peace corps?

[oldenough2know]

Hi everyone, I just had a quick question. I took the 1/31 MCAT and just got my scores back so it is time for me to make a decision. I am 100% sure that I want to do medical school, but I am also 100% sure that I would like to do the Peace Corps. Here's my situation.

I am going to graduate in May 2010. I am going to apply this coming cycle with a 3.4 cGPA and a 42 MCAT. My ECs and all of that are pretty average. I live in Illinois. I also need to apply to the Peace Corps by August of this year if I want to leave early next summer.

Essentially, my question is, if I do get into a medical school I would like to go to this cycle, can I defer my enrollment in that school until I get back from the Peace Corps (2 years later)? Or should I just apply after I get back?

The only reason I am asking this is because I have met 3 people who have gone to the Peace Corps with the intention of coming back and doing medical school, only to find that after returning, they had to sit around for a year just trying to get settled before they could apply. Right now, I have all my contacts, recommendations and I am ready to apply. I fear that I won't be when I get back like happened to these people, and I'll end up wasting a year.

I may be jumping the gun here seeing as I haven't even gotten acceptance into medical school or the Peace Corps, but hopefully this is a problem I end up having. Anyways, thanks for reading this entire post. Any feedback is appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I know many schools will allow one year deferments if the applicant has a good reason, but I'm not sure about two year deferments. Maybe you could contact schools you are interested in and ask them directly.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

i've heard that adcoms don't like when you apply with the intent of deferring (if all goes well). now, what THAT means exactly, i don't know. you may have a hard time asking for a deferment because the school knows you applied to med school and the PC at the same time; essentially, "come back and apply when you are ready to matriculate". remember, adcoms are trying to build classes, and when you apply for something one or more years in the future, they can't guarantee that you will still represent a set of attributes they want in that class because that applicant pool will be different.

policies on this could also vary from school to school...but i've never heard of someone deferring for two years.

i think you've got nothing to worry about though, since you got the answer to everything on the mcat! nice.

 

[drjm1]

actually many schools I've visited have mentioned something along the lines of allowing deferments for students pursuing really worthwhile things (like two years for TFA, Rhodes, Gates, etc...) I don't see why Peace Corps would be any different. That said, you might be a stronger applicant if you wait until after you return to apply. You'd certainly have a lot more to talk about for your interviews.

 

[boboca]

I know many schools will allow one year deferments if the applicant has a good reason, but I'm not sure about two year deferments. Maybe you could contact schools you are interested in and ask them directly.

Well, it would take a year to apply so it would only be a year deferrment.

You have a few options: Apply and defer, but I would call and check with the schools you're interested into see if they accept deferments or what they think about it. I wouldn't really do it this way b/c you'll have enough to do when you're getting prepared for the peace corps. you dont really need another huge distraction that will suck up all your time like applying to med school.

you can apply while you're abroad.During your second peace corps year so that you can return to the u.s. and go straight to school. A friend of mine applied when she was volunteering in Asia. She was a very good applicant and bunched her interviews together in january so that she would only have to fly back once and do them all at once. I dont know what peace corps policy is on taking leave of absence for a few weeks to do interviews. look into it.

Apply when you get back. You seem like you have your stuff together and it depends on the person what they do when they get back. You won't necessarily be doing nothing for a year... It might actually be better b/c reverse culture shock is a bitch (depending on where you are and how immersed you were, and where you move back to). You might want the extra time to readjust and to have the free time to spend on just med school applications. Plus this way you wont be distracted when you're in peace corps and you'll get to fully involved in what you're doing. Only downside is whether or not your mcat scores will still be valid. Some schools it's 3 years to matriculation and some it's 3 years to application. Check first. Whatever you do, you gotta do some research and call up a variety of schools to check what their policies are. The work you put in now will save you time, money and anxiety later.

