GAP YEAR HELP!!

[butterfly222]

hi everyone!

I am currently a senior in college majoring in biology with a minor in psychology. I plan on taking a gap year before dental school to strength my application, gain more shadowing hours, do more volunteering, travel, work, save money, and just give myself a well needed mental break. If I were to apply in June 2023 after graduating in May 2023, how would I add my gap year experience to my application? Do I need to wait and apply in June 2024? Is it just enough to discuss what I did during my gap year in interviews? Any & every feedback is appreciated!!

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[Ryxndek]

The application lets you add more experiences after you submit. But it doesn’t let you subtract. They send it out in batches I believe during academic updates where they’ll update the schools on your new grades and experiences. I’m not sure if adding just a new experience is automatically updated to schools or if they wait until the academic update period.

 

[Kenshen]

You can only list experiences that you have already done on your application or currently doing at the time of applying. Yes you can add more later, but like Ryxndek said, schools might not see all those updates or have moved on to the next more experienced applicant. The only thing you can enter early on your application are classes you plan to take. I would think it would be smarter to apply in June 2024 since you will have much more time and experiences under your belt. You can only be a first-time applicant once, so it's better to take your time and have an amazing application then rush it and have a so-so one and possibly have to reapply.

 

[Ryxndek]

I think it’s also a good idea to point out the costs of applying. Just to get where I am in the cycle I’ve spent probably close to 5,000$ just for 9 schools. That’s everything from DAT course prep, traveling to take my DAT, registering for the actual exam which isn’t cheap. Applying to schools and paying supplemental fees on top of that and also traveling either for interviews or required in-person tours. So make sure you factor that in! You can retake DAT 3 times which would cost around $1,000 to do and you can only do it every 3 months. So the process is time consuming and expensive and reapplying could be more expensive with inflation shooting up. Just make sure if you wanna apply this spring that you have all your things ready and apply as soon as possible due to the rolling admissions. Goodluck!

 

[butterfly222]

The application lets you add more experiences after you submit. But it doesn’t let you subtract. They send it out in batches I believe during academic updates where they’ll update the schools on your new grades and experiences. I’m not sure if adding just a new experience is automatically updated to schools or if they wait until the academic update period.

Okay! Thank you so much I appreciate the feedback!!

 

[butterfly222]

You can only list experiences that you have already done on your application or currently doing at the time of applying. Yes you can add more later, but like Ryxndek said, schools might not see all those updates or have moved on to the next more experienced applicant. The only thing you can enter early on your application are classes you plan to take. I would think it would be smarter to apply in June 2024 since you will have much more time and experiences under your belt. You can only be a first-time applicant once, so it's better to take your time and have an amazing application then rush it and have a so-so one and possibly have to reapply.

Makes a lot of sense. I like how you mentioned "you can only be a first-time applicant once" that statement alone is so true and exactly why I want to make sure my application is the best it can be while applying and not rush the process. Thank you so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!!

 

[butterfly222]

I think it’s also a good idea to point out the costs of applying. Just to get where I am in the cycle I’ve spent probably close to 5,000$ just for 9 schools. That’s everything from DAT course prep, traveling to take my DAT, registering for the actual exam which isn’t cheap. Applying to schools and paying supplemental fees on top of that and also traveling either for interviews or required in-person tours. So make sure you factor that in! You can retake DAT 3 times which would cost around $1,000 to do and you can only do it every 3 months. So the process is time consuming and expensive and reapplying could be more expensive with inflation shooting up. Just make sure if you wanna apply this spring that you have all your things ready and apply as soon as possible due to the rolling admissions. Goodluck!

Thank you for replying again, Ryxndek . I am currently in the process of studying for my DAT so I 100% understand what you mean about the cost of things, my bank account is already screaming lol. With me being about to take the DAT in November, do you think it'll look okay on my application that I took the test in 2022 if I do choose to apply in June of 2024? I am a first-gen college student and trying to figure the ins and outs of things on my own is stressing me way out. Thank you again!

 

[Ryxndek]

Thank you for replying again, Ryxndek . I am currently in the process of studying for my DAT so I 100% understand what you mean about the cost of things, my bank account is already screaming lol. With me being about to take the DAT in November, do you think it'll look okay on my application that I took the test in 2022 if I do choose to apply in June of 2024? I am a first-gen college student and trying to figure the ins and outs of things on my own is stressing me way out. Thank you again!

Honestly, it's not a problem, you just want to ensure that the score will still count for that cycle. ADEA and AADSAS will give you 3 years for your exam to be valid. So you should be fine for a 2024 application cycle so long as you apply early (I don't think schools really care when you took it so long as it's a valid score during that timeframe of applying)! I feel you as a first gen college student. While I am not for undergrad, I am first gen prehealth and so I feel your pain navigating all of the resources you need for this!

 

[butterfly222]

Honestly, it's not a problem, you just want to ensure that the score will still count for that cycle. ADEA and AADSAS will give you 3 years for your exam to be valid. So you should be fine for a 2024 application cycle so long as you apply early (I don't think schools really care when you took it so long as it's a valid score during that timeframe of applying)! I feel you as a first gen college student. While I am not for undergrad, I am first gen prehealth and so I feel your pain navigating all of the resources you need for this!

Good to know! & Yes, it is a lot, but we got this!! Thank you SO much for everything!