Need advice on how to improve my application and utilize gap year wisely

[BlazinBandit]

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[stickgirl390]

I like that your major is different. You should use your computer science background as the theme when writing your personal statement. Don’t waste your time getting a job in retail unless it is computer science related. It’s much better to do something that will help strengthen your app and pay the bills. As long as you score decent on the MCAT and apply broadly, you should be fine!

What’s more, you could “stalk” the school specific forums this cycle and prewrite secondaries for the schools you know you’ll apply to next year. I applied two years in a row and the prompts didn’t change. Just an efficient use of time!

 

[BlazinBandit]

I like that your major is different. You should use your computer science background as the theme when writing your personal statement. Don’t waste your time getting a job in retail unless it is computer science related. It’s much better to do something that will help strengthen your app and pay the bills. As long as you score decent on the MCAT and apply broadly, you should be fine!

What’s more, you could “stalk” the school specific forums this cycle and prewrite secondaries for the schools you know you’ll apply to next year. I applied two years in a row and the prompts didn’t change. Just an efficient use of time!

Thanks for the input and advice! That is actually a really great idea! I guess after my MCAT I could utilize the forums to start pre-writing my secondaries for next year.

 

[BicycleGuy]

Hiya, currently on my gap year right now, should be writing secondaries but here we are...

I was in a similar boat as you last year, so perhaps my experience will be applicable to you too, but your mileage may vary. I thought about getting more clinical experience (you have more than I do) or research during my gap year, but after speaking with advisers and friends currently in/are matriculating to med school, it seems like the gap year is more about character building than it is about resume building (at least for those of us who check all the boxes already). Doing something you love during your gap year serves as good conversation material and shows why you are interesting in a meaningful, longitudinal way.

I moved to a different state with my partner who is doing grad school, and I found a job at a bike shop. The decision to pursue employment in something that I deeply enjoy instead of something medically related has been a great decision so far! I love my job because I fix bikes all day and it gives me a lot of person-to-person contact, which is just fun if not gratifying/enlightening/character-building. It's also a lot different from what I expected as I started to understand how bike shops work, as with any kind of insider situation.

If you can land a job in tech or computers, go for it! Your application doesn't seem like it's missing anything (assuming you will crush the MCAT ), so doing something different during your gap year is going to make it stand out!

 

[BlazinBandit]

Hiya, currently on my gap year right now, should be writing secondaries but here we are...

I was in a similar boat as you last year, so perhaps my experience will be applicable to you too, but your mileage may vary. I thought about getting more clinical experience (you have more than I do) or research during my gap year, but after speaking with advisers and friends currently in/are matriculating to med school, it seems like the gap year is more about character building than it is about resume building (at least for those of us who check all the boxes already). Doing something you love during your gap year serves as good conversation material and shows why you are interesting in a meaningful, longitudinal way.

I moved to a different state with my partner who is doing grad school, and I found a job at a bike shop. The decision to pursue employment in something that I deeply enjoy instead of something medically related has been a great decision so far! I love my job because I fix bikes all day and it gives me a lot of person-to-person contact, which is just fun if not gratifying/enlightening/character-building. It's also a lot different from what I expected as I started to understand how bike shops work, as with any kind of insider situation.

If you can land a job in tech or computers, go for it! Your application doesn't seem like it's missing anything (assuming you will crush the MCAT ), so doing something different during your gap year is going to make it stand out!

Thank you for your insight! I will really consider what you have written when I'm looking for a job after my MCAT. Yes, that was also part of the reason I was considering working in retail.