No matter when you decide to apply I strongly recommend you do peace corps or something similar to it. It changes your perspective on life and I think everyone should be required to do something similar. I volunteered in Asia for 2 years and it was the best decision I've made. Also, it gives you stuff to talk about during your interviews and more interesting personal statement. You mature a lot during the time you volunteer and gain a lot of insight into healthcare in developing countries, even if you're not specifically working with health. If you want more info PM me.

 

[T15]

I was in a similar situation when in undergrad and decided to go to the Peace Corps first, and applied while abroad. A few things of note would be
1. you have enough vacation time to return to the US for a week or 2 in the second year for the interviews if you choose to go directly (you have 24 days a year of vacation including weekends so you would have to save them up.)
2. Applying while abroad is hard because computers may or may not work, the internet is not reliable, and your english sucks after not speaking much of it for over a year.
3. The service commitment is 2 years 3 months, so if you go on one of the summer departure dates you may have trouble time wise going straight to med school (start mid june end mid sept)
4. A year off can be good, you get to travel around the country and visit all your RPCV friends near the med schools and turn interviews into mini vacations. I emailed a bunch of schools to find out if my scores would still be valid, though I took my MCAT after graduating. If you have any other questions about Peace Corps and med school PM me and I am more than willing to share

 

[Naijaba]

Hi oldenough2know,

I'm currently doing Teach for America, and let me tell you...it is VERY difficult to run a classroom and prepare my application to medical school. I'm worse off than you in that I haven't taken the MCAT just yet.

I can image that the Peace Corps is similar in difficulty, in which case I would urge you to prepare your personal statement in advance so that the application doesn't consume too much of your time.

 

[glikegrandpa]

and your english sucks after not speaking much of it for over a year.

THIS. The other day I tried to describe the difference between Khmer curry and Indian curry and I literally said, "Khmer curry watery more." And also I keep spelling chef "shef"...

Hi oldenough2know,

I'm currently doing Teach for America, and let me tell you...it is VERY difficult to run a classroom and prepare my application to medical school. I'm worse off than you in that I haven't taken the MCAT just yet.

I can image that the Peace Corps is similar in difficulty, in which case I would urge you to prepare your personal statement in advance so that the application doesn't consume too much of your time.

So much free time in the Peace Corps--which is why loneliness is such a huge factor here--so don't worry about not finding time.

(Sorry for resurrecting an old thread.)

 

[Sailor Senshi Dermystify]

THIS. The other day I tried to describe the difference between Khmer curry and Indian curry and I literally said, "Khmer curry watery more." And also I keep spelling chef "shef"...



So much free time in the Peace Corps--which is why loneliness is such a huge factor here--so don't worry about not finding time.

(Sorry for resurrecting an old thread.)

Are you doing the Peace Corps right now?

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I know many schools will allow one year deferments if the applicant has a good reason, but I'm not sure about two year deferments. Maybe you could contact schools you are interested in and ask them directly.

I was very, very confused for a short period of time at seeing my response, as I did not recall posting in the thread. Then, I saw my post was two years ago. Now, I am not confused.

 

[Total180]

I just skimmed the replies to this, so if someone has already mentioned this then you can ignore me. If you took the MCAT in January and it would take you a year to apply to the peace corps, and 2 years IN the peace corps, if you applied when you got back you would probably have to take the it again. A lot of schools only take a score that is 3 years old, and yours would be past that. I would definitely NOT want to let a score like a 42 expire. I would apply this year, and if you get an acceptance and can't get a deferral, I would GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. The peace corps will always be there, or you could do doctors without borders and actually be able to do something after you graduate. Going abroad and doing volunteer work amazing, and an experience I will never forget...but getting a 42 on the MCAT and letting it expire just seems so sad (maybe because I sucked at it? ).

edit: Oh geez...this thread is from 2009...dumb.

 

[kansaskid]

man, i got super excited when i saw this; I'm applying from africa while in the peace corps this cycle! But, oh well. I wonder what the OP decided?

 

[getdown]

What's up with lame-os reviving threads of late? You know, I'm going to find the oldest thread possible and respond to it even though I'm years late and the OP has probably moved on with his life already.