Gap Year Options While Re-applying

[ctrlaltdlt]

I'm a current senior about to graduate from college and am worried that I may have to re-apply in June. I've been waitlisted at 3 schools and have 2 pending decisions. While I am hoping I get off a waitlist or get an acceptance from my other 2 schools, I feel, like many others in a similar position, that it is important to prepare to re-apply and figure out a backup plan. That said, I'm looking for your thoughts on what would be good gap year options.

I have strong volunteering, research, and clinical experiences already on my application so I am not sure what I can do to strengthen my application for the next cycle. I have a feeling that my interviews did not go as well as I had hoped for, which led to the waitlists, but am unsure about how a gap year might strengthen these skills. Ideally, I hope to earn some money if I have to take a year off, so as to save. Also, I am from SoCal and would like to stay in this area. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

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[Admissions to Medicine]

Waitlisting by three school strongly signals bad interviewing skills. Were you not able to back up elements in your application? Do you get overly nervous? My guess, based upon past experiences, is that you probably did not come off as highly focused. This will be especially true if your volunteering, research and clinical experiences are all from different fields and you were asked to discuss each. - Admissions to Medicine

 

[ctrlaltdlt]

Waitlisting by three school strongly signals bad interviewing skills. Were you not able to back up elements in your application? Do you get overly nervous? My guess, based upon past experiences, is that you probably did not come off as highly focused. This will be especially true if your volunteering, research and clinical experiences are all from different fields and you were asked to discuss each. - Admissions to Medicine

I have a feeling it may be the interview as well that is leading to WL. However, I feel like I had my best interview at one of the schools where I was eventually WLed. I don't feel like I get extremely nervous, so perhaps it is a problem with my explanations/answers for interview questions. Do you have suggestions for how to work on interviewing skills in case I need to re-apply next year? Also, what do you mean by highly focused? (like demonstrating a strong interest in a particular specialty or area of study?) I do think that my volunteering/research/clinical interests covered a number of different areas, but that was because I was trying to figure out what I liked. I could probably narrow down my interests to 2-3 over-arching ones, but perhaps that seems like a bit too much still..

 

[cjcarter]

Try setting up some mock interviews with your career center at school

 

[Admissions to Medicine]

Exactly! For the most part, the more concise your story can be the better. This is not to say that you cannot experiment with different areas. However, when submitting your application, the more focused your application is the better. If someone says "I want to be a Cardiologist," and they have worked in the office of a Cardiologist, did research in cardiology, but maybe dabbled in pediatrics , adcoms would more likely admit this applicant than someone who did 10 different things with no rhyme or reason.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

First of all, tough cycle OP. Hopefully you get off a waitlist, but if not my first recommendation is to take a few weeks and take a vacation or hang out and enjoy life a little bit. It will help you recuperate after a long cycle!

For things to do in a gap year: look into AmeriCorps as an option if you are into that. I know 6 of the 18 people in my program were accepted to med school this year and we all had awesome things to talk about in our interviews in terms of our service positions. You wouldn't make any money though

Research is a good option if you are into that. Look into jobs at your school for research assistants.

Try to get a job that follows your goals or current interests. Have fun in your gap year though especially if you don't get in.

Good luck!

 

[BrawnsNBrain]

Save as much money as you can in your gap year and strengthen your app at the same time. Work for a local science/pharm company. Work in a hospital etc... Do things that are second nature to you and that you enjoy (whilst getting paid). I can't stress how important it is to make $$ before school - you can't live off loans & your parents forever.

 

[ctrlaltdlt]

Thanks everyone for the responses so far! I ended up being waitlisted at all 5 of the schools I interviewed at, one which was in the top 20 and the other four being high upper tiers. I think @Admissions to Medicine is right that it was likely the interview skills that are holding me back.

I agree with @BrawnsNBrain that research seems to be the best for saving up some money, especially since I also have undergraduate loans. However, I've done it for 5 years now, in a total of 3 different labs and I'm just not that into it. That was perhaps another weakness in my interview - I likely didn't convey my enthusiasm for my research as well as I could have. In any case, I am looking into scribe positions and perhaps hospital jobs to get more clinical experience, as my long-term goal is to become a great clinician as opposed to academic physician, etc. Any recommendations in Southern California for places to look into would help. Again, thanks to all those that have inputted their thoughts!

 

[pawprint]

Being waitlisted by 5 schools does NOT indicate that you were a bad interviewee. I was waitlisted at 4 schools and each school I interviewed at told me my interviews were great. I had a GPA of 3.5, MCAT 33, and over a thousand hours clinical/volunteering. With so few spots, sometimes qualified people just get passed over to the waitlist. Its unfortunate, but just the way things work nowadays. Not getting into medical school doesnt mean something is wrong with you anymore. There are just so many qualified people, they could pick the next 100 people on their waitlist instead of who was originally accepted and end up with great quality doctors.

 

[Dr Curitas]

Do you have suggestions for how to work on interviewing skills in case I need to re-apply next year?

I agree with previous posts about mock interviews offered by your school's career center or pre-med committee. I asked several different people to do a mock interview with and give feedback on body language, overall attitude and impression of my speech and demeanor. You could record a video of yourself answering some basic questions. I watched a bunch of youtube videos too on interview skills, not just targeted to med school apps--the best ones were showing what not to do. Best to you!