As I've been trying to plan when I will apply, I've come across a major question that I haven't been able to find a definitive answer for. My predicament:
Currently a Senior, graduating in May. Working in a science-related field for the next year, starting in June. Taking the MCAT in May. Two Options (assuming MCAT turns out okay):
1.) Apply this cycle, matriculate immediately after my contract runs out
2.) Work for a year, apply next cycle. Travel a good bit between a (hopeful) acceptance and the start of school.
Due to a strong desire to travel and the huge commitment of beginning medical school, I really would like to travel beforehand. I understand that there will never be another time in my life where I have this much freedom to travel, and I would like to take advantage of it. As a result, I'm really leaning towards option #2. Assuming everything falls into place, I would work from June 2015 ~ July/August 2016, apply during June/July 2016, interview, etc. during the Fall of 2016, and spend time traveling until June/July 2017. Aside from satisfying my desire to travel, I think my year of work experience would add a slight boost to my application.
So all of this brings me to my main question - is this a risky plan? My chief concern is that (being in the grey area between trad and non-trad by taking 2 years off) adcoms would look down upon someone who is not really doing anything "productive" in his or her time before medical school. When asked in an interview what I would be doing (since I wouldn't be working for the same company at that point) until matriculation, would "volunteering in my hometown for a period of time then traveling" negatively affect my application?
I believe I have solid EC's, GPA, etc. and would hate to shoot myself in the foot after putting in this much effort into the whole process. At the same time, I see 65 year old me looking back with regret if I don't take the opportunity to travel for a few months. I've looked into the deferral policy for schools I am interested in, and almost all schools seem to have a case-by-case basis for determining referrals and don't seem to look to favorably on deferring for my reasons. As a result, I'm not really considering applying this cycle and trying to defer. Can anyone shed some light on my predicament?
Edit: I wanted to add that I have tons of non-clinical volunteering with a strong common theme, but no clinical volunteering. Have ~60 hours of shadowing multiple specialties. Another concern I have is that the lack of direct clinical experience/volunteering outside of shadowing coupled with the 2 year gap would lead to questions about dedication to medicine, etc.
Currently a Senior, graduating in May. Working in a science-related field for the next year, starting in June. Taking the MCAT in May. Two Options (assuming MCAT turns out okay):
1.) Apply this cycle, matriculate immediately after my contract runs out
2.) Work for a year, apply next cycle. Travel a good bit between a (hopeful) acceptance and the start of school.
Due to a strong desire to travel and the huge commitment of beginning medical school, I really would like to travel beforehand. I understand that there will never be another time in my life where I have this much freedom to travel, and I would like to take advantage of it. As a result, I'm really leaning towards option #2. Assuming everything falls into place, I would work from June 2015 ~ July/August 2016, apply during June/July 2016, interview, etc. during the Fall of 2016, and spend time traveling until June/July 2017. Aside from satisfying my desire to travel, I think my year of work experience would add a slight boost to my application.
So all of this brings me to my main question - is this a risky plan? My chief concern is that (being in the grey area between trad and non-trad by taking 2 years off) adcoms would look down upon someone who is not really doing anything "productive" in his or her time before medical school. When asked in an interview what I would be doing (since I wouldn't be working for the same company at that point) until matriculation, would "volunteering in my hometown for a period of time then traveling" negatively affect my application?
I believe I have solid EC's, GPA, etc. and would hate to shoot myself in the foot after putting in this much effort into the whole process. At the same time, I see 65 year old me looking back with regret if I don't take the opportunity to travel for a few months. I've looked into the deferral policy for schools I am interested in, and almost all schools seem to have a case-by-case basis for determining referrals and don't seem to look to favorably on deferring for my reasons. As a result, I'm not really considering applying this cycle and trying to defer. Can anyone shed some light on my predicament?
Edit: I wanted to add that I have tons of non-clinical volunteering with a strong common theme, but no clinical volunteering. Have ~60 hours of shadowing multiple specialties. Another concern I have is that the lack of direct clinical experience/volunteering outside of shadowing coupled with the 2 year gap would lead to questions about dedication to medicine, etc.
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