I have no plans for application cycle

[DaRealDrL]

I am currently digging into the pile of secondaries I received all at once after getting verified by AMCAS.

Some of them are asking me what my plans for the application cycle are... I don't have any.

I graduated in May and quit my campus jobs at that time. I also quit my part-time job off-campus because I felt I had to dedicate all my time to studying for MCAT and completing my AMCAS. I retook my MCAT on 7/26 (got a 26 on it last summer) and got my AMCAS done early July and now am verified.

Jobs: I didn't make any plans after my MCAT date because well... I didn't really know what to do. I didn't want to apply for a job before now because I didn't want to have interviews pop up around my MCAT. I want to be a scribe, but the update I got when I turned in my application is that they aren't currently hiring and to wait 4-6 weeks.

Volunteering: I signed up to start volunteering with a local free clinic. Hopefully once a week that starts in the next few weeks.

Research: I have no undergraduate experience with research so I want to do something now that I have the time. I am looking into a research internship with a local research institute.

All in all... I have no solid plans for the year and nothing to tell my schools. What should I say? (And if anyone has any ideas on what I should do during this time, please let me know!)

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[gettheleadout]

How will you be paying for food and shelter during the coming year?

 

[smpbound]

How will you be paying for food and shelter during the coming year?

mom and dad. how else?

 

[virtualmaster999]

mom and dad. how else?

Smfh

 

[lmn]

mom and dad. how else?

Hahaha

Med schools won't be happy to see this, start doing something with your days other than writing secondaries b/c that's not enough

 

[baxt1412]

if you can't get paid research, offer your time for them. maybe they can't pay you at full time but you could try asking if they could pay for 20 hours per week. or even 10. if they simply can't pay, i'd still suggest doing it.

 

[ndafife]

Start applying to more jobs. Scribe jobs are nice clinical experiences, and you can also apply to research labs just about anywhere. Honestly working anywhere (fast food) is better than doing nothing.

Is there some reason you cant volunteer more than once a week at the health clinic? Honestly, until you get a job, you should be volunteering a lot. Go down to a local food pantry or homeless shelter or something and start helping out.

 

[smpbound]

Hahaha

Med schools won't be happy to see this, start doing something with your days other than writing secondaries b/c that's not enough

well look guys, I would say a majority of med students depend on this. They're all 21-22 years of age. I mean, c'mon. How can they not rely on their parents for support?

 

[DaRealDrL]

I'm lucky/spoiled to have lived at home throughout most of college and my parents take care of just that, food and shelter. The money I made throughout college is going towards all my application expenses.

Thanks for the advice - I will definitely start applying to more jobs and start volunteering at other places (if you can believe it, places keep turning me down because they have too many volunteers).

In the meantime for my secondaries, should I just tell them I'm looking for a job/research? Or should I hold off on sending them until I have a plan...

 

[Long Way to Go]

well look guys, I would say a majority of med students depend on this. They're all 21-22 years of age. I mean, c'mon. How can they not rely on their parents for support?

Wow, I thought you were joking but come on. Health insurance, sure. Helping (i.e. spotting you) with first+last+security+broker, sure. If your application cycle coincides with your senior year of college, sure. All of those cases it's acceptable for your parents to be paying for you.

Aside from that, you need to have a job or actively be applying to those or other FT positions (e.g. things like Americorps, though I have no idea what the time frame for those are), and you need to tell schools that.

 

[lmn]

well look guys, I would say a majority of med students depend on this. They're all 21-22 years of age. I mean, c'mon. How can they not rely on their parents for support?

There is a difference between receiving support from your parents while still working/volunteering/applying and receiving full support while doing absolutely nothing besides secondaries. When you look at the first person's application - they managed to do all the application stuff while working in a lab/scribing/fast food and volunteering maybe on weeks or at night at a clinic or shelter, in the second case the person for some reason needed 100% of their time to do secondaries and couldn't/didn't care to keep on working to advance themselves a well. With so many qualified applicants do you think the adcom is going to choose people who seem to have just thrown in the towel post-graduation? Wouldn't the applicant at least want to work to somewhat contribute to their costs/family and show some responsibility and independence?

 

[smpbound]

Wow, I thought you were joking but come on. Health insurance, sure. Helping (i.e. spotting you) with first+last+security+broker, sure. If your application cycle coincides with your senior year of college, sure. All of those cases it's acceptable for your parents to be paying for you.

