Why did you decide to take a gap year?

[tessellations]

I'm currently a junior that's in the process of deciding whether or not I want to apply to med school in 2017. I won't really be able to make a fully informed decision until around April/May, but I was curious about the reasons why other people chose to take a year (or years) off before applying. I'm particularly interested to hear from people who weren't in need of GPA repair, or potentially even had a high MCAT score. For me, taking a gap year would allow me to get more volunteering and shadowing hours and to apply after finishing an honors thesis. But it's not like I have none of these things already - I'd arguably have enough hours of each (maybe not t0p 20, but I don't really care about that). It would also allow me to make money for a year and maybe travel. I guess I'm just having a hard time weighing the costs/benefits, and I'm curious to see how other people did that.

I have heard a lot of differing opinions about gap years in my life and I just honestly need some outside perspective.

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[HarryPotterLostInNarnia]

Nothing wrong with taking a gap year or two. If you feel that you're not prepared, you can use an extra year or two to boost your app, or even take a vacation. My friend had a really high GPA/MCAT but had zero clinical experience, so she used her gap year to volunteer in a hospital while working as a lab tech. Another friend took a year off because he was too burned out from school and went traveling everywhere. I think you should apply when you feel most ready, and avoid reapplying because rewriting a personal statement, getting letters again, and all of that is just too much stressful.

 

[efle]

I had an 80+ LizzyM and gapped.

• I recognized there was a lot I could do with my Senior year to help the rest of my app, including a bunch of clinical volunteering, and a research project.
• Very likely wouldn't have enough $ (because no income) to finance a cycle in my Senior year
  
• A majority of premeds I knew were also planning to gap. I had originally thought "gapping is for people that don't have their crap together after Junior year" and that faded from seeing a lot of successful students choose a year off.
• People I spoke to that took a gap invariably said they were glad they did. Some because they had more maturing to do (stuff like never being really responsible for their own finances/renting a place/working full time before). Others simply to have some time away from the education grind, where they could go home at 5 and just be done without exams and projects etc permeating every waking moment.
• I was confident/cocky I'd be able to get a med-related gap year job that I'd enjoy and that could strengthen my app even more.

A few months in I think I made the right choice. Happy to PM if you want to exchange more specific deets

 

[Boogy'sChick15]

I'm taking a gap year purely to give me time to take the MCAT. My physics curriculum didn't leave me much room to do all the prereqs, and I don't want to take the MCAT until I at least finish biochem. Also, it gives me the extra time needed to increase my community service hours and to just enjoy my hobbies/activities while I have the time to do them.

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[Frogger27]

Explore other hobbies and interests outside of the pre-med grind. Travel, live, drink a lot

 

[Myelinationiskey]

I wanted to go straight through, but then I realized that I needed a year to clear my head from the stagnancy and burnout I was experiencing at the end of undergrad. It's also super helpful to be able to have a full time job while applying! Applications still hurt my bank account, but I wouldn't be able to fund it myself while I was in school.


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[Kgizzle]

$$$

 

[Lucca]

I haven't technically started my gap year yet, but I'm taking one and I'm happy I'm not applying right now lol. My senior year is *mine* and mine alone. I'm enjoying probably one of the last opportunities of my life where I have few responsibilities for a very long time. I'm also glad I did it because I was not entirely clear on the path I wanted to take but I am more so now. When my friends started getting interviews and stuff I thought, "Damn, could've been me", but that faded away pretty quickly.

 

[Sardinia]

$$$

Yes. You do lose out on a bit of $$$ by taking a gap year.

 

[mcatjelly]

1) Get more clinical experience. Got a full-time job that gave me tons of it.

2) Take the MCAT. Most of my ECs in college were only indirectly related to medicine, but I loved then and wanted to focus my efforts on them (and my social life). You only live once, right?

3) Make $$$ for apps. Between the MCAT, app fees, and travel fees, I spent upwards of $5,000 on the admissions process. I worked in college but most of it went to room and board, so I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to worry about financing my application.

4) Really, just making sure it was something I really wanted. I have interests outside of medicine and having the time off allowed me to reflect and focus on my motivations.

 

[Camelsarecool]

I will preface this by saying that I didn’t decide (or even think about) medical school until the summer after my junior year of college. That said, I was relatively involved, had good grades and was biochemistry major, so I didn’t need to do much differently. My original plan was to apply right after graduating, but I have since decided to take two gap years. I am currently in my first gap year. I basically made a checklist of pros and cons before I made this decision, so I will write them below.


