Living Abroad During Gap Year?

[reese2023]

Hello! I am a 4th year undergrad studying biomedical engineering at a well-ranked public university. I have been planning on applying to med school in the next cycle (entering med school Fall 2024), but I've been hearing recently that it's not a good idea to live abroad during the application year.

For context, I am hoping to receive a Fulbright grant to study in Belgium next year, so getting time off to return to the US for interviews hopefully won't be too bad as many classes at the Belgian uni have resources available online anyway. My stats are 4.0 GPA and 523 MCAT (132/128/131/132), and my top programs are Harvard/HST, NYU, Duke, and Baylor (I'm a TX resident). I'm Cuban, so URM status is iffy. Is there any advice for how I could balance possible interviews with being out of the country? I'd really prefer not having to take another year before med school. One solution I've heard so far is to pre-schedule a couple chunks of time in the US that I could request med school interviews to be scheduled in. Many thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm new to SDN and don't yet know how to navigate it -- many apologies if this is posted in the wrong place!

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[fogo]

If interviews are held via Zoom and your internet connection is solid, then it's entirely possible.

 

[anonimo21]

i’m planning on receiving a germany fulbright next year and if less than 10 schools on my list do in person interviews i’ll apply from abroad and fly in for the few in person interviews. You can leave the country for up to 14 days on a Fulbright. The only challenge might be that you’ll have to be up at odd hours for the virtual interviews possibly. If a significant # of schools are doing in person interviews then your hand is forced, and you’re obligated to take a second gap year or turn down fulbright.

 

[LizzyM]

You are going to be a hot commodity early in the interview cycle (August through mid-October). If you get an offer early (mid-October) you could start turning down interview invites but you also need to know that some of the top schools do not hand out offers until the end of the cycle (February-March) so you could interview early and then be left hanging thus needing to engage in more interviews as you wait for at least one offer of admission. While it is likely that schools will continue to offer online interviews (it is easier and cheaper for them as it is for you), you may have 10 interviews in 8 weeks and between the prep, the limited time slots offered, and the time difference, you could find it a challenge if you are in Belgium.

You may not want to take 2 gap years but it may not be possible to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[jhmmd]

Congrats on your Fulbright scholarship!
To the point: You have to make a choice about what is more important to you.
As a physician, you will have an ample amount of money (and perhaps time) to travel abroad.
But you only get a few chances on your med school app.
Choose wisely, and good luck!

 

[Imagine_All_The_People]

Hey there! Good luck with applying for Fulbright! I am a current Fulbright scholar who is also interviewing at med schools right now and I would be happy to give you some pointers, please feel free to PM me. I am a little biased but Fulbright is really a life-changing and amazing program!!!! 10/10 would recommend!

 

[Gigijay]

I have a friend who is abroad in Asia and applying this cycle. She has had 4 interviews so far, all virtual. She makes sure she is in a city with reliable internet, stays in a private room rather than a hostel for interview days and adjusts her sleep a bit so she is awake for the interviews. It is working out just fine for her. Most schools have virtual interviews. Since you seem like a strong candidate, I would just check whether your top choices are virtual. Good luck!