Joining English PhD program for gap year sign for lack of commitment?

[MrsSheperd]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys! I'm a non-trad student with a rather difficult question I need an answer for. I hope there are a few adcoms who could chime in and give their 2cents 🙂

I'm getting ready to apply this upcoming cycle. I majored in literature during my undergraduate years and worked for a couple of years. I wasn't sure what to do for my gap year so I applied to a PhD program and now have the chance to make some money, teach, have some fun with literature and volunteer =)

Medicine after all is still what I want to do for the rest of my life but will adcoms see my use of the gap year as a lack of commitment? (And also possibly judge me for taking a slot from an applicant who has the intention to finish this program) I'm happy with my GPAs (3.7s and 3.8 cum), I have 300+ hours of research, 200+ hours volunteering and I think those post-bacc programs are far too expensive.. :/

Any thoughts would be highly appreciated! I'm not sure what's the right thing to do.

 

[GreenDuck12]

How do you plan on answering the question "why did you start a PhD program after submitting applications to medical school? Are you sure medicine is for you? Is the PhD program you fall back?" To be honest, I see the explanation you provided above as being a hard sell for an admissions officer to take in an interview. It's one thing if you are in a PhD program only to find out that medicine is your passion and changing directions. The situation you're describing is much more convoluted. Honestly, I would recommend either staying with your current job for a strong recommendation, enrolling in a 1 year grad program (that is financed and will be complete before medical school), or finding an alternative that will either build up your experiences for medical school (hospital work/ research) or allow you to demonstrate altruism (working with low underserved groups/mentally ill/hospice). You don't want to be remembered as "the guy who started a PhD and wants to quit."

 

[eteshoe]

If you're not going to complete the PhD program then don't waste the program's time by applying. Continue to bolster your med school application in the gap year.

 

[deleted630732]

Terrible idea. It may be fun for you to do for a year, but think about how many people you would be hurting and the red flags that would be raised. You'd be taking a spot from someone else, you would be a detriment to the program that wants to produce English PhD graduates, you would be wasting taxpayer money, and adcoms may see you as selfish, fickle, or not serious about medicine. Not worth it just to kill time and have fun for a year.

 

[DrMidlife]

You make it sound like you're joining a club. Neither school is going to be happy with this.

 

[QofQuimica]

You make it sound like you're joining a club. Neither school is going to be happy with this.

Not to mention his/her PhD advisor.

Bad enough to burn the bridge, OP, but this is tap dancing on the land mine too while you're at it. Don't do this. Though from the faculty side of things, I can only imagine how entertaining it would be to read your LORs....

 

[deleted480308]

Did you really just ask if showing a lack of commitment will be seen as a lack of commitment?

 

[MrsSheperd]

Thank you, everyone! I appreciate your honest answers and you just confirmed the doubts I had. I guess I'm a little lost and don't know where to start looking for good options to fill a gap year. :/ I will go ahead and research some more...

 

[QofQuimica]

Thank you, everyone! I appreciate your honest answers and you just confirmed the doubts I had. I guess I'm a little lost and don't know where to start looking for good options to fill a gap year. :/ I will go ahead and research some more...

Do they offer an MA? You may be able to complete one in a year, and that would be a reasonable thing to do if you can afford it and have the interest.

 

[Goro]

You can never go wrong with service to others less fortunate than yourself.

Thank you, everyone! I appreciate your honest answers and you just confirmed the doubts I had. I guess I'm a little lost and don't know where to start looking for good options to fill a gap year. :/ I will go ahead and research some more...

 

[MrsSheperd]

You can never go wrong with service to others less fortunate than yourself.

Do they offer an MA? You may be able to complete one in a year, and that would be a reasonable thing to do if you can afford it and have the interest.

Thank you, @Goro and @QofQuimica ! I'm already a volunteer at a hospital and will def. complete more hours. I was thinking about MA as well, but I already have one in chemistry. Will it be an "overkill" if I did another one in a maybe more medically or biologically related field?

 

[eteshoe]

You don't really need another degree in a bio field to get into med school (as long as you've passed your pre-reqs). I have an MS in analytical chemistry (biochemistry focus), but I only did it since I liked the PI and it was free for me. You're going to be burning a lot of money applying so spending money on another degree is not worth it IMO. Just continue volunteering and maybe pickup a retail job - practicing medicine will utilize the skills you gain from that sort of work (dealing with a variety of people - some who are not the 'nicest' among the bunch).

 

[DrMikeP]

You can never go wrong with service to others less fortunate than yourself.

Totally agree! Sign up and do a year with Americorp. Make a little money, help others (you could even tutor homeless kids), and get some tuition reimbursement.

As an adcom I'd be less concerned about you doing something for fun outside of medicine but more over the why you thought it would be a good thing to do. It's almost always bad to take up a graduate spot when you don't plan on o complete it. It shows a certain level of disregard for others and then I'd wonder if you lied to get in, because few grad progs are going to accept you if you tell them its only a year.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[MrsSheperd]

Totally agree! Sign up and do a year with Americorp. Make a little money, help others (you could even tutor homeless kids), and get some tuition reimbursement.

As an adcom I'd be less concerned about you doing something for fun outside of medicine but more over the why you thought it would be a good thing to do. It's almost always bad to take up a graduate spot when you don't plan on o complete it. It shows a certain level of disregard for others and then I'd wonder if you lied to get in, because few grad progs are going to accept you if you tell them its only a year.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

That is a great idea!

And yes, it would be very selfish to take up that slot. Not only that, it's a funded position and I doubt that they would accept anyone who isn't planning on completing it. There was no interview, so I didn't lie as no one ever asked, but let's just assume they don't accept people who aren't really planning on making it a career. Thank you so much for your input!