Pros:

-More time to volunteer, research and explore my interests, so my application will be stronger

-Application will also be stronger because I don’t have to rush actually writing and honing it

-I won’t have to beg my parents for money for applications!

-Extra time to enjoy life and hang out with friends! Working 40-50 hours a week is super laid back. I can do that, volunteer a couple days a week, chill with homies frequently and never feel too stressed. In other words, it is kind of like decompression time. I was also a D1 athlete doing a sport that required ~25-30 hrs a week year round while in college, so I might have a skewed sense of busy.

-You’ll mature more. There is something to be said for balancing a budget (okay, you could do that in college too) and just being a kind of an average civilian. It’s good perspective, I think.

-I know I will be WAY more inclined to work hard when I get back to school. Time working is great, but I am hungry to go back to school and learn. I definitely didn’t feel that way immediately post-grad.

-You’ll either feel more assured of the path you’re on, like me, or you might decide you want to do something else before you’re balls deep in debt.



Cons:

-You go to medical school a year later… but is that even a con? I am not really fiscally motivated so I really don’t care about that at all, but I can see why someone might.

 

[al22al22]

I always recommend a gap year, as does every physician I've ever worked with, especially the ones that didn't take one and wished they had. Personally, I knew I wasn't excited enough about the idea of starting medical school right after my senior year, and I wanted to really be sure it was absolutely, 100% what I wanted to do. I did graduate a semester early though, so I spent that time studying for the MCAT without having to study on top of coursework, and then I got a full-time research job. I don't love research, but I wanted to have a normal, 9-5 working experience before my life turned upside down for 4-8 years. It has turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made because in every interview I've been able to use this to show my maturity and ability to "adult" (lol ya right). I've also spent a lot of my time volunteering in a more serious capacity and not just to put it on my application, which has also helped a lot in interviews because I can talk about actually getting to witness my impact on the community rather than just spew off a ton of sporadic volunteer stints from undergrad.
Though it's helped a lot with my application, I really think the best part has been being able to relax a little and do more of the things I love. I'm so much more excited to (hopefully...) start school again and definitely much more confident in my decision! (Sorry this is kinda cheesy but I'm really a big fan of the whole "take some time for yourself" thing)
Best of luck to you!

 

[Kgizzle]

Yes. You do lose out on a bit of $$$ by taking a gap year.

Couldn't afford to apply, had to pay off some school and bills... that's a function of not having rich parents

 

[Frogger27]

I always recommend a gap year, as does every physician I've ever worked with, especially the ones that didn't take one and wished they had. Personally, I knew I wasn't excited enough about the idea of starting medical school right after my senior year, and I wanted to really be sure it was absolutely, 100% what I wanted to do. I did graduate a semester early though, so I spent that time studying for the MCAT without having to study on top of coursework, and then I got a full-time research job. I don't love research, but I wanted to have a normal, 9-5 working experience before my life turned upside down for 4-8 years. It has turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made because in every interview I've been able to use this to show my maturity and ability to "adult" (lol ya right). I've also spent a lot of my time volunteering in a more serious capacity and not just to put it on my application, which has also helped a lot in interviews because I can talk about actually getting to witness my impact on the community rather than just spew off a ton of sporadic volunteer stints from undergrad.
Though it's helped a lot with my application, I really think the best part has been being able to relax a little and do more of the things I love. I'm so much more excited to (hopefully...) start school again and definitely much more confident in my decision! (Sorry this is kinda cheesy but I'm really a big fan of the whole "take some time for yourself" thing)
Best of luck to you!

100% agree with everything here... sounds like our experiences post-grad have been very similar!

 

[Sardinia]

Couldn't afford to apply, had to pay off some school and bills... that's a function of not having rich parents

And a sign that they should reconsider how they price medical applications.

 

[jqueb29]

I decided to take a gap year because every med school I applied to decided I would have to.

Don't take a gap year by choice. To do so is to sacrifice at least $200,000.

 

[efle]

I decided to take a gap year because every med school I applied to decided I would have to.

Don't take a gap year by choice. To do so is to sacrifice at least $200,000.

