Is taking a gap year something to be ashamed of?

[badmedicine]

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I am a rising junior neuroscience major in college, and have come to the conclusion that I may have to take a gap year. Mostly for 2 reasons---first is that I had to drop organic chemistry II and will need to take it again, and I'm guessing I can't take the MCAT without having taken Orgo II. (otherwise I am academically sound with a 3.83 GPA and a 3.70 BCPM GPA) The second reason is that I have realized that I really don't have any clinical experience (I shadowed a radiologist for 3 days but that's it). I do have research experience though. Let me know if you need me to elaborate.

1. Is it feasible to get a clinical experience AND take the MCAT by the end of my junior year (or during junior year summer) so that I can matriculate the August after I graduate? Or should I take a gap year?

2. If I take a gap year (be honest with this one)...is this something to be embarrassed about? How do people tend to view it? I feel like it's a reflection of my inability to prepare for medical school, and I'm afraid of being humiliated when everyone is graduating with plans and I have none.

By the way, in terms of getting a clinical experience, I have additional questions.

3. Is it possible to somehow get an experience with a specific type of physician? I am strongly considering pursuing a career in clinical genetics...I have been fascinated by the science, and I also believe it is extremely important to handle clinical genetic cases with sensitivity and understanding of patients' beliefs and concerns. I value humanism in medicine, and am a strong advocate of treating patients---not just symptoms. In my eyes, a doctor should be more than just a "human mechanic" and should be dedicated to communicating with patients and making them feel comfortable. The combination of my scientific interest in genetics (I have taken molecular genetics and do Fragile X research with a professor), as well as my passion for the ethical issues involved (spurred upon by a healthcare systems comparison class I took as a study abroad program in London, as well as a class on the ethics of genomics) is what has led me to the conclusion that this is the field I want to be a part of. Sorry I digressed a bit from the point of my question!!!

4. When applying to medical school, is it bad to say you want to go into a specific specialty? (i.e. do they just want to know you want to be a physician?)

I know some of these questions are a bit scattered, but thank you so much for taking the time to answer them. I really appreciate it.

 

[badmedicine]

I know this might sound strange, but even though I have yet to get significant clinical experience and have had a lot of research experience, I am forming a strong belief that a medical school that emphasizes clinical work more than research is the type of school that is right for me. Of course, I know this is subject to change once I get clinical experience, but this is just how I've been feeling for a while now. After learning about the humanistic sides of medicine, I think it is so very important---and undervalued in the practice of medicine, based on discussions I've had with physician family friends and the professor of my healthcare systems class.

 

[cerno]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a gap year. It can be a way to open up a lot of doors both personally and professionally. The value of it comes down to what you get out of it.

 

[mvenus929]

1. Only you can determine whether or not you can handle the workload of MCAT studying, regular classes, and clinical experience during this next year. I could, but I'm also the type of person who continued doing many of my extra-curriculars during Step 1 studying and during third year, when most of my classmates stopped doing anything outside of classroom stuff. As a comparison, I also took the MCAT during finals week the year I applied (and ended up not getting in, but that's beside the point).

2. There is nothing wrong with taking a gap year. I'd say about half my class had taken at least one year off from school prior to starting medical school. Most of the people I get along best with are those that took two, like me.

3. Yes, it's possible, but it depends on where you live. If you want to shadow a specific type of physician, just call one up. They'll either say yes or no, and if they say no, you're no worse off.

But, I'm not sure you'd be able to tell who is a 'humanistic' physician that meets your criteria by just cold calling and shadowing.

4. It's not bad to say that you are interested in a particular specialty, per say, but you should be open to exploring other things. Most people who start medical school with a specialty in mind end up changing their mind. For instance, one of my classmates came to medical school with the specific goal of being a dermatologist. She's applying for internal medicine this fall. Another really wanted to do internal medicine, and is now going into orthopaedics. Of course, you also have me, who had a strong hunch that I wanted to do pediatrics, and I am applying to peds this fall. Another friend was and still is Psychiatry all the way.

