4 year gap on resume due to depression.

[Systemic]

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I'm wondering how large gaps on a resume are perceived due to health issues such as major depression.

This is something that happened to me after college. My GPA and MCAT were great and I was very active with ECs, shadowing, etc. Then I graduated....and things started to change. I became withdrawn, anxious, and developed an extremely negative outlook. I didn't think I was worthy of doing anything in life despite the success I had in college. Other things happened, but in short, there was a long 4 years after college in which I was in a bad place. About the only meaningful thing I did during this time was a part-time retail job for a year.

However, about 14 months ago, I got some help from some family and friends. I started seeing a professional and started taking medication and have improved immensely. I have since retaken the MCAT and scored very well, and have LORs and everything else in place for this upcoming application cycle. I've also been working as a phlebotomy technician for the past 10 months.

But I have this 4 year period where not much happened and I'm not sure how to explain it. I want to be honest and explain why this gap exists, but I don't want to receive any type of discrimination or anything with ADCOMS thinking I'm mentally not stable enough for medical school because of my prior medical history.

I would appreciate any advice on how to handle this matter. Thank you.

 

[deleted972488]

It doesn’t look good and you probably will need to explain it at some point. I would try to not bring attention to it, and, if asked, I would keep it vague and say “health issues.”

 

[LizzyM]

You can be vague in terms of the exact medical condtion but you should have something in the personal statement given that otherwise the gap in your work-activities section of the AMCAS leaves a big question mark. It could be something like this:

"Shortly after college graduation I developed a chronic condition that went untreated for some time and that was very debilitating. I've been under a doctor's care since [month year], treatment has been successful in getting my symptoms under control and the doctor tells me that my prognosis is good. I am grateful for ..."

The point is you could have major depression, or irritable bowel syndrome, or epilepsy. It shouldn't matter. The point is that you were sick, you were treated and you have a bright future. You could have a relapse, but so could someone with any of those other conditions.

 

[Phoebus Apollo]

Glad that an adcom weighed on this. I very much think this should not be a deal breaker on your application, even if it does present a challenge.

The most important thing that you can do now—and that you are doing!—is showing that you’re ready to invest yourself again in rigorous professional challenges. The fact that you’ve been working as a tech and that you did well on the MCAT will be compelling to adcoms, I would think.

On another note, major props to you for all the hard work/strength that I’m sure it’s taken (and continues to take) to combat your mental health disorders. The fact that you found yourself in a dark place for a long time but have managed to pull yourself upward says a lot about how strong and tenacious you are. Keep it up. YOU ARE WORTHY.