Gap year advice

[hope_est]

Hello everyone,

I recently graduated from college, and I am taking two gap years before applying next year. I was wondering if I could receive some advice...

I am currently working as a research assistant (full-time). I also have clinical volunteering at ED 4 hours a week and 1.5 hours at nursing home. It would look like a normal gap year plan, but my situation is a little unique.

I had been studying for the MCAT since February and took it in June, but voided it after I felt that it did not go well as I hoped, which was the main reason for taking another gap year. My practice test score average from June was 505. My GPA is 3.72 cGPA and 3.61 sGPA.

My volunteering experience also needs improvement, as I have: ~100 hours for underprivileged community service (two activities combined) and ~40 hours from clinical volunteering. Current volunteering at ED has been very rewarding, and I can see myself continuing to volunteer until I apply next year.

For clinical experience, I have a total of 40 hours of shadowing and 150 hours of scribing (I lost my scribe job after about a month I started).

On the other hand, my research experience has been about three years with one poster session and symposium attended.

I saw where my application lacked (clinical experience and volunteering), so I tried scribing. However, it did not work out well for me. I also considered other entry-level clinical positions, but after I lost the job, the nature of a clinical entry-level position did not seem to be my fit. Commuting also was a problem... so I got a research assistant job, and actually a lot happier.

However, now I am wondering if this should really be how I am supposed to spend my gap years. As for the MCAT, I am planning to start studying for it again with 2 hours per weekday and >6 hours on weekends. Because I already spent about 4.5 months on the MCAT earlier this year, I am thinking of focusing on practice problems and where I am weak. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[Mwooster]

I am currently working as a research assistant (full-time). I also have clinical volunteering at ED 4 hours a week and 1.5 hours at nursing home. It would look like a normal gap year plan, but my situation is a little unique.

Not to be mean, I know you feel like you're a special snowflake, but I fail to see how your situation is unique. In a nut shell, you're a recent graduate, failed scribe turned research assistant who's studying for the MCAT

Keep up your plan, it sounds feasible and fills in the gaps in your app

 

[hope_est]

Not to be mean, I know you feel like you're a special snowflake, but I fail to see how your situation is unique. In a nut shell, you're a recent graduate, failed scribe turned research assistant who's studying for the MCAT

Keep up your plan, it sounds feasible and fills in the gaps in your app

Thank you for your advice! Also I agree with your description, haha.

 

[ReapPremed]

It seems pretty average. Its good your job and ED volunteering are working for you.

I had some difficulty finding my voice from hospital volunteering alone. I had a really bad PS as a result, and wasn't particularly fulfilled. If you want more service I'd urge you to find a cause you care about, and show longevity and commitment. Maybe it is spooning out food at a soup kitchen. But if it isn't, don't do it because its convenient, or because adcoms are counting the number of times you write "under-served" on your application.

Focus on the MCAT. Perenial re-takes are a hole to dig yourself out of, much like a bad GPA.

 

[TheEpistemologist]

I know you feel like you need to be focusing solely on filling the gaps in your application but take it from someone who is currently in a gap year that your time right now should be more than that. This is the best time to grow up a little more (get a 401k, build credit). Do things you enjoy that you may not have time to do in med school or after! Exs: travel, learn a new and fun skill (swing dancing, underwater basket-weaving), and as cliche as it is... just live. Doing things besides the usual resume builders and MCAT prep will actually benefit your application because it will show admissions that you are more than just a type-A, pre-med robot. It shows them that you are a person.

 

[hope_est]

It seems pretty average. Its good your job and ED volunteering are working for you.

I had some difficulty finding my voice from hospital volunteering alone. I had a really bad PS as a result, and wasn't particularly fulfilled. If you want more service I'd urge you to find a cause you care about, and show longevity and commitment. Maybe it is spooning out food at a soup kitchen. But if it isn't, don't do it because its convenient, or because adcoms are counting the number of times you write "under-served" on your application.

Focus on the MCAT. Perenial re-takes are a hole to dig yourself out of, much like a bad GPA.

Thank you for your response. I have a similar concern about PS, which I completed before deciding to take another gap year, because mine is service oriented while my app is research heavy (I did learn a lot from my volunteer experiences even though the hours weren't a lot). I plan to show longevity and commitment by continuing to volunteer at ED at least for a year... and of course, while studying for the MCAT. Do you think it could be a viable option to quit my job and spend more time on the MCAT (and add 1 or 2 more volunteer positions that I am genuinely interested in)?

