can unproductive gap year hurt application?

[beyondhuman]

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I was unable to apply last cycle due to financial constraints.
I have had a solid gpa/mcat and EC even before I graduated.

However, since graduating and moving back home (in september) I have been unable to do very much. I live in a very rural area and the employment market and shadowing opportunities are pretty lean.

I have mostly been job hunting, planning my wedding, and spending time with family.

Should I be concerned that this rather unproductive time in my life will mar my otherwise strong application? and if so is there anything I can do about it besides continuing to look for job and shadowing opportunities?

 

[The Kraken]

I was unable to apply last cycle due to financial constraints.
I have had a solid gpa/mcat and EC even before I graduated.

However, since graduating and moving back home (in september) I have been unable to do very much. I live in a very rural area and the employment market and shadowing opportunities are pretty lean.

I have mostly been job hunting, planning my wedding, and spending time with family.

Should I be concerned that this rather unproductive time in my life will mar my otherwise strong application? and if so is there anything I can do about it besides continuing to look for job and shadowing opportunities?

Depends if you're applying to a state school or if you have higher aspirations. Also, define strong.

 

[aspiring20]

I was unable to apply last cycle due to financial constraints.
I have had a solid gpa/mcat and EC even before I graduated.

However, since graduating and moving back home (in september) I have been unable to do very much. I live in a very rural area and the employment market and shadowing opportunities are pretty lean.

I have mostly been job hunting, planning my wedding, and spending time with family.

Should I be concerned that this rather unproductive time in my life will mar my otherwise strong application? and if so is there anything I can do about it besides continuing to look for job and shadowing opportunities?

sounds like meaningful and productive things to me.

 

[yaytiffanyrae]

I was unable to apply last cycle due to financial constraints.
I have had a solid gpa/mcat and EC even before I graduated.

However, since graduating and moving back home (in september) I have been unable to do very much. I live in a very rural area and the employment market and shadowing opportunities are pretty lean.

I have mostly been job hunting, planning my wedding, and spending time with family.

Should I be concerned that this rather unproductive time in my life will mar my otherwise strong application? and if so is there anything I can do about it besides continuing to look for job and shadowing opportunities?

I think that if you can present it in a light that it was time you took for personal endeavors, that can be enriching to the well-roundedness of you as a person part of the application. Also, perhaps you could reflect on or contrast the experience of living in a rural area with where you went to school if it was different.

Maybe there are other types of ways to involved in community or trying new things that aren't necessarily medically related, but display your core values that can be translated to medicine and show you're staying busy.

 

[mcloaf]

I'd get involved in some sort of volunteer position while you look for a job. That's what I did while I job searched and it saved me from having to explain a big gap in my AMCAS activities. I don't know that hanging out with family would be enough evidence that you were using this time productively.

 

[235009]

Depends if you're applying to a state school or if you have higher aspirations. Also, define strong.

you do realize there are many state schools that are more competitive and have higher standards than some private schools. competitiveness is not a matter state vs. private school.

to answer OP's question ...this definitely will not help you. many schools ask about what you have been doing since graduating college on their secondaries. it will depend on how you sell it but odds are it won't sound too great.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

The key is to do something productive with your time. Don't just play video games and hang out with friends all day every day. Immerse yourself in hobbies you never had the time for while in school, learn new skills, or volunteer. Surely there's something you kept wanting to do in undergrad but kept saying to yourself "I don't have the time for that right now". Well, now that you're inbetween schools this is the best chance you're ever going to have (until you retire) to get started on whatever it is you wanted to do, so do it.

 

[Barcu]

It will hurt you. As others have mentioned, finding some productive activities to add like volunteering and/or shadowing is important. You don't have to go crazy, and you should enjoy having a little extra time. Still, maintaining an active application is something that schools will look for.

 

[lobo.solo]

I'd get involved in some sort of volunteer position while you look for a job. That's what I did while I job searched and it saved me from having to explain a big gap in my AMCAS activities. I don't know that hanging out with family would be enough evidence that you were using this time productively.

This^. Also try to find an internship or something like that. I think the point is to show that you are actively engage in something.

 

[Geebeejay]

I was unable to apply last cycle due to financial constraints.
I have had a solid gpa/mcat and EC even before I graduated.

However, since graduating and moving back home (in september) I have been unable to do very much. I live in a very rural area and the employment market and shadowing opportunities are pretty lean.

I have mostly been job hunting, planning my wedding, and spending time with family.

Should I be concerned that this rather unproductive time in my life will mar my otherwise strong application? and if so is there anything I can do about it besides continuing to look for job and shadowing opportunities?

From what I understand, medical schools want to see you doing at least something of "substance", be it working, travelling, learning, etc.