How important is my application year job/is Americorps worth it?

[Toffey]

I'm wondering about what job to take for my application/gap year. Graduating/applying to med school this June.

Ideally I'd love to do some Americorps/community service type thing, but the money situation just isn't working for me. (I live in a high COL area and support myself completely. ) I've been pretty poor my whole life so I really want to finally have my head above water financially.

Is it worth it to do Americorps while applying to get a better chance at admission? Or should I just take a better paying research/medical field gig? Does Americorps significantly help my chances?

I really do love both prospects and could definitely see myself going either way. (I've worked with high risk youth and in poor schools already, so I mostly know what I'm getting into).
At this point its really just money vs med school app boost. I think I am a decent applicant (3.8+ GPA, 516 MCAT) with a variety of EC's. Oh, and I'm from CA and that sucks.

Adcoms, I'd really appreciate your input.

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[eteshoe]

Take the research gig. From what I've heard on SDN, doing Americorps isn't going to significantly improve your chances at gaining entrance into med school. Plus you're gonna need a hell of a lot of money when application comes around.

 

[neekzg]

Your stats are excellent, if you have a good amount of volunteering on your app I'd advise against AmeriCorps. It also does not pay well, so do not expect it to pay the bills or provide any savings to pay for applications.

Also, if you're planning on doing AmeriCorps throughout your gap year I especially wouldn't expect it to boost your app significantly considering you can't even put it on your primary applications. If you do AmeriCorps and applications simultaneously, you would use it through your secondaries as an update to what you're doing now--which looks good, but not as good as being able to put 1500-2000+ hours worth of service on your AMCAS.

If you really need the money, I'd advise a better paying job in research/healthcare. Perhaps if you have the time, you can continue to volunteer with at-risk youth or in other capacities. Good luck!

 

[hypericum]

Ideally I'd love to do some Americorps/community service type thing, but the money situation just isn't working for me. (I live in a high COL area and support myself completely. ) I've been pretty poor my whole life so I really want to finally have my head above water financially.

So I did a year of Americorps, and if your goal is to find yourself a gap year job that will help you with med school, I don't think this is it. Americorps is not a prestigious or competitive program. But I wouldn't trade my experience for the world. If you do it, it should be because this might be the only time in your life you CAN do something like this -- that is, when you're young, have no dependents, and can live on a very shoestring budget. The program I chose (which was a working with high-risk youth program) really, honestly, changed my outlook on life and helped me mature tremendously. It was kind of miserable at times, but by far more meaningful than anything else I've ever done in life. Speaking to my coworkers, a lot of them feel the same way. We all hated it at times but it was a profound and moving experience. I was excited at first because I was like oh I have so many cool stories about teamwork and diversity and stuff to talk about in interviews but then in interviews I couldn't even talk about it because I would want to cry.

Also, I want to mention that I also volunteered quite a bit before doing the program, and it is very different to be doing the job full time vs a few hours a week. Like something terrible, emotionally wrenching happens and you don't get to go back to your own life the next day--you're still there, dealing with it. And emotionally traumatic stuff did happen. It was so intense at times, I don't even know how I got through it. That might just be specific to my program though.

There were very few ambitious people. It was a completely different world than my prestige-obsessed undergrad. My coworkers were all so idealistic it was a little ridiculous.

As for cost--a lot of people lived at home, and those people actually saved money. Some found cheap housing (for me, 3 of us squeezed into a 2 bedroom). Most lived off food stamps.

*Note that Americorps is an umbrella term used to refer to a lot of programs, some of which are like, gardening out in the rural countryside. If you want specifics about my program, you can PM me.

 

[Toffey]

Thank you all for the responses. I actually volunteer at an after school program for homeless kids, and the program I'm looking at (City Year) is similar. I just don't know if I have the emotional and physical energy for it after working my ass off for 4 years of undergrad and barely supporting myself. Unfortunately, living at home isn't an option, as my family lives overseas.
But I know if it would really help my chances and make me a significantly better applicant, come interview season, I would go for it. I can do it, it would just be tough financially and emotionally. Idk yet if it's worth it.

Sorry for the rambling, I really appreciate the input!

 

[neekzg]

Thank you all for the responses. I actually volunteer at an after school program for homeless kids, and the program I'm looking at (City Year) is similar. I just don't know if I have the emotional and physical energy for it after working my ass off for 4 years of undergrad and barely supporting myself. Unfortunately, living at home isn't an option, as my family lives overseas.
But I know if it would really help my chances and make me a significantly better applicant, come interview season, I would go for it. I can do it, it would just be tough financially and emotionally. Idk yet if it's worth it.

Sorry for the rambling, I really appreciate the input!

It will not make you a significantly better applicant if you apply during your AmeriCorps year. Although I can talk extensively about my AmeriCorps experience during interviews, I also spend a lot of time talking about my ECs throughout college. It sounds like you'd have enough to talk about from your ECs as well.

Applying to medical school is an exhausting process which drains both your time and money. If you do not have the luxury of parental financial support for either housing and food or applications, living on the AmeriCorps stipend while applying will be unnecessarily taxing on you. To reiterate above, this experience can be worthwhile and rewarding, but it is not for everyone. Whether you believe it or not, you deserve a bit of a break before medical school after working as hard as you did during undergrad. You owe it to yourself to live a bit more comfortably--the plan you have now is far from that.

 

[Bermie]

Currently doing AmeriCorps during my gap year. I wouldn't advise it if you are simply looking for a bump on your application. I was told by an interviewer that I was wasting my time in AmeriCorps and that I should have applied a year earlier instead of doing a gap year. At another interview, the interviewer said he was "very impressed" that I was doing AmeriCorps. The problem is, I didn't get to write about it in my primary or my secondaries. Everything the admissions committee knows about it is through interviewers and a short update I sent.
However, if you are looking for an experience that will challenge you to grow and an experience where you really feel like you are serving and making a difference, I would recommend it. My experience has been difficult but also very rewarding. I get to tell kids that they have potential, that life isn't over because they are failing 7th grade math, I get to tell them that if they want to be a doctor or a pilot or whatever, than they can be a doctor or a pilot. I have learned a lot about advocating, serving, and investing in other people. There are many different AmeriCorps programs, you don't have to do a clinical one. I would suggest you apply to many programs and really get a feel for who your coordinator will be in each program. I feel extremely lucky to have a coordinator that is invested not only in the program but in me and my fellow AmeriCorps coworkers. I can't imagine how frustrating the experience would be if I didn't have such a good coordinator supporting me. Find a program that sounds interesting and has a coordinator that is enthusiastic and really believes in the program. Not everyone thinks about it, but it really makes a difference.

 

[longleat11]

Current AmeriCorps member here. Only consider AmeriCorps if you're truly passionate about the work. That being said, some medical schools absolutely look upon it (along with TFA, Peace Corps, etc.) very favorably. Pretty sure Rochester, for example, specifically asked if you had done AmeriCorps or a similar program on the application. It also gives you some great perspective and something to talk about during interviews. I included it on my primary app under one of the 15 available activity slots. Not everything I've done this year has been thrilling, but it has truly been a formative experience for me. Without some parental support, however, financing interviews and apps would have been darn near impossible. On the plus side, you qualify for food stamps which makes things more manageable.

 

[Scumbag_Steve]

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