...which would be a huge problem if maximum net worth at death was my priority in life, lol. I'll take the happy year in my early 20s. The opportunity cost argument is weak

 

[Avicenna]

To party, slay *****, drink liquor, and do as many drugs as I could for one last year so I could get it out of my system going to Loma Linda
/s

 

[Dream_big]

Relaaaaax have some fun and help your surrounding community. If you busted your butt & some more during undergrad, a break would do you well. Travel, visit friends and family, and try your hand in things you didn't have time for in college (i.e. cooking )

 

[Coltuna]

Mature. Develop Time management skills. Make sure this is what I want to do.

I have so much respect for people who possess the maturity and integrity to be accepted during their Senior year. I was a shadow of who I am now at that time.

 

[raiderette]

Taking a few minutes from MS1...take the gap year. I was too poor to take a gap year because I couldn't think of a gap year job that would make enough to cover loan payments. My rich classmates had great times in Europe or Asia traveling. Take the time if you have any money in the world.

 

[Sardinia]

@raiderette You have enough wiggle room to have fun tonight? It is a Friday night.

 

[raiderette]

@raiderette You have enough wiggle room to have fun tonight? It is a Friday night.

Out on another really bad date, so I am checking in. Med school is actually easier than getting in.

 

[Sardinia]

Out on another really bad date, so I am checking in. Med school is actually easier than getting in.

Hopefully it's not a classmate. Otherwise you'd have to go dutch.

 

[tessellations]

Thank you all so much for your posts. As a junior, I'm already feeling a little burnt out, and the thought of taking a year after I graduate has become a lot more appealing because of it. I like the idea of working full time for a bit and to have the opportunity to spend time with my family before medical school, because I could very well end up far away from them if I get in somewhere far. It would also give me more time to study for the MCAT, work on research, volunteer, and shadow. And it would make me feel incredibly less guilty about the financial burden of applications.

I've been struggling with this because I come from a middle class background where it's sort of been expected that you just keep going until you get to the end. But it's my journey and not theirs and I'm responsible enough to know that. Doesn't make families any less tough though, lol.

As a follow up question, what kind of jobs did people work? I definitely don't come from a rich background so working is pretty necessary. If I want to do some travel (which I'd love to) I need to make money myself. I'd probably try to get a clinical research assistant or basic research job.

Thanks for all your insight. I really needed it...it's been a rough week.

 

[rossatron7]

I didn't "decide" to take a gap year, I wasn't accepted my first round. I ended up taking two gap years and it worked out for the better. I have more life experience and now feel ready to start medical school next fall.

 

[frosted2]

As @rossatron7 said, I have more life experience and I feel like I grow more mature each year. I am glad I am in a gap year (maybe 2 or 3) I am having a good time, building a great application and enjoying life until I start the next big chapter!

 

[Dream_big]

Thank you all so much for your posts. As a junior, I'm already feeling a little burnt out, and the thought of taking a year after I graduate has become a lot more appealing because of it. I like the idea of working full time for a bit and to have the opportunity to spend time with my family before medical school, because I could very well end up far away from them if I get in somewhere far. It would also give me more time to study for the MCAT, work on research, volunteer, and shadow. And it would make me feel incredibly less guilty about the financial burden of applications.

I've been struggling with this because I come from a middle class background where it's sort of been expected that you just keep going until you get to the end. But it's my journey and not theirs and I'm responsible enough to know that. Doesn't make families any less tough though, lol.

As a follow up question, what kind of jobs did people work? I definitely don't come from a rich background so working is pretty necessary. If I want to do some travel (which I'd love to) I need to make money myself. I'd probably try to get a clinical research assistant or basic research job.

Thanks for all your insight. I really needed it...it's been a rough week.

I work full time as a pharmacy technician at a retail pharmacy. I need the money, and it's a mentally stimulating job if you go out of your way to actually learn about the medications. You can maybe find a research job during your year off..that was appealing to me at first but I had extensive research experience in my undergrad. I personally did not want to go from being the first author on several projects to doing basic lab tasks (nothing wrong with that at all, but my job now pays very well). I spend the rest of my time seeing friends, cooking, helping my parents would with whatever they need, host blood drives in my community....it's a really good time for a person to grow outside of school, and avoid med school burn out

 

[JB50]

Explore other hobbies and interests outside of the pre-med grind. Travel, live, drink a lot

+ make some moneys so I can drink a little during my medical education

I also got married though lol.

