How long should one wait?

[XeReX]

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I have read it in some books and heard it from some people that premed students should wait at least a year after graduation before applying to med school. The primary reason is to gain experience, to take a little break before starting the assiduous life at medical school (if one gets accepted), and many said that if you wait a year or two and then apply for med school, it will help you on your application, as you will be having more experience then the other medical students who came to med school straight after college and you will be better off.

So my question is how long one should wait, and what activities one can indulge themselves into? I was thinking of getting a Masters before applying to med school.

Just wanted you guys to shed some light on this topic as you are already in med school and have been through all this stuff.

 

[ar2388]

thats not necessary. I went straight from college to med school. I think it depends on what you did during college to prepare you for med school and when you take your MCATs. I knew I wanted to do medicine for a while and did everything I could during college to prepare specifically so I would not have to take any years off

 

[nlax30]

If you're already a competitive applicant (MCAT, GPA, EC's, etc...) then there's certainly no need to take a year off. The big reasons would be to improve on some aspect of your application or just to take a year off to make some money working and/or truly decide if they want to pursue medicine.

 

[C5toC9]

waiting is overrated

 

[QuizzicalApe]

You can do it, it is absolutely not necessary across the board.

You should do it if you have to, or if you really want to do something in that year. I did an Americorps thing as a little adventure before my life went on rails for 7+ years. If you don't have something that needs to get done in the year, just go to med school.

 

[mvenus929]

We have a variety of people in our class, those who (like my roommate) came straight out of college, those who took a year off, those who (like me) took 2 years off, and those who had another career before coming to medicine.

Honestly, taking a year off was the best thing that I could've done for my mental health. I'm coming in after 2 years not in school, yes, but I'm not burnt out and I'm ready to hit the ground running. And, of course, I managed to come to med school with no debt and $6000 in the bank to help with moving expenses and whatnot--if you have to move, just remember that you probably won't get a paycheck until the middle of August.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Everything depends on where you are in your own life. I went straight through, and have absolutely no regrets so far. There's all kinds in my med school class, and I see lots of people on different paths when interviewing applicants. There is no one best path to medical school. Just remember that the application takes a year alone, and what you do in that year counts for little in comparison to what came before. For me, that was my senior year of college. For many in my class, that was a gap year, a year in a post-bac or special program, Americorps, working full time or any other number of things. Never listen to any advice which tries to pidgeon-hole the experiences one should have, because there are a thousand ways to gain the experiences expected of a med school applicant.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Reasons to take a year off:
1) You need to improve your application
2) You timed your MCAT in a way that you would be very late applicant if you applied your senior year
3) You don't have infinitely deep pockets or your parents paying for the application cycle (from MCAT to acceptance it will run you 5-10k easily more if you apply very broadly and attend a lot of interviews.) Some take the year off to work to pay for it
4) You want a break before med school
5) You have something you really want to do in life before you dive into the next 7-10 years of medical school and residency (travel, work, spend time with your family, etc)

I took a year off and really enjoyed it. The reality is I did it to improve my application so I would have a better shot at getting in (wanted my senior year grades included) and so I could pay for it. I paid for all of college and couldn't afford to go to college and pay for applications at the same time. So I worked full time to pay for the application cycle.

But in the end it was an amazing nice break before starting school. I had some time of spending money how I wanted and doing what I wanted with no tests.

Also, interviews were tons of fun by taking a year off because my boss was very understanding and let me take several "vacations" around my interviews. It was fun. My parents went with me for my first interview to DC and we turned it into a week long sight seeing trip. And despite the fact that I had lived hundreds of miles from home for 5 years my father insisted on walking me to the subway the morning of my interview and apparently got so teary eyed at the gate that the gate teller offered to let him walk me to the train for free. 🙂

I would never trade the 200k I could have made 10 years later for the fun I had on my year off.

 

[DrBowtie]

You should wait 0 years if you can get in straight out of college. Every year is $$$ lost.

 

[TexasFight]

until marriage

 

[thumbsucker]

until marriage

... so unexpected.

 

[slowbutsteady]

You should wait 0 years if you can get in straight out of college. Every year is $$$ lost.

That is very poor advice. There are so many factors going into (a) making the decision to be a doctor (or any profession) and (b) putting oneself in the best position to succeed in that profession (may involve time and experiences).

Lost income is very overrated as one of those factors.

I ended up taking 3 years between college and med school for several reasons and am grateful for the maturity I gained and the experiences I enjoyed. I was a much stronger applicant as a result, and I am a better and happier med student too, no question about it!!!

And therefore I am likely to have a more successful and fulfilling career in medicine.

 

[Kaustikos]

You should wait 0 years if you can get in straight out of college. Every year is $$$ lost.

Or money gained...

besides, relative to another person, you can't say that's true. Someone might just go for FP and be out the door before someone doing heme/oncology. So...no?