Aside from that, you need to have a job or actively be applying to those or other FT positions (e.g. things like Americorps, though I have no idea what the time frame for those are), and you need to tell schools that.

well look at you. how independent you are...except for health insurance, rent, and living costs

 

[NYCdude]

I'm trying to get a research gig and I'm currently signed up for a volunteer tutoring program.

Should I just write in the secondaries that I "plan to get a research position" or something like that?

 

[Frostbite22]

Man I wish I had your life.

I would sign up for volunteering if you don't need to work. Just look at something for a few times a week.

 

[infinitessimal]

No offense but who the **** are you guys to say when it's acceptable for parents to pay for their children and when it isn't? It's admirable if you were able to support yourself during the year while studying, taking the MCAT, etc etc. But if someone else was fortunate enough to have their parents support them so they could put all their time and energy into doing other things, things toward education that would pay off in the long run, it doesn't make them any less admirable or lazy. OP came here to ask about how to approach this question on the app, not for you to judge his/her family's financial situation.

To answer your question - the things you write there aren't binding, so choose some activities that you'll likely do; whether or not you end up doing those or others is a question you'll worry about later. You might be working as a scribe in 4-6 weeks, so write that you plan to do that over the year while volunteering at the free clinic. You can mention the research position you're hoping to get as well, if you have something specific to say about that internship. If you end up doing something different, no one is going to call you a liar - you will update schools in interviews when you get there.

 

[DaRealDrL]

Hmmm. A well-needed slap in the face to get my butt moving. Thanks for the honest feedback everyone and yes, I am really lucky to have my life.

And thank you very much @infinitessimal for the answer to my original question.

 

[lmn]

No offense but who the **** are you guys to say when it's acceptable for parents to pay for their children and when it isn't? It's admirable if you were able to support yourself during the year while studying, taking the MCAT, etc etc. But if someone else was fortunate enough to have their parents support them so they could put all their time and energy into doing other things, things toward education that would pay off in the long run, it doesn't make them any less admirable or lazy. OP came here to ask about how to approach this question on the app, not for you to judge his/her family's financial situation.

What thread are you reading? Where do you see everyone talking about what is acceptable or not in terms of parent contribution to living expenses? Everyone is telling the OP that adcoms do NOT like to see you just living off your parents while not doing anything else to either support yourself or better your community.

OP you might as well just say what you're doing now and what you're hoping to get into. Our adcom contributors have generally said they don't necessarily believe any "plans" anyway since many people say they plan to work as EMT/in a research lab/you name it and due to whatever circumstances end up not.

 

[infinitessimal]

@lmn I was referring to

Wow, I thought you were joking but come on. Health insurance, sure. Helping (i.e. spotting you) with first+last+security+broker, sure. If your application cycle coincides with your senior year of college, sure. All of those cases it's acceptable for your parents to be paying for you.

Aside from that, you need to have a job or actively be applying to those or other FT positions (e.g. things like Americorps, though I have no idea what the time frame for those are), and you need to tell schools that.

..and posts from others (including yourself) who expressed similar opinions. Having your parents support you in food and shelter is not the same thing as "throwing in the towel" and not doing anything else with your life aside from playing video games.

 

[Long Way to Go]

@lmn I was referring to


..and posts from others (including yourself) who expressed similar opinions. Having your parents support you in food and shelter is not the same thing as "throwing in the towel" and not doing anything else with your life aside from playing video games.

Studying for the MCAT is not a full time activity. CityYear and Americorps are. A research assistant job is. A scribe job is. A real job is. A couple of part-time jobs are. Is it really too much to expect that a twenty-two year old should be able to support themselves for the most part?

 

[Lawpy]

Studying for the MCAT is not a full time activity. CityYear and Americorps are. A research assistant job is. A scribe job is. A real job is. A couple of part-time jobs are. Is it really too much to expect that a twenty-two year old should be able to support themselves for the most part?

That's none of your business or frankly any of the premeds' business here what OP does so you guys have zero value in criticizing the OP.

OP, ignore the jealous haters. But it's better to get something done on your free time, like volunteering, research, etc.

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

OP, my research position is about to end in a few weeks. I knew that and anticipated it, but because I'm also moving, I haven't had luck in getting another position just yet. I missed out on one really nice project at a Top school because they wanted me to start immediately. In the secondaries, I explained that I'm looking…. and assume when I need to send out updates, that's certainly one piece of news I can write.

 

[ciestar]

Studying for the MCAT is not a full time activity. CityYear and Americorps are. A research assistant job is. A scribe job is. A real job is. A couple of part-time jobs are. Is it really too much to expect that a twenty-two year old should be able to support themselves for the most part?

