Any undergrad burn outs recover during a gap year?

[cryhavoc]

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I decided to apply my senior year so I could sneak a year of research in. So it looks like I'll be taking a gap year and just working, volunteering and taking it a bit easy. Go on a few trips.

My question is: Did you take a gap year, and if so, did it help you recover from undergrad burn out? I'm so burnt out right now. I feel stretched so thin, like butter over too much bread. I want to see the mountains again, Gandalf, the mountains!

Back to my point, I'm usually a very high-energy person. I just don't feel like myself anymore. I'm still getting good grades my senior year but I feel so fatigued. Will a gap year help me recover?

 

[redvelvet89]

Definitely.

 

[Tri4thlete]

I think a gap year is the best thing that can happen. I also took a gap year and decided to work in an ER/travel/party my a$$ off. Definitely worth it. I am extremely focused and determined to do well right now in med school. I can study long hours again. During undergrad, I was taking 18-20 credits (majored in computer science and biology, two really tough degrees at my undergrad institution), worked two jobs simultaneously, competed in cross country/track, and tried to maintain a social life. I was burnt out to say the least.

Don't let anyone tell you taking a gap year is "bad." Enjoy it and do things you won't be able to do in med school. Then do work once you get in. Cheers.

 

[lorddisick]

I agree 100% with the above posters! I graduated from undergrad in May and decided to take a gap year, and I can honestly say it was one of the best (if not the best) decision I've ever made. I was SO burned out at the end of undergrad. I really needed some time to regain my sanity before the craziness that is medical school. Now, I'm working at a hospital and am financially independent for the first time in my life, read books in my free time, have learned to cook, and am even taking a hip-hop dance class. I have two acceptances so far, and I'm enjoying the time before I start medical school in July or August! Taking a gap year is one of the best things you can do for yourself in my opinion, especially if you're burned out the way you say you are. Enjoy it! It's the one year of your twenties that you'll get to yourself haha

 

[Life Eternal]

I decided to apply my senior year so I could sneak a year of research in. So it looks like I'll be taking a gap year and just working, volunteering and taking it a bit easy. Go on a few trips.

My question is: Did you take a gap year, and if so, did it help you recover from undergrad burn out? I'm so burnt out right now. I feel stretched so thin, like butter over too much bread. I want to see the mountains again, Gandalf, the mountains!

Back to my point, I'm usually a very high-energy person. I just don't feel like myself anymore. I'm still getting good grades my senior year but I feel so fatigued. Will a gap year help me recover?

Yes, the gap year will help. I felt fully recovered about eight months after I graduated college.

 

[Stlblues17]

Agree with other posters here. I took a gap year (and a half). I'll be starting school this coming fall (c/o 2019), I am so ready to start school again. I too have been working FT in the ER and being dad to a two year old.. So yes I am ready to finally be in med school. Like you, I too experienced undergrad burnout. Felt like I was running in place and going nuts wondering if it would come to fruition.

Keep your head up, it'll get better (recovery that is)

 

[Thought Crime Spree]

I'm a non trad and had time between undergrad and med school. I think time spent living life is great and well worth it. Just want to make a point - if you are burned out from undergrad med school is going to jack you up. Think about strategies and what went wrong to get you feeling the way you do now.

 

[jqueb29]

I was pissed that I had to take a gap year but it definitely did allow me to get over my academic burn out and hit the ground running

 

[JimmyB123]

Plot twist: my last year of undergrad was a breeze. my gap year is extremely difficult

 

[redpanda]

I'm a non trad and had time between undergrad and med school. I think time spent living life is great and well worth it. Just want to make a point - if you are burned out from undergrad med school is going to jack you up. Think about strategies and what went wrong to get you feeling the way you do now.

This here, many times over. You need to figure out why undergrad made you feel "burnt out" and what you can do to make it not happen again. Unfortunately, undergrad is vacation compared to med school. If you don't think about how to prevent this, a gap year(s) doesn't prevent med school from falling on you like a ton of bricks.