I'm thinking of doing Americorps during my application year. A lot of Americorps programs go until the beginning of August. Do most schools start closer to mid-August or would I have to leave the program a couple of weeks early? For those of you who have done Americorps, has ending your service term a few weeks before it's officially over been a problem?
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Americorps gap year question
Started by slz1900
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I did AC, and myself and some other people left the program a little early.
My case was a little different. I had a military obligation, so it was easy to end early, and I got part of my education award.
When you do AC, you have to fill out time-sheets that cover two weeks of work. From what I understand, you just need to fill out at least one hour in that last two week block to actually complete the program (as long as the rest of your hours are already done). So, people in my program were able to take off earlier because they were able to get in one hour. If you really are in a bind, you may be able to work out something with your director. Working from home sometimes could be approved for hours, so maybe you would be able to do something while you were in med school to fulfill that one hour needed.
One person left a few weeks early and didn't technically complete the program. Therefore, they did not get the education award that you get upon completing the program. Other than that, however, there were no consequences. You may not be able to use AC as a good reference later, but once you are in med school, that seems irrelevant. I don't advocate doing this because I feel that you should fulfill obligations if you can. However, this doesn't seem to hurt you too much.
In the end, do AC and don't worry about the start date of med school for now. No, you aren't supposed to leave the program early for grad school, but it happens frequently (it is recognized as a gap year or temporary leave from the work force). Most likely, you will be able to work out a situation where it won't be a problem as long as you aren't deceptive (which you can't be since you don't know when your school will start since you haven't gotten in) and you look for a solution ahead of time before throwing it at them last minute.
Currently doing americorps, but only part time. I already told them about my applying to medical school, so what I have to do is reach a certain number of hours before the program is over to receive the grant at the end. As far as leaving the program early, I told them that might be a possibility so I volunteer for alot more optional events to kind of make up for possibly leaving early. No problems so far 🙂
