Quick Question

[KingJames23]

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Hi all, I have a quick question that I'm unsure about. When you get all your pre reqs,degree,mcat done can you wait a year to work/volunteer/whatever and then apply to med school? How long are your mcat and grades acceptable for? Do a lot of people do this?

 

[Tolip]

Hi all, I have a quick question that I'm unsure about. When you get all your pre reqs,degree,mcat done can you wait a year to work/volunteer/whatever and then apply to med school? How long are your mcat and grades acceptable for? Do a lot of people do this?

Yes, you can.
Many people take a year off school between undergrad and med school. I took 3 years off.
The MCAT scores are good for different amounts of time, depending on the school. I believe they're good for at least 2 or 3 years at most schools. Some schools I've looked at will accept scores after up to 5 years.

 

[DendWrite]

Yes, you can absolutely do this. Your MCAT is typically valid for 2-3 years at a given school. Definitely check at the ones you are interested in. Grades are valid forever, but a lot of schools will want you to take some more science classes to prove you haven't "lost it" (or something like that) if you've taken more than 5 years off.

Should you do it? It depends. A lot of people obviously apply during their senior year so they don't take the gap year but then a lot don't. It largely depends on your goals...how is your GPA, have you taken the MCAT yet, what do your volunteering / research / shadowing stats look like?

If you haven't taken the MCAT yet, the extra year is a great time to study and prepare so you can kill it. However, if you already have a good MCAT/GPA + volunteering & shadowing, the gap year might not be necessary (unless you just want to take a little break for yourself). If you post your stats as well as goals (med schools you are interested in applying to), it would be easier to give you a more definitive answer.

 

[KingJames23]

Yes, you can absolutely do this. Your MCAT is typically valid for 2-3 years at a given school. Definitely check at the ones you are interested in. Grades are valid forever, but a lot of schools will want you to take some more science classes to prove you haven't "lost it" (or something like that) if you've taken more than 5 years off.

Should you do it? It depends. A lot of people obviously apply during their senior year so they don't take the gap year but then a lot don't. It largely depends on your goals...how is your GPA, have you taken the MCAT yet, what do your volