Gap Years Advice

[icicle1]

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Hello!
I am planning on taking 2 gap years as I have not had enough experience in terms of volunteering, clinical experience, and have not yet taken the MCAT. My sGPA is also sub 3.0, and I would either need to do a DIY or SMP with enough credits. I will have to let go of a scribing job (200 hours over 6 months) to pursue a full time remote opportunity thats flexible with hours for around a year. I will volunteer for clinical and non-clinical hours on the weekend to accommodate this.

I was originally planning on applying Spring of 2027 since I was going to scribe, volunteer, complete enough credits, and study for the MCAT to take in September. However, I was wondering how feasible it is to have classes (6-8 credits per semester) if I have to pivot to a full time job and volunteering? I would appreciate advice on a general timeline!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Which classes?

 

[icicle1]

Which classes?

Undergraduate upper level science classes as I have finished my pre-requisites, or SMP classes as the one I have applied to can be completed over 4 semesters.

 

[olofmeister]

Hello!
I am planning on taking 2 gap years as I have not had enough experience in terms of volunteering, clinical experience, and have not yet taken the MCAT. My sGPA is also sub 3.0, and I would either need to do a DIY or SMP with enough credits. I will have to let go of a scribing job (200 hours over 6 months) to pursue a full time remote opportunity thats flexible with hours for around a year. I will volunteer for clinical and non-clinical hours on the weekend to accommodate this.

I was originally planning on applying Spring of 2027 since I was going to scribe, volunteer, complete enough credits, and study for the MCAT to take in September. However, I was wondering how feasible it is to have classes (6-8 credits per semester) if I have to pivot to a full time job and volunteering? I would appreciate advice on a general timeline!

I think 6-8 credits with a full time job should be okay, but if you're studying for the MCAT at the same time, it will be rough to say the least (I speak from experience)

 

[doc_J61]

Hello!
I am planning on taking 2 gap years as I have not had enough experience in terms of volunteering, clinical experience, and have not yet taken the MCAT. My sGPA is also sub 3.0, and I would either need to do a DIY or SMP with enough credits. I will have to let go of a scribing job (200 hours over 6 months) to pursue a full time remote opportunity thats flexible with hours for around a year. I will volunteer for clinical and non-clinical hours on the weekend to accommodate this.

I was originally planning on applying Spring of 2027 since I was going to scribe, volunteer, complete enough credits, and study for the MCAT to take in September. However, I was wondering how feasible it is to have classes (6-8 credits per semester) if I have to pivot to a full time job and volunteering? I would appreciate advice on a general timeline!

What is your overall GPA?

Volunteering on the weekend is a great way to get hours in, but don't let it get in the way of your studying.

Full time job not the greatest idea with all this.
Take a practice MCAT if you have already completed most of the pre-requisite courses and see how you do. Keep in mind that companies like Kaplan, Princeton Review etc. make their practice tests super difficult so that people sign up for the course. 😀 But of course taking a MCAT course is usually a good idea in order to stay on track/disciplined.

In any case, do you already have your degree? Is it in a science discipline? If so, that would make all of this easier. Kind of hard to tell you how long it will take without knowing how many pre-reqs you have already completed.

Advice is buy a MSAR (medical student admissions requirements book) and plan based upon that. It tells you what grades/MCAT scores schools look for, how many IS/OOS students are accepted, how many interviewed vs. accepted, etc. If you can't obtain that, then these forums are in general a good source of information (look at the school specific threads in pre-allo or pre-osteo).

Osteopathic school may be a good option because they accept a lot more non-traditional students, or students who have not matriculated straight out of college.

One last idea is to utilize your undergrad school's pre-med advising office in order to make a plan. You shouldn't have to pay for this. Come prepared with your transcripts from all schools that you have attended, your CV, and any other pertinent info.

Hope that this helped!

 

[icicle1]

What is your overall GPA?

Volunteering on the weekend is a great way to get hours in, but don't let it get in the way of your studying.

Full time job not the greatest idea with all this.
Take a practice MCAT if you have already completed most of the pre-requisite courses and see how you do. Keep in mind that companies like Kaplan, Princeton Review etc. make their practice tests super difficult so that people sign up for the course. 😀 But of course taking a MCAT course is usually a good idea in order to stay on track/disciplined.

In any case, do you already have your degree? Is it in a science discipline? If so, that would make all of this easier. Kind of hard to tell you how long it will take without knowing how many pre-reqs you have already completed.

Advice is buy a MSAR (medical student admissions requirements book) and plan based upon that. It tells you what grades/MCAT scores schools look for, how many IS/OOS students are accepted, how many interviewed vs. accepted, etc. If you can't obtain that, then these forums are in general a good source of information (look at the school specific threads in pre-allo or pre-osteo).

Osteopathic school may be a good option because they accept a lot more non-traditional students, or students who have not matriculated straight out of college.

One last idea is to utilize your undergrad school's pre-med advising office in order to make a plan. You shouldn't have to pay for this. Come prepared with your transcripts from all schools that you have attended, your CV, and any other pertinent info.

Hope that this helped!

My sGPA is a 2.9, and my uGPA is a 3.5. I have completed all of my pre-requisites. My major is not in a science discipline. Overall, I still need to get a lot more hours in (clinical + non-clinical), take the MCAT, and revise my GPA. I was just not sure if doing around 7 credits a semester alongside FT (flexible) work and volunteering on weekends was doable. Thank you for the advice!

 

[chilly_md]

I would recommend about 30 credits in upper division science courses. You will have to see how that works out timeline wise with the college you do this at based on course offerings, scheduling etc. Do not apply until you have completed the last semester as well and it is on your transcript.