For those of you who took a year off after undergrad...What did you do?

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For those of you who took a year off after your undergrad....Just out of curiosity what did you guys do during that year? I will be a senior this year, applying next summer. I hope to get a paid research position, but I am not sure yet...

Thanks!

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I am working in the pharmaceutical industry for Merck. I have gained a great gloabal view of medicine, made tons of contacts, earned a great salary, been close to top notch research and thought leaders and had a flexible enough work schedule to study hard and do well on the MCAT. I highly reccomend it. Best of Luck
 
Traveled the world. Was in 38 countries, some only 1 night, others a few weeks. AWESOME! Came back home, clear mind, set and determined to get thru med school.

:clap:
 
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i took 2 years off. retook organic and took some upper-level bios (b/c i have a warped sense of fun) and took the mcat while working full-time in research and volunteering with the local ems squad (i started volunteering in college). the second year i worked full-time at my research job (became the director of a clinical arthritis study), kept on with ems, and spent a lot of money on applications.

i quit my job in may of this year, travelled a bit, worked ems, and was a basic bum all summer, and it was definetly worth it. if you're even remotely considering taking a year off, definetly go for it. :cool:
 
I took a year off because I didn't get into school the first time I applied. I got a not-so exciting job and an incredible hospital. I got to work with and observe amazing physicians, and realized that they really set the bar for what kind of doctor (and person) I should strive to be. Got to travel a lot too.

Initially I was upset that I would be forced to take a year off before medical school - but looking back on it I'm so glad that I did.
 
Worked in a lab, learned spanish and learned how to draw naked people. fun fun. highly recommend it.
 
I got a job at a petroleum refinery in a refinery town in southwest Ontario. I made enough money to pay off my undergrad loans, saved some more, and put together my grad school applications. Everyone at work was married and had social lives, and I did not. I lived in an apartment above a freight train line, and in the middle of the night the freight cars would smash together so the couplings would lock properly. There is nothing like the sound of screeching metal and inelastic collisions at 3 a.m..

It was not a very good year and I was glad when it was over.
 
i took 4 years off :D
i worked, went to grad school, dropped out of grad school, played in the water (got paid for it), worked some more, volunteered, worked and bought a house. here i am now! w00t!

ps i'm a big big advocate of taking time off if the thought even *remotely* crosses your mind.
 
I was a bum for the year...and I worked for Kaplan...BTW, Kaplan sucks. Glad I'm finally done with them. :D
 
You can also try: Teach for America, Americorps, a medical mission or medical development project, etc........

Enjoy your year off and take it easy but keep yourself immersed in the healthcare/medical industry by working and/or volunteering in the field.

Good luck!!!

:rolleyes:
 
does teach for america allow you to do only one year or do you have to commit for 2 years?
 
I'm doing research at the Clinical Center at the National Institute of Health for one year, and I hope to go to medical school next fall. They have a program specifically for kids fresh out of college that want to go to medical school. IRTA -- check out the website. www.nih.gov
 
I finished 1 semester early from college, so I took 1.5 years off. During the first .5, I worked as a rehab tech . Then I went off to work as a phlebotomist. For both jobs, I was hired with minimal experience and training. I also volunteered as an EMT.
 
I'm working in the Taste and Smell lab at Duke University Medical Center, doing clinical trials and having (my first) three papers published by January!!!
 
I got a job at The Children's hospital in the neonatal ICU as a unit secretary- GREAT clinical exposure, and you get a chance to talk with lots of doctors: neonatologists, surgeons, and internists, to name a few. Plus the pay isn't bad, so it's a good opportunity.
 
I am going to have a semester to kill before starting (fingers crossed) med school. I am probably going to go spend 4-5 months backpacking the Appalachian Trail. :)
 
I graduated in May 2002 and got my master's at Hopkins School of Public Health. I went to JHU as a undergrad and basically just continued the same research that I started my junior year and made it into my thesis. This year I'm working at JHU school of medicine doing clinical research.

About the hiking--definitely recommend it.....I hiked the Long Trail (270 miles through VT) right after I got my bachelor's and next June I'm planning on thru hiking the John Muir Trail.

Take time off if you can. I don't even think my two years are enough.
 
Went to comunity college to take my missing second semester of bio. Dated the ladies for practically the first time in my entire sad life. Picked at things that were growing.
 
Originally posted by greenie8


About the hiking--definitely recommend it.....I hiked the Long Trail (270 miles through VT) right after I got my bachelor's and next June I'm planning on thru hiking the John Muir Trail.


:) I am glad I am not the only one into long wilderness trips. Most of the people I know can't understand the appeal of a 2,200 mile backpacking trip (I have wanted to do the AT since I was like 10...before I had ever even been backpacking). :)
 
i will have taken 3 years off, assuming i get in this year:

worked as assistant to a very famous epidemiologist, helped her write a book, spent 2 months on research fellowship in japan, ended terrible relationship with college boyfriend, taught SAT and MCAT for Kaplan, worked for an asbestos law firm (medical evidence - kind of boring but pays well), took physics and english pre-reqs at night school, volunteered at local free clinic, grew up a lot...

taking time off has been great for me. i feel a million times more prepared for the challenges of med school with some real-world experience under my belt and a sense of what life is like when one isn't in school.

be warned though, the job market is sh#% right now, despite what you hear about the economy being on the up-swing. it is hard to get research jobs without good connections. if you take time off, you may find yourself doing work you don't really like.
 
The first time -- paid research in computational neuroscience in sunny California!!!! (my home school was in snowy Boston). It was great, and I got a publication out of it.

The second time -- learned Latin, taught a literature seminar.

The third time -- more clinically oriented research at a hospital, lots of hanging around clinic and ORs, going to conferences, etc.

If you're thinking about a year off, I would just sit down and write a list of all the things you want to do (NOT all the things you think you SHOULD want to do). Research, volunteer, teach, whatever. If you have a reasonably type A personality, you're going to wind up doing something good.
 
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