Gap year??? really??

[starnova]

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I'm so confused at this point. If I were to apply in June as a senior, that means I would have a gap year before actually starting dental school.......right? Is this the same for all?? Med school, optometry school, pharm school??? Thanks in advance.

 

[tommyinVA]

If by "senior" you mean you're about to graduate in a week, then yes, you'll have a gap year. All the students that have actually be successful in undergrad and have committed to the goal of a health professional school from day one will have applied the summer between their junior and senior year. That way if they're accepted they'll begin DS the fall immediately after they graduate.

 

[cmF]

Yes. If you're a senior graduating this summer, the earliest you can enroll in any DS is fall 2014. I'm can't say for certain about medical, optometry, or pharm but this is definitely true for dental school. Don't worry about having a gap year though. According to the 2012 ADEA Guide, the average age for first year students is between the ages of 24-25. Finishing a science undergrad in four years plus getting all of your shadowing, research, volunteering, ECs, DAT studying all by the time you're 22 and enrolling in DS the upcoming fall is very rare, (you'd have to apply as a junior). Most people will spend five years doing their undergraduate coursework and fulfilling their pre-dental requirements. At that point, people can either apply or take a gap year depending on how strong they feel their application is.

 

[JAWSSS]

Are you saying that you thought the application cycle was going to open in June, you were going to receive interviews late-June, you were going to get your offer of acceptance in July, and then you were going to start school in August?

If you are senior about to graduate, you will have to apply this summer and then sit back for a year and wait. If you don't get accepted, you will reapply and take another gap year and wait some more.

 

[ATG20]

Are you saying that you thought the application cycle was going to open in June, you were going to receive interviews late-June, you were going to get your offer of acceptance in July, and then you were going to start school in August?

If you are senior about to graduate, you will have to apply this summer and then sit back for a year and wait. If you don't get accepted, you will reapply and take another gap year and wait some more.

I lol'd when I read the original question too. That would be ideal, but no. I'm taking a gap year, and it was a good decision. It has let me work full-time, pay off my undergrad debt, and knock out some things I could never do while an undergraduate.

A gap year isn't a bad thing at all. Take it in stride and be glad you don't have to arrange interviews around midterm dates.

 

[NDPitch]

I worked a full time job for over three years before pursuing dental school. Gap years are not bad things. They allow you to see what the world is really like. "Real jobs", obligations, bills, the omnipresent Uncle Sam, etc etc

 

[ATG20]

NDPitch, I couldn't agree more. I've worked full time in college too, but my gap year had me living alone and repaying loans and my car. It's a valuable lesson and definitely motivates me to exceed and enjoy school the second time around.

 

[John Durian]

i'd say go travel... live the life of a vagabond

 

[UltimateHombre]

i'd say go travel... live the life of a vagabond

👍

If i didn't have obligations like work and a wife, i would totally love to do something like Craiglist Joe. Watch it on Netfilx, if you have never seen it.

 

[RespectDent]

I say that you go and enjoy someone that you want to do, but just haven't had the time. You could look at one year not in school as a bad thing, but you could look at it like it gives you the freedom to something that you want and will probably never get the chance to do again. Enjoy some freedom while you have it🙂