to be done before that point.

If you want to have a year to do these things BEFORE you apply, then yes if you graduated in spring 2016 you could get all of that stuff done before the summer of 2017 to apply (gap year 1), then from summer of 2017 to the summer of 2018 you'll continue to volunteer or work or whatever as you attend interviews (gap year 2) and potentially matriculate August 2018. That would be 2 years out of school, or 2 gap years, before you start.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Also, since most people apply during senior year, if you take a gap year, you have all of senior year to do stuff (may or may not be easy, depending on your course load).