I couldn't agree more. At some point you have to learn to rely on yourself and that shouldn't be when you graduate from med school.

 

[DaRealDrL]

@Lawper thanks, I will. I confirmed a few more volunteer positions today while I wait to hear back about the research.

@ThisCouldBeYou Good luck!

Also, I guess I could have moved out and kept my part-time jobs/got a full-time job and stayed on my own... but why would I? I need the money to be going elsewhere and it is hardly any added cost for my parents to house and feed me. It's not that I haven't lived on my own before, just that I don't now.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm on FAP and my parents combined make less than I do. I don't envy or feel ill will towards kids whose parents can afford to do this. If I was a parent, I'd make sacrifices to provide for my kids too.

However, doing absolutely nothing else is laughable. It's like being unable to walk and chew gum at the same time.

The fact is that med schools look for maturity and this doesn't show it.

 

[Long Way to Go]

well look at you. how independent you are...except for health insurance, rent, and living costs

Uh, I personally pay for all of those.

What I was saying was that in general, it's perfectly reasonable for a general, college-educated 22 year old to to pay for all of those themselves. However, there no shame in parents pitching in for health insurance, considering that with the ACA it might be literally free for some families. Or for parents to give a short-term loan because it's not that common for people to have four months of loan payments. But folks shouldn't be relying on their parents for everything.

OP, I wasn't saying that you need to move out. If it works for you and your family to continue to live together, you do you. But I'm glad you're finding some way to occupy your time, both for your own personal sanity and because AdComs would absolutely look down on you if you spent a whole year doing nothing but applying to medical school. I think there's great value in getting a job (or further higher ed in something you'll use one day), but you have to do something.

 

[baxt1412]

I lucked out and got free health insurance through my job And I live with my mom but pay rent, my car insurance, my phone bill, and help with groceries. Besides utilities, there isn't much that my mom strictly pays for me.

 

[lmn]

@lmn I was referring to


..and posts from others (including yourself) who expressed similar opinions. Having your parents support you in food and shelter is not the same thing as "throwing in the towel" and not doing anything else with your life aside from playing video games.

You're still reading into it incorrectly. I don't care at all if his parents are billionaires and will buy him an enzo to drive back and forth to his free clinic he is volunteering at, the fact is that applying isn't a full-time activity and adcoms will be expecting to see you using your time post-grad just as effectively as while you were an undergrad. What message does it show if you worked hard and did a ton in undergrad and then stopped everything as soon as you graduated and started applying? It gives the impression that you are done trying to serve others/improve yourself and you don't even have the excuse of having to work full-time to support yourself interrupting these activities (although this isn't a good excuse either since many people can work full-time and continue their EC's), and you possibly risk even conveying an attitude that you think you're a shoe in for med school and don't have to keep trying. Our adcom members have said it a thousand times, there are dozens/hundreds++ of qualified people for each spot they have, why would they take the risk on someone who looks like they only did everything for show while in undergrad and didn't continue any of it once they graduated/started applying?

Btw read my post next time before you try to put the words in my mouth saying that getting parental support equates to throwing in the towel. VR wouldn't be kind to you if that's what you got from my post...

 

[mehc012]

@lmn Having your parents support you in food and shelter is not the same thing as "throwing in the towel" and not doing anything else with your life aside from playing video games.

No, but having no job, no schoolwork, 1 volunteer shift/wk (theoretically but actually not yet), and literally no other activity which you can think of to write down that you spend time on...kind of IS 'not doing anything else with your life'.

I live at home. My mother pays for a lot of the food, and I have free shelter from her. When I needed a newer car, she gave me a temporary loan because I couldn't afford $5k in one fell swoop. She occasionally shells out a reasonable amount to help me take more classes than I could otherwise. And yet nobody says that I have thrown in the towel or that I am not doing anything with my life. Wanna know why?
Because I have 2 jobs (1 f/t, 1 p/t), take 2 classes, and volunteer 1x/wk. If someone asked me what I spend my time doing, I would have things to say. THAT is the key point here, not the fact that OP happens to live with their parents.

The only reason people are mentioning the parents is because
a) that seems to be all that OP is doing, so what else would you reference?
b) it is far harder for people who live by themselves/support themselves to not do anything because of the minor details of rent and food prices.