 

[Myrridith]

I don't think it is?

It allowed me to nearly double the number of Extracurriculars I have. xD And I got to save up a bit of money for applying/travelling/living costs. Money is always good. I also get time to like check my application 38190482x! I literally took 5 months to write my personal statement (a lot of thinking, writing, rewriting, etc.. just an hour a day..) and I think it is pretty good. And the best thing is ALL the pressure went away after I decided to gap year so I had time to actually enjoy learning and applying and stuff. And I got to do other things like cook.

Although I am currently on my gap year and applying so i don't know if I will get accepted or other stuff (hoping I will though!). But I've never heard that gap years are harmful.

 

[cms]

I am at the end of my first year of 2gap years after college. Most of my friends took 1 year off, and few took 2 years off like I did.

There are many reasons why people take gap years off, and one of the major one is to buff up your stats (MCAT, GPA, clinical exp, volunteering, research, etc).

To answer one of your question, taking a gap year has become such a common and wide-spread thing to do that it's not something to be ashamed of. However, it is true that you will feel more insecure about yourself and your future before you graduate, after you graduate, and during the gap year. I mean, how could you not be when you see your other pre-med friends enter med school right after graduation, or non-premed friends get a job or go to higher education? It's really not easy to not feel anxious and insecure when taking gap years.

However, taking a gap year has many many more advantages than not taking years off.

1. you get a chance to buff up your resume (research, volunteer)
2. you get a chance to increase your scores (GPA, MCAT)
3. you get a chance to be out of school for once and do something you could not do before (hobbies, etc
4. most importantly, you get to experience the real world before entering medical school, which I think is critical in succeeding in medical school and also succeeding as a resident, and future doctor.


I personally decided to take 2 years off at the last minute at the end of my senior year, after wanting to take only one year off, because I was not happy with my MCAT scores. I joined a research lab after graduation, did more volunteering, and at the same time studied for the MCAT. I took the MCAT the next year and increased my score!

I just submitted my AMCAS app and the secondaries, so for the past few months I've been doing lots of resume work, and talking and elaborating about what I did that makes me a better candidate for med school. I realized that if I hadn't taken this year off, I would have half the things to write about, and much more superficial things too. So although I'm not sure how I'll turn out to be in terms of acceptances, I'm incredibly happy and satisfied about my decision to take gap years after college.

People will say different things, and your friends may look down on you if you take gap years off. And I can promise you that you will feel so insecure and uncertain about your future at times that you feel like giving up. But if you just keep yourself busy doing productive work that is GEARED TOWARDS MEDICAL SCHOOL (as opposed to activities that are not very much related to medicine, and thus will not help you much in your application process), you will be able to pull through and also be happy that you took time off to make urself into a much stronger candidate for med school.

So you just have to be ready and prepared for what you're going into.

 

[Wipeout416]

Strongly agree with what has been said before, so I won't simply say exactly the same thing. I was grilled pretty hard by older docs, 80+, who basically said I'm screwed because I'm now 2 years behind, try not to listen to that 🙂 you'll be fine. Talk about gunners huh?

I'm way better off now than I was a year or even 2 years ago.

 

[thesauce]

I am a rising junior neuroscience major in college, and have come to the conclusion that I may have to take a gap year. Mostly for 2 reasons---first is that I had to drop organic chemistry II and will need to take it again, and I'm guessing I can't take the MCAT without having taken Orgo II.

Yes you can. That's a very minor issue.

 

[thesauce]

I know this might sound strange, but even though I have yet to get significant clinical experience and have had a lot of research experience, I am forming a strong belief that a medical school that emphasizes clinical work more than research is the type of school that is right for me. Of course, I know this is subject to change once I get clinical experience, but this is just how I've been feeling for a while now. After learning about the humanistic sides of medicine, I think it is so very important---and undervalued in the practice of medicine, based on discussions I've had with physician family friends and the professor of my healthcare systems class.

