Application Year: can I go abroad?

[anashpiano]

I am hoping to apply for MD/PhD programs this coming application cycle, and as of right now I have most of my application lined up. Before I jump into such a long and involved program, I know I would like to spend some time traveling and hopefully working abroad. In particular, I would really like to work on my Spanish and/or French and get more medical experience in an international setting. I'm also really interested in collaborative research across international boundaries, so any exposure to that would be amazing.

However, doing anything like this would require me to quit my current job, so going for the year of application (right up until matriculation) would be extremely convenient. I don't know how feasible it is to be out of the country during the application year, with secondary applications and interviews to worry about.

- Has anyone out there spent time abroad during the application year?
- Is the interview period predictable enough that it is possible to plan around it?
- If this is impossible to do, how likely is it that medical schools will allow me to defer for a year?
- Does anyone have any advice for how to lose the travel bug before medical and graduate school?

I know it might be impossible without delaying my application, but I'd really like to give it a try if I can work it out. Thank you in advance for your help!

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[blee]

I would say it's impossible, but it may depend on your travel arrangements and the number of interviews to which you're invited. For a brief period prime interview season, I was out of town roughly every two weeks, and once I had two interviews in two different cities four days apart. I was lucky to have a job that was understanding and flexible.

You do have some latitude when scheduling interviews, but not a lot of it. So unless you have the means to fly back to the states routinely, you'll save yourself a lot of headaches by staying put.

On the deferment thing, you can be considered for a deferment once you're accepted. You need to have a good reason, though; typically it's not enough just to want to travel, but this definitely depends on the school.