 

[lmn]

OP in case you were missing the main point that everyone was getting at, get busy with volunteering/work ASAP. It's possible that you could just do little things and skimp by this year and get accepted still, but worst case scenario you end up getting in nowhere and have to reapply, then not doing really anything besides applying the last year is going to be even more detrimental to your application. I'd try to pick some job based on what your app is lacking/what you can realistically get into since you have the comfort of not having to worry about the pay. If you are missing research, try to get into a lab, if you're missing clinical exposure try to get into scribing or some clinical experience. Not only will this help your current app, it will really help you in case of a reapplication, and it will REALLY REALLY help you survive the constant stressing of an application year by at least letting you take your mind off your application while you're at work.

 

[mehc012]

OP in case you were missing the main point that everyone was getting at, get busy with volunteering/work ASAP. It's possible that you could just do little things and skimp by this year and get accepted still, but worst case scenario you end up getting in nowhere and have to reapply, then not doing really anything besides applying the last year is going to be even more detrimental to your application. I'd try to pick some job based on what your app is lacking/what you can realistically get into since you have the comfort of not having to worry about the pay. If you are missing research, try to get into a lab, if you're missing clinical exposure try to get into scribing or some clinical experience. Not only will this help your current app, it will really help you in case of a reapplication, and it will REALLY REALLY help you survive the constant stressing of an application year by at least letting you take your mind off your application while you're at work.

And ignoring the merits for med school applications...yeah, getting out of the house is good. Being productive? Good. Having extra money? Gooooood!

 

[infinitessimal]

a) that seems to be all that OP is doing, so what else would you reference?

I'm referencing the fact that OP presented various possibilities for activities in the upcoming year in the categories of jobs, volunteering, and research. If OP came and said "guys, I was kinda hoping to live at home this year and relax, what am I supposed to put on my secondary?", it would be a different story. The fact is that OP just finished a very time-consuming process of studying for the MCAT and finishing the application, and now happens to be in a place in their life where they aren't doing anything at the moment and wondering how to answer this question on the secondary. Some people came in here seeming offended that OP isn't desperately looking for a full time job because, shudder, their parents are paying for food and rent.

Anyways, this is completely derailing the original post. No one is arguing whether or not OP should do something or nothing over the year.

@DaRealDrL, I thought of another idea - I did tutoring back in the day through Wyzant, which is like a craigslist for tutors. If that's something that might interest you, it's a quick and easy way to take advantage of the skills you already have and make some cash!

 

[moisne]

Are you trolling?

I'm not an ADCOM but I would look at you thinking "this kid can't make plans or handle high level of stress and doesn't know how to make a back up plan".

You didn't apply to jobs because you were afraid of interviews around your MCAT dates?

I hope your parents are cooler than mine. Mine would make me live under some bridge and disown me...

 

[Ismet]

What is going on in this thread. Y'all need to chill.

There is nothing wrong with living with your parents during your gap year and saving money. But you do need to actually DO something with your year, and it looks like you've realized that and you're getting a plan in motion. It's okay that you don't have a solid plan in place yet, just talk about what you plan to do if everything works out in your favor. As said earlier, we don't hold you to what you say you're going to do, it's more to see what you plan to do with that time and that you're not planning to bum around and/or travel all year. You can then clarify in interviews what you ended up doing.

 

[DaRealDrL]

@Ismet that's exactly what I plan to do.

Thanks @infinitessimal for understanding exactly what I meant! And I have never heard of Wyzant but I used to be a tutor so that is something I will look into.

@lmn those sound like good ideas and I can see how that would show adcoms that I am trying to round out my application during my gap year - thanks!

I appreciate everyone who didn't come here to bash me. Really not trying to be a bum, even though it may come across that way.

 

[virginiayankee]

.

 

[mehc012]

@Ismet that's exactly what I plan to do.

Thanks @infinitessimal for understanding exactly what I meant! And I have never heard of Wyzant but I used to be a tutor so that is something I will look into.

@lmn those sound like good ideas and I can see how that would show adcoms that I am trying to round out my application during my gap year - thanks!

I appreciate everyone who didn't come here to bash me. Really not trying to be a bum, even though it may come across that way.

I don't think most of the stuff here was directed at you. It sometimes happens on the internet - someone perceives a slight that was either unintentional or minimal, then they vehemently defend you, a giant scuffle breaks out, and at the end of the day, none of it actually had anything to do with OP. Good luck, and congrats on getting to the point you're at now!

 

[Quizlet04]

My parents encouraged my sister to live at home with them instead of living on her own right after college. Why? Because the average apartment + utilities + renter's insurance + various living expenses would end up costing her an extra $1500 a month. Living at home meant she could save that money towards something useful. Moving out just for the sake of independence doesn't make financial sense.