Are you pointing to some connection between these thoughts or are you just telling us your philosophy?

 

[badmedicine]

I just went on a tangent on one of the big reasons I want to pursue medicine haha.

As for the gap year, the admissions office has hinted that they might offer me a job as an interim assistant director of admissions, and I'm not sure if I should take it (and do hospital shadowing on like the weekends), or just abandon the offer because it's not med-related. What do you guys think?

 

[Myrridith]

I just went on a tangent on one of the big reasons I want to pursue medicine haha.

As for the gap year, the admissions office has hinted that they might offer me a job as an interim assistant director of admissions, and I'm not sure if I should take it (and do hospital shadowing on like the weekends), or just abandon the offer because it's not med-related. What do you guys think?

TAKE IT!!! ((Enough said!!)) I think it is awesome to do not so medical related things. Besides, you get to interact with people right? If not, there HAS to be some skill you can get from it that will apply to medicine. And! Money! Only don't take it if you think the job will suck and you are totally not excited. Shadowing on off days in addition sounds like a good plan. It is sort of what I am doing atm. I get a half day on Friday so I shadow.

 

[kmp0410]

I hope not, since I took about 4 of em.

 

[badmedicine]

That sounds like good news to me...it is a very tempting position because I love being a tour guide and everyone in the admissions office........but at the same time I don't know if I should take a gap year at all, and if I do, I question whether or not it would be seen as any value to medical schools.

 

[thesauce]

Overall, I'd say that if you are competitive for med school now, go for it. Taking a year off in hopes of getting into a "better" med school is not a good plan. You can always take a year off for research during medical school, which looks far better on residency applications.

 

[badmedicine]

Well I don't think I'm competitive yet for those 2 reasons I said---orgo II, and very little clinical experience. I'm just not sure if I can find a clinical experience really fast so that I can do it for the next year.

Also, if I retake orgo II, by the time I apply I will have not finished it yet (I would take it in the spring)...so therefore the only orgo II on my transcript would be a withdraw...which probably sends up a red flag, especially considering that other than my organic grades (B- in orgo I and withdraw in orgo II), I have an A or A- in every other course so far.

 

[badmedicine]

I'm just very torn on which I should do because just on this thread I now have conflicting advice. :/

 

[Lucky Louie]

Overall, I'd say that if you are competitive for med school now, go for it. Taking a year off in hopes of getting into a "better" med school is not a good plan. You can always take a year off for research during medical school, which looks far better on residency applications.

Fortunately, I didn't hear you say you're doing this to get into a BETTER medical school. It's just you're not as far ahead in the process as you'd like, so you're considering taking an extra year.

My believe is that everyone should take a year or two off. It opens your eyes to other aspects of what you can do in your future and it's a wonderful break in all this education. What's the rush anyway? The best part is that you'll be more mature when you enter med school, and that can only be construed as better. When I mentioned I'm taking an extra year to doctors, med school students, and everyone else said that was a great idea. Not a single person gave me the impresion a gap year is something I should be ashamed about.

In the end, it's up to you. You should never be ashamed of choices you make.

 

[LiveLoveLearn]

Lots of people take gap years, and as long as you are spending your time in a way that is additive to you and your application, I haven't seen any indication from schools that they look down on it (based on the people that I know, which is obviously not a huge n). By additive, I just mean that it shouldn't just be you taking up a spot on mom and dad's couch for a year. Holding down a job and saving money, building your people skills and getting in more volunteering and clinical experience for a year sounds like a good way to round out your application, and will provide a little time for you to live outside of academia for a while before plunging into medical school. Just my thoughts😀

 

[alexrgross]

1. Yes, you need to take some time off research or something else to accomplish it.

2. No, it's fine no one will stigmatize you.

3. I know concluding you wish to enter the field of Clinical Genetics after you've directly experienced its practice is the right thing to do. Go hospital by hospital in the volunteer dept. for that experience as a shadow.

4. No problem.