Do most people take gap years?

[FutureDOCTORR123456789]

All I ever hear are people taking gap years and being nontrad, where are the trad people, I like to think I'm doing somewhat decent but I wanna hear from traditional applicants, what numbers they hit how'd they know that they didn't need to take a gap year. thank uuu

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[ecobio]

i think the average age of a med school matriculant is ~24. gap years are definitely becoming more and more common, but there are plenty of students go go straight through from undergrad as well. it depends on how early you start gaining experience and how well you can reflect on them

 

[carson16666]

I'm a traditional applicant and personally I had plenty of hours to apply without gap years (~1000 clinical & research hours by end of college), but taking one was lowkey the best decision of my life. It's been so fun and a nice break from school, highly recommend. And yes most people take at least one.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Depending on who you talk to, it's a bit over half of the applicant pool. Depending on who you talk to, it's more than half of the matriculants.

I know I have that data filed somewhere (MSQ I think?)...

 

[FutureDOCTORR123456789]

Depending on who you talk to, it's a bit over half of the applicant pool. Depending on who you talk to, it's more than half of the matriculants.

I know I have that data filed somewhere (MSQ I think?)...

Thank you!!!

 

[FutureDOCTORR123456789]

I'm a traditional applicant and personally I had plenty of hours to apply without gap years (~1000 clinical & research hours by end of college), but taking one was lowkey the best decision of my life. It's been so fun and a nice break from school, highly recommend. And yes most people take at least one.

oh wow good to hear, if u don't mind me asking where'd u decide to go?

 

[TheRealBibFortuna]

I'm a traditional applicant and personally I had plenty of hours to apply without gap years (~1000 clinical & research hours by end of college), but taking one was lowkey the best decision of my life. It's been so fun and a nice break from school, highly recommend. And yes most people take at least one.

For the sake of making an extra informative thread, I wanted to add a counter perspective.

I did not have the hours or ECs to apply right out of undergrad. I could’ve maybe gotten into my IS MD school, but it was far from a guarantee. I made the difficult decision to take two gap years post grad (one to build my application, and one to apply). It took me that first year to add 300 hours of non clinical, 350 hours of clinical, and 1000 research hours, as well as studying for and retaking the MCAT.

I hated my two gap years. While all my college friends were moving forward with their lives, I was living with my parents, grinding underpaid employment, wondering if it would all end up mattering in the end. My mental health was brought the lowest it’s ever been, and even after I got my first A in October, I still feel like I’m in limbo until school starts.

Gap years are what you make of them, but I was clearly not cut out for it. The average age of the school I’m starting at is 23 and I wouldn’t be surprised if the median was 22 (I got called old by a few college seniors at Second Look and I’m 23). Not sure I’d do it over again, given the chance.

 

[2026PreMed]

All I ever hear are people taking gap years and being nontrad, where are the trad people, I like to think I'm doing somewhat decent but I wanna hear from traditional applicants, what numbers they hit how'd they know that they didn't need to take a gap year. thank uuu

I dont think ive actually met many traditional applicants due to the fact that people normally have far better stats the older they are.

I do anticipate the average age of med school matriculatns will continue to increase. According to my local med school, the average age of their starting MS-1 cohort last year was 26

 

[LizzyM]

From the other side, the mentors of the M1 and M2 students at my school have noted that those who had gap years and were employed during that time are the stronger and more capable students of their cohorts.