Gap year questions

[throwaway0604]

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Hi all,
Long time lurker with a first post here.
I am in my junior year and am planning on taking a gap year. I have a 4.0 gpa and im taking the MCAT in april and practices have shown 517-521.

I am thinking about gap year options and and wondering if it would be crazy to take a gap year before my senior year and work as a CNA, then do my senior year and enter med school right after graduation. The way I see it, this would allow more clinical hours to be on my application. Would this be looked down upon by schools? If I do the gap year after my senior year I would also work as a CNA. And if this is not an issue, why do more people not do this?

 

[Isoval]

I think it'll look great. Just make sure you're shored up on all of your bases in that year.

Hi all,
Long time lurker with a first post here.
I am in my junior year and am planning on taking a gap year. I have a 4.0 gpa and im taking the MCAT in april and practices have shown 517-521.

I am thinking about gap year options and and wondering if it would be crazy to take a gap year before my senior year and work as a CNA, then do my senior year and enter med school right after graduation. The way I see it, this would allow more clinical hours to be on my application. Would this be looked down upon by schools? If I do the gap year after my senior year I would also work as a CNA. And if this is not an issue, why do more people not do this?

Because we're greedy, impatient premeds 🙂. Seriously, though - today, more than ever, non-traditional applicants who have taken at least one gap year since graduation are gaining admission to medical school. @gonnif probably has the numbers handy, but I believe we're down to just 40% of all matriculants being traditional, and that number is decreasing.

 

[throwaway0604]

Don't take your gap year before graduation. I'm pretty sure that if you aren't on track to graduate at the time you apply you can't be accepted, and despite being in good standing at the time you left school, not being enrolled means not on track to graduate, technically speaking.

However taking a gap year to get some clinical experience won't hurt you at all, just make sure it is after graduation.

I think I could still technically be enrolled just defer a year. But you may be right. Maybe I should talk to a counselor.

 

[DetroitDoc1993]

Pretty interesting to do a gap year before you graduate I am not sure i've seen that done before but I'm sure someone has done it. But my question is, why take a gap year in between is it because you do not have enough clinical hours before applying? If not then just take the gap year after you graduate I am not sure how admissions committees look at extending the time to graduate to take a gap year but my inclination is to say they would prefer to see you finish school first. Contact a med school adviser and see their opinion I used to call schools on occasion for questions I had.

 

[21Rush12]

What clinical work and exposure do you have?

People don’t do this because if you can get in without it based on prior experience, you’re adding a year of attending salary to your lifetime earnings. Also CNA is a tough and poorly paying job that won’t be the best use of your employment. Scribe is all the rage these days (0% original, but oh well).