I know you feel like you need to be focusing solely on filling the gaps in your application but take it from someone who is currently in a gap year that your time right now should be more than that. This is the best time to grow up a little more (get a 401k, build credit). Do things you enjoy that you may not have time to do in med school or after! Exs: travel, learn a new and fun skill (swing dancing, underwater basket-weaving), and as cliche as it is... just live. Doing things besides the usual resume builders and MCAT prep will actually benefit your application because it will show admissions that you are more than just a type-A, pre-med robot. It shows them that you are a person.

Many people have told me that gap years would be my only chance to have such freedom before the future commitment. But yes, this will be my second official job (with the scribe position being the first) and I have already learned about responsibilities. At the same time, my heart is telling me to start medical school before it becomes three or more gap years, due to a number of outside factors like family. Thank you for your response!

 

[ReapPremed]

Thank you for your response. I have a similar concern about PS, which I completed before deciding to take another gap year, because mine is service oriented while my app is research heavy (I did learn a lot from my volunteer experiences even though the hours weren't a lot). I plan to show longevity and commitment by continuing to volunteer at ED at least for a year... and of course, while studying for the MCAT. Do you think it could be a viable option to quit my job and spend more time on the MCAT (and add 1 or 2 more volunteer positions that I am genuinely interested in)?

Don't quit your day job for MCAT prep and menial volunteering! Working is still an EC. Achieving a strong MCAT while working a job is absolutely doable. I got ~515 working full-time and volunteering 4 hours/week last year. If you want to do more service find something you love to do on a Saturday or Sunday for a few more hours. You'll have a few hundred around 300-400 by your time of application at that rate and surely some meaningful experiences to reflect upon and discuss. If you really hate research, and love service, that's another matter. Look into a more structured, official service program like Americorps maybe?

1) A job is good for your self-esteem, you don't want to go through your 20's feeling like an overgrown child. Even with supportive parents its going to be soul-crushing to ask for pocket change, so you can afford gas, to drive to the hospital to wipe down stretchers. I don't know your financial/family situation but its something to think about.
2) You seem to enjoy it?
3) You'll learn soft-skills (management, organization, leadership) you won't acquire from menial volunteering where you're not trusted or relied upon.
4) Its still a good resume builder, especially if your PI is supportive of your pursuits.
5) As an RA you're developing skills, even if you feel like the PCR monkey you were in undergrad. A lab manager in industry can earn decent income if medicine doesn't work out. No one wants to think about that but its true. MCAT prep, a scribe job, and lots of miscellaneous volunteering are down the toilet if you don't get in.

That's my $0.02. I just don't think two years purely of MCAT prep and unstructured, unskilled volunteer positions alone will serve you well. @TheEpistemologist has a good point. Do you stuff for you, too. Do something cool because its cool.

Planes2Docc has ruminated on this a lot. You should read some of his posts like this one, which may not quite apply to you but is food for thought.

 

[hope_est]

Don't quit your day job for MCAT prep and menial volunteering! Working is still an EC. Achieving a strong MCAT while working a job is absolutely doable. I got ~515 working full-time and volunteering 4 hours/week last year. If you want to do more service find something you love to do on a Saturday or Sunday for a few more hours. You'll have a few hundred around 300-400 by your time of application at that rate and surely some meaningful experiences to reflect upon and discuss. If you really hate research, and love service, that's another matter. Look into a more structured, official service program like Americorps maybe?

1) A job is good for your self-esteem, you don't want to go through your 20's feeling like an overgrown child. Even with supportive parents its going to be soul-crushing to ask for pocket change, so you can afford gas, to drive to the hospital to wipe down stretchers. I don't know your financial/family situation but its something to think about.
2) You seem to enjoy it?
3) You'll learn soft-skills (management, organization, leadership) you won't acquire from menial volunteering where you're not trusted or relied upon.
4) Its still a good resume builder, especially if your PI is supportive of your pursuits.
5) As an RA you're developing skills, even if you feel like the PCR monkey you were in undergrad. A lab manager in industry can earn decent income if medicine doesn't work out. No one wants to think about that but its true. MCAT prep, a scribe job, and lots of miscellaneous volunteering are down the toilet if you don't get in.

That's my $0.02. I just don't think two years purely of MCAT prep and unstructured, unskilled volunteer positions alone will serve you well. @TheEpistemologist has a good point. Do you stuff for you, too. Do something cool because its cool.