 

[huskies403]

I agree with many of the posts above, gap years are great and are becoming the norm. However to play devil's advocate, if you think you have a quality application I would say go ahead and apply w/o a gap year. Instead, think about taking a gap year during medical school to pursue research, masters, etc that will boost your application for residency.

I think people often forget about gap years during medical school and how necessary it can be for some of the more competitive residencies.

 

[dinocorn]

Thank you all so much for your posts. As a junior, I'm already feeling a little burnt out, and the thought of taking a year after I graduate has become a lot more appealing because of it. I like the idea of working full time for a bit and to have the opportunity to spend time with my family before medical school, because I could very well end up far away from them if I get in somewhere far. It would also give me more time to study for the MCAT, work on research, volunteer, and shadow. And it would make me feel incredibly less guilty about the financial burden of applications.

I've been struggling with this because I come from a middle class background where it's sort of been expected that you just keep going until you get to the end. But it's my journey and not theirs and I'm responsible enough to know that. Doesn't make families any less tough though, lol.

As a follow up question, what kind of jobs did people work? I definitely don't come from a rich background so working is pretty necessary. If I want to do some travel (which I'd love to) I need to make money myself. I'd probably try to get a clinical research assistant or basic research job.

Thanks for all your insight. I really needed it...it's been a rough week.

Those are all perfect reasons for taking gap years. You don't want to enter med school burnt out! It's only been a couple months into my first year but wow am I glad I took time off. It's also interesting how you can tell who has and hasn't taken gap years. People who have tend to be more mature, not to say those who go straight through aren't awesome as well

+ make some moneys so I can drink a little during my medical education

I also got married though lol.

Hahah happy hours have made drinking much more accessible in med school. Congrats on getting married!

 

[JB50]

Those are all perfect reasons for taking gap years. You don't want to enter med school burnt out! It's only been a couple months into my first year but wow am I glad I took time off. It's also interesting how you can tell who has and hasn't taken gap years. People who have tend to be more mature, not to say those who go straight through aren't awesome as well


Hahah happy hours have made drinking much more accessible in med school. Congrats on getting married!

Thanks for the congrats! Actually just had the wedding three weeks ago lol. She's a nurse possibly going back for her NP so we will have some extra booze money while we go through the grind

 

[JB50]

premed struggles

Take a gap year. There is no downside to taking a gap year. For those that say blah blah financially blah blah it hurts you in the long run blah blah then work an extra year.

Anyhow, traveling with a job can be difficult unless you (a) have a job online or are self employed or (b) don't need a job cuz you have cash.

If there is anything you want to do in life while young, do it during your gap year! The next phase of your life is so much of a cluster bomb you won't have time. Go do what you want to do for a year (affording it obviously) but you will never regret it. It also gives you time to spend away from your family and have time for yourself, becoming more used to being by yourself without family influence.

Me and my wife are both working before we move and I head back to school. We can't travel but we're doing things that we know we won't be able to do while I'm in school (she might be too). Camping, road trips, etc.

My gap year has been incredible and it's only been 1/3 of it. I'll be excited to go back next fall/summer.


Just my 0.02 though. You sound like you need a break

 

[tessellations]

Just my 0.02 though. You sound like you need a break

Yeah, I definitely do. A lot of this thinking has been happening because I have 4 exams over the course of 6 days and it has been rough. Plus it's finally hitting me that time is starting to run up on me deciding whether I want to apply this year. I love learning, but it can take its toll. Med schools aren't leaving anytime soon. Might as well do some living before I delve back in to the grind.

I've already started thinking about what I would do with a gap year, so I think I'm starting to make my mind up in favor of one. That realization is a surprising relief.

 

[tessellations]

Sorry to bump this thread again, but after flip flopping a bit and talking to my adviser, I've finally made the decision to take a gap year. Thank you all so much for the wonderful and encouraging advice. I haven't decided what I'm going to do during the gap year yet, but I feel a lot better now that I've finally made up my mind.

 

[Frogger27]

Sorry to bump this thread again, but after flip flopping a bit and talking to my adviser, I've finally made the decision to take a gap year. Thank you all so much for the wonderful and encouraging advice. I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet, but I feel a lot better now that I've finally made up my mind.

You will not regret it! Enjoy your senior year and make sure to find something to get involved in that you will enjoy next year... good luck!