How do gap years work?

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NeurosciencePrincess

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I am currently thinking about doing a gap year. I want to take the MCAT my senior year after studying all summer. I want to apply to medical schools at the end of my senior year.

Once i graduate does what I do (scribing, research, etc) during that extra year even matter since my applications are already in?

I have been researching gap years but I havent found much information about applying after fourth year instead of waiting a whole year and then applying.

If you have done a gap year can you tell me about your experience?

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Once i graduate does what I do (scribing, research, etc) during that extra year even matter since my applications are already in?

Yes definitely! So when you fill out AMCAS, you can project your total hours for your activities to show that you will be continuing them during your gap year. If you start new activities after submitting AMCAS, you will have great material for your secondaries and/or interviews.

If you have done a gap year can you tell me about your experience?

I took about 1.5 years off as I graduated from undergrad a semester early. Decided on medical school pretty late in the game so I knew I needed it. During this time, I volunteered in a free clinic and hospital lab, worked as an ED scribe, and did psychology research. I also used that extra semester to really focus on the MCAT. For me, it was a great decision because I was kinda burned out from undergrad and needed a break so I could hit the ground running once school began. Just stay busy and soak up the world outside of the classroom as much as you can!
 
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Does this mean you want to apply in June of Senior Year and Take MCAT the following August?

I think OP means study junior summer, take the MCAT senior fall, and apply the summer after graduation.
 
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Definitely recommend getting more clinical experience. Almost every secondary asks what you have been doing or plan on doing in your time off if you take a gap year, so it is important to have something to put there that will make you look better, like scribing, research, volunteering, shadowing, etc.

Also, the more time you can spend studying for the MCAT, the better. Obviously. Taking it in the fall is a great idea cause you can decide when you get your score back if you want to retake it in the spring. I took the MCAT in May of my senior year and spent basically a whole year intermittently studying for it, hitting it really hard in the last couple months. Good luck!
 
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So what you're describing OP is not a gap year. You're applying right after you graduate. While the stuff you do during that time can be included in your PS and application, it's not a gap year. Gap implies that there is a meaningful break between your college education and starting medical school. Did you decide to pursue research? Travel? Work and save? Some use it as a goal directed means to rounding out their application without the stress of school. Other's just want a meaningful break from academics after 16 years of only schooling.
 
So what you're describing OP is not a gap year. You're applying right after you graduate. While the stuff you do during that time can be included in your PS and application, it's not a gap year. Gap implies that there is a meaningful break between your college education and starting medical school. Did you decide to pursue research? Travel? Work and save? Some use it as a goal directed means to rounding out their application without the stress of school. Other's just want a meaningful break from academics after 16 years of only schooling.

I agree with the sentiment of what you said, but semantically, OP is planning to take a gap year. Most people have the operational definition that gap year(s) means not applying during senior year of college and matriculating immediately after graduating from college. Applying the cycle right after college graduation is the most basic definition of taking “a gap year”
 
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So what you're describing OP is not a gap year. You're applying right after you graduate. While the stuff you do during that time can be included in your PS and application, it's not a gap year. Gap implies that there is a meaningful break between your college education and starting medical school. Did you decide to pursue research? Travel? Work and save? Some use it as a goal directed means to rounding out their application without the stress of school. Other's just want a meaningful break from academics after 16 years of only schooling.

I agree with the sentiment of what you said, but semantically, OP is planning to take a gap year. Most people have the operational definition that gap year(s) means not applying during senior year of college and matriculating immediately after graduating from college. Applying the cycle right after college graduation is the most basic definition of taking “a gap year”

I'd actually argue that this is the quintessential gap year, and more years off is straying away from "gap year" and into non-trad territory (though this is quickly becoming the norm). I worked for two years between undergrad and med school, but it always feels weird to me to call them my "gap years" - I was basically just a regular working adult during this time (though I did have the intention of med school the whole time), and I always feel like "gap year" doesn't quite encompass that experience. Gap year, to me, feels a little less permanent - it's an opportunity to relax/work/explore/mature, but you're not necessarily setting down any kind of permanent roots during that time.

"gap year" is also used outside of medicine to describe people who take a year off between high school and college (or similar levels of education), which can follow a similar timeline to what OP describes - don't apply to colleges during senior year, take time off to travel/work, apply after graduating (though of course the college app process is way less intensive).
 
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