Late Gap Year Decision – Ideas?

[BeechcraftBonanza]

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Hello! I’m a junior who just today decided to take a gap year, which is a pivot from my original plan of applying straight through. Ever since high school, I was adamant on avoiding a gap year, so this is a significant change for me.

I’ve built a strong application overall (GPA/ECs/research/clinical), but I realized that my MCAT timeline wasn’t setting me up to perform at the level I want to apply this cycle. I’ve decided to push my exam to June/July so I can prepare properly.

After the MCAT, I’m feeling a little unsure about how to make the best use of the rest of my senior year and gap year. Many people seem to use gap years to target a specific weakness, but I’m not sure what that would be for me beyond solidifying my MCAT.

Current stats:

• ORM male, first gen, TX resident, attending T20
• 3.97 GPA (double major)
• 1500+ hours research in a clinical lab (x2 summer fellowships, x3 posters, x1 manuscript being drafted)
• 600+ paid clinical hours as an EMT
• 200+ hours shadowing 9 specialties
• 400+ clinical volunteering hours
• 300+ nonclinical volunteering hours (president of x2 clubs)
• Leadership roles RA and TA positions

For those who were in a similar "last-minute" position, how did you decide what to focus on during your gap year?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Med Ed]

Describe your nonclinical volunteering.

 

[wysdoc]

Hello! I’m a junior who just today decided to take a gap year, which is a pivot from my original plan of applying straight through. Ever since high school, I was adamant on avoiding a gap year, so this is a significant change for me.

I’ve built a strong application overall (GPA/ECs/research/clinical), but I realized that my MCAT timeline wasn’t setting me up to perform at the level I want to apply this cycle. I’ve decided to push my exam to June/July so I can prepare properly.

After the MCAT, I’m feeling a little unsure about how to make the best use of the rest of my senior year and gap year. Many people seem to use gap years to target a specific weakness, but I’m not sure what that would be for me beyond solidifying my MCAT.

Current stats:

• ORM male, first gen, TX resident, attending T20
• 3.97 GPA (double major)
• 1500+ hours research in a clinical lab (x2 summer fellowships, x3 posters, x1 manuscript being drafted)
• 600+ paid clinical hours as an EMT
• 200+ hours shadowing 9 specialties
• 400+ clinical volunteering hours
• 300+ nonclinical volunteering hours (president of x2 clubs)
• Leadership roles RA and TA positions

For those who were in a similar "last-minute" position, how did you decide what to focus on during your gap year?

Thanks in advance!

This is an easy answer - you must get off campus and do some community volunteering with people who need you - lacking this will sink your TMDSAS application.
Start now, on a weekends or on an afternoon you don't have classes, so you can accumulate at least 150 hours before you submit your applications. Your club hours won't be seen as serving the community members in need, they will fall more under leadership or extracurricular interests.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hello! I’m a junior who just today decided to take a gap year, which is a pivot from my original plan of applying straight through. Ever since high school, I was adamant on avoiding a gap year, so this is a significant change for me.

I’ve built a strong application overall (GPA/ECs/research/clinical), but I realized that my MCAT timeline wasn’t setting me up to perform at the level I want to apply this cycle. I’ve decided to push my exam to June/July so I can prepare properly.

After the MCAT, I’m feeling a little unsure about how to make the best use of the rest of my senior year and gap year. Many people seem to use gap years to target a specific weakness, but I’m not sure what that would be for me beyond solidifying my MCAT.

Current stats:

• ORM male, first gen, TX resident, attending T20
• 3.97 GPA (double major)
• 1500+ hours research in a clinical lab (x2 summer fellowships, x3 posters, x1 manuscript being drafted)
• 600+ paid clinical hours as an EMT
• 200+ hours shadowing 9 specialties
• 400+ clinical volunteering hours
• 300+ nonclinical volunteering hours (president of x2 clubs)
• Leadership roles RA and TA positions

For those who were in a similar "last-minute" position, how did you decide what to focus on during your gap year?

Thanks in advance!

Most people get a job and do an equal amount of community service, especially a community with which they are not familiar.

 

[BeechcraftBonanza]

Describe your nonclinical volunteering.

I serve as president for a club that teaches monthly financial literacy lessons (budgeting, investments, credit) at a Title 1 high school in our area. I'm currently working on expanding to more districts. Additionally, I'm a site-lead for a more established club where we conduct science experiments with children in hospitals and elementary schools (we have 6 sites). Overall, my experiences are focused on teaching

 

[Med Ed]

I serve as president for a club that teaches monthly financial literacy lessons (budgeting, investments, credit) at a Title 1 high school in our area. I'm currently working on expanding to more districts. Additionally, I'm a site-lead for a more established club where we conduct science experiments with children in hospitals and elementary schools (we have 6 sites). Overall, my experiences are focused on teaching

Laudable activities, but being a club president fits more into leadership, and teaching has its own category in AMCAS. So you've really got no pure non-clinical volunteering hours. If not addressed, this will absolutely kneecap your application.

 

[LizzyM]

If you are going to take a gap year and push off taking the MCAT, you might as well do as many successful gap year applicants do (I interview at least 35 of them every cycle), and take the MCAT in August of this year (taking the entire summer to prepare) or in January 2027 with all of Fall semester and the holiday break to prepare.

Continue doing what you have been doing as an undergrad and add, as has been mentioned, some service to the destitute that puts you out of your comfort zone.

This time next year, you'll begin looking for employment that will take you through your gap year. Working as an EMT or Patient Care Technician might be a good choice as it might have the flexibility that you'll need for interviews.