Gap Year- When to Apply?

[ClosetCentrist]

Hello friends,

So here's my situation: I'm a senior, graduating in 2015. My GPA is alright, my MCAT is quite good, but I have no volunteer or clinical hours to speak of, due to a rough transition from HS to College that left me having to focus heavily on my grades to make sure I was even mildly competitive. I'm planning on taking a gap year before I apply in order to devote myself to clinical/volunteering work as well as (hopefully!) getting a scribe position.

So, my question is this: Should I be applying in the summer of 2015, or should I be waiting until 2016? I'm leaning towards 2016, simply because I realize just how important my volunteer and clinical experience will be in applying, and I feel as though it would be a waste of my gap year to only have the first few months of it considered if I submit in 2015. Downsides of 2016 is that I'm putting more time between me and my MCAT, and I'd have another whole year to essentially wait.

So, thoughts?

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[PlaqueBuster]

your mcat is active for 3 years so as long as it isnt expired then you are fine. You can apply in 2015 if you start volunteering/shadowing starting now and then scribe ater you graduate. If you choose to wait until the summer to start anything then i suggest waiting until 2016 to apply

 

[ClosetCentrist]

your mcat is active for 3 years so as long as it isnt expired then you are fine. You can apply in 2015 if you start volunteering/shadowing starting now and then scribe ater you graduate. If you choose to wait until the summer to start anything then i suggest waiting until 2016 to apply

I'd love to start doing all that now, unfortunately I go to a very large school (with lots of premeds) that only has 1 major hospital around it. I was planning to start volunteering this semester, but when I got in contact with the volunteer coordinator she told me there weren't any volunteer openings until January! Shadowing is roughly the same, but I'm planning on doing a bit during my winter break.

 

[DaddyBex28]

I agree with @PlaqueBuster, as long as your MCAT won't be expired then I would wait an additional year. That way you will have 2 years under your belt when you matriculate and an entire year of shadowing/clinical work/volunteering when you actually apply.

 

[Flashfan]

Volunteer at a nursing home or hospice. Not as many premeds like to volunteer where it can be hard, gross work.
There is a chart that shows which school will only accept the new MCAT in 2015 and 2016. That may change your strategy if your IS option no longer accepts your score.

 

[Glandzburg]

Volunteer at a nursing home or hospice. Not as many premeds like to volunteer where it can be hard, gross work.
There is a chart that shows which school will only accept the new MCAT in 2015 and 2016. That may change your strategy if your IS option no longer accepts your score.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/398586/data/mcatexampolicy.pdf

 

[kevinsword91]

Keep in mind when filling out activities on your primary you can list future hours so long as you list the future end dates. For example, while I only had worked two months at my scribe job I was able to list how many I was reasonably expected to work by the time I would matriculate. By the time interviews had rolled around I had 4-5 months of scribing under my belt and was able to speak about my experience as a scribe.

I would also encourage applying for scribe jobs early in the spring. At least in my area many companies had already been filling their vacancies made by the mass exodus of scribes accepted into medical school by April. If you waited and applied in June you may risk having fewer openings available.

However, if you don't have any other significant clinical or volunteer experiences scribing alone will likely not be enough and taking that extra year gives you plenty of time to fill in any deficits in clinical and/or volunteering experience.

 

[Hospitalized]

You should apply June 2015. The gap year is there for you to get experience, and by the time you get interviews, you should have some experience under your belt to talk about.