Planes2Docc has ruminated on this a lot. You should read some of his posts like this one, which may not quite apply to you but is food for thought.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful and detailed response. I feel better about my current gap year situation now. I do enjoy my research job! I always liked the learning environment and intellectual communication in the field. I was mostly worried about if I was neglecting the volunteer experience, but since quality > quantity, I hope I will be able to convey how rewarding my volunteer activities have been. Also a great point in how a RA position can be more useful in case I end up choosing a different career, which in my case would be going to graduate school. I did read one of the posts Planes2Doc posted, which helped me choose clinical volunteering over other entry-level clinica positions, and I am going to read his other posts soon. Thank you again for your response!

 

[hope_est]

May I also ask for opinions from @gonnif or @LizzyM ? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[hope_est]

My very quick opinion is

1) your scribe job at 150 clinical is nearly worthless; why did you lose it after a month. Risks: it hurts more than help
2) Your shadow hours are fine but dont add to any volunteer service
3) Since students always ask me for a number, my standard advice is 150 clinical volunteer hours and 150 community service hours
4 hours a week volunteering for 50 weeks is 200 hours, which as a full-time worker is reasonable
4) being an MCAT tutor will add very little to your application; @ReapPremed advice is best, keep your day job

Thank you so much for your advice! I lost the job because I was not making enough progress during my training... also I did not particularly like my job.
May I ask you what you mean by "dont add to any volunteer service"? If you meant classify it as clinical experience, not clinical volunteering, then yes, it is clinical experience.

I am afraid I did not talk about being an MCAT tutor -- I am still studying for the test; I was just worried about how I should approach it while having a full-time job. I hope to get 508+ next year. Thank you again for your response!

 

[UniSushi]

Thank you so much for your advice! I lost the job because I was not making enough progress during my training... also I did not particularly like my job.
May I ask you what you mean by "dont add to any volunteer service"? If you meant classify it as clinical experience, not clinical volunteering, then yes, it is clinical experience.

I am afraid I did not talk about being an MCAT tutor -- I am still studying for the test; I was just worried about how I should approach it while having a full-time job. I hope to get 508+ next year. Thank you again for your response!

It's odd...I'm a medical scribe trainer currently taking a gap year.

Most scribe companies would do 3-5 days of classroom training and 4-5 max of clinical training before the trainee goes onto becoming a scribe. During that time, I can't see how you can have 150 hours of "scribe" experience. Given classroom training are about 4-5 hours/day (25 hours max), and each scribe training shift can vary from 6-12 hours/shift (60 hours max), that's approximately 85 hours in just "training" and not an official scribing position. If you haven't finished training before you stopped being a "scribe", I can't see how you worked for 150 hours unless I'm missing something here. Are you sure you are reporting your hours correctly? It's smart to put accurate information in your application, or leave it out completely if it doesn't help you in any way.

Edit: I apologize @hope_est . I didn't think about scribe positions without a company.

 

[hope_est]

It's odd...I'm a medical scribe trainer currently taking a gap year.

Most scribe companies would do 3-5 days of classroom training and 4-5 max of clinical training before the trainee goes onto becoming a scribe. During that time, I can't see how you can have 150 hours of "scribe" experience. Given classroom training are about 4-5 hours/day (25 hours max), and each scribe training shift can vary from 6-12 hours/shift (60 hours max), that's approximately 85 hours in just "training" and not an official scribing position. If you haven't finished training before you stopped being a "scribe", I can't see how you worked for 150 hours unless I'm missing something here. Are you sure you are reporting your hours correctly? It's smart to put accurate information in your application, or leave it out completely if it doesn't help you in any way.

That 150 hours were estimate, and I think it's probably between 120-130. I was not doing it though a scribe company, so I was able to be trained for about 3-4 weeks (full-time) for scribe training (scribing with supervision) and I counted them as clinical hours. I am not including it on my resume/application.

 

[UniSushi]

That 150 hours were estimate, and I think it's probably between 120-130. I was not doing it though a scribe company, so I was able to be trained for about 3-4 weeks (full-time) for scribe training (scribing with supervision) as clinical hours. I am not including it on my resume/application.

To help with the volunteering opportunity search, I will leave this link here for you and any other people who may be looking for clinical volunteering opportunities.

Volunteer | National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics

PLEASE only apply to a volunteer position if you can follow through with it for a given period of time. It takes time and effort for those arranging training/volunteer on-board processes for volunteers.
Do it because you want to, not just to put it on your resume/application. Volunteering in something that you're not particularly interested in can lead to you quitting after a short time. A good way to go about it would be to find a clinic with a volunteer opportunity that is the best fit for you/gets you most excited.