Applying while taking a year off abroad

[sunnycold]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi, I just graduated from college and will be spending this coming year (July '07-July '08) abroad. I am also planning on applying to medical schools this year. I was hoping to get some advice from anyone who has been in this situation. Some specifics questions I had:

1) Will medical schools be sending me a lot of snail mail? And would they be willing to send it overseas?

2) Interviews - I'm hoping to squeeze in all of my interviews when I'm home for Winter Break (around January or so). Would schools be willing to accommodate this?

As I type this I'm realizing I probably should ask the schools I am applying to directly. But nevertheless I would really appreciate any personal advice from anyone who has applied while abroad. Thanks!

 

[MChitty]

I'm not sure if you have a pre-med adviser, but I would definitely talk to this person about the timing. They also might have experience with this particular situation.

My roommate who's in med school applied while in the Peace Corps. From my understanding, she had to give up some interviews because she was only able to make one trip back to the states. I believe she also corresponded with a family member relatively frequently in order to stay on top of the snail mail stuff.

As far as method of receiving applications, from last year, most secondaries came as email, but some required that you print them out and mail them in. Some allowed you to submit them online and a few came in the mail. Regarding interviews, that also varies per school. If you have gotten an interview offer before you come home, you may be able to change it, but if they don't offer it to you before December, I think it would be hard to request a date. As you said, talking to the schools may be easier.

 

[Depakote]

Hi, I just graduated from college and will be spending this coming year (July '07-July '08) abroad. I am also planning on applying to medical schools this year. I was hoping to get some advice from anyone who has been in this situation. Some specifics questions I had:

1) Will medical schools be sending me a lot of snail mail? And would they be willing to send it overseas?

2) Interviews - I'm hoping to squeeze in all of my interviews when I'm home for Winter Break (around January or so). Would schools be willing to accommodate this?

As I type this I'm realizing I probably should ask the schools I am applying to directly. But nevertheless I would really appreciate any personal advice from anyone who has applied while abroad. Thanks!

I'm sorry to say this but your plan sounds tremendously difficult.

1.) you will get a mix of paper and electronic secondaries. I cannot speak to whether schools willing to send them overseas, you should contact the individual schools regarding this.

2.) interviews are typically granted at the discretion of the school. you may be lucky enough to have been invited to some before December, but not all schools will have reviewed your file before then, many schools interview well into May. Additionally, most schools have a winter break and do not conduct interviews during that time frame. I wouldn't count on being able to interview solely during that period.

 

[MadridChic]

I am entering med school this fall and applied this cycle while living in Spain. It was probably a little bit more difficult that it would have been had I been in the U.S., but certainly not impossible. I would suggest that you turn in your AMCAS as soon as posisble because the earlier you get invited for an interview, the more flexibility you have in asking for specific dates. I turned my AMCAS in on the first day possible and was able to come home to CA and do all 5 UC interviews in one week. I had to come back twice to do a few more on the East coast, but it wasn´t too bad. Living in a major city abroad makes a huge difference in travel options though, so do keep that in mind. In general, schools were very accomodating in allowing me to change the interview dates when I explained I was living abroad.
In terms of snail mail, I gave schools my parent´s address and had them open everything because most places will not send materials abroad. I had to call schools a few times, but I just used Skype and it was never really a problem.
Overall, I would say it takes a little more effort, but living abroad for a year has been fabulous and it was definitely worth spending a little more money and crossing the Atlantic a few times in the fall. I also have to say that my interviewers were generally very impressed when I mentioned that I flew in from Madrid to be interviewed, and it certainly lets them know that you are genuinely interested in attending their school. Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[musiclink213]

It will be really hard to squeeze in interviews at once. Also, the earlier you interview, the better. If you get an offer in September, do you really want to put it off for a few months? You could always go abroad the second half of the year, assuming you get an acceptance early on. I figure the processis difficult enoguh, why make it even more difficult?

 

[carramrod]

I just finished applying while spending a year in the UK. It's definitely possible, but will add some hassle. A couple pieces of advice from my experience:

1-I definitely second the idea that if you can have someone in the US (parents maybe?) as your AMCAS contact address, have mail sent to them and then they can forward it to you. This allows you to respond via email or phone to anything extremely time sensitive while also letting you take care of paper secondaries, etc.
2-Is it possible for you to plan a week off in the fall and/or spring to come back for interviews? I found that some schools could accommodate during winter break, but each place is different as to when they are out of session for their own holiday so you can't definitely count on doing it all in December/January.
3-Send a letter to each school along with your secondary explaining your situation and listing dates you plan to be in the US should they decide to interview you. Don't sound presumptuous obviously, but letting them know in advance will help.
4-If your schools are bunched geographically (thinking broadly in your case, like 'northeast' or 'west coast') and one gives you an interview and you know you're back in the US for some time, contact the others in the region and ask if your file could be screened for interview around those dates. The worst they can say is no.

Generally, if you're willing to accept a slightly larger travel budget and the fact that you'll be sleep deprived for some of your interviews (interviewing on 8 hrs of jet lag isn't as fun as you'd think), its definitely feasible and most schools will understand. Good Luck.

 

[sunnycold]

Wow, it's so reassuring to hear from people who have already gone through the application process while living abroad. Thanks for all of your comments!

I do realize that the application process is difficult already but I really don't want to wait another year to matriculate... Although now I am starting to second-guess myself. I guess I just have to think about whether the cons of applying from overseas outweigh the cons of pushing back the application process another year. Any other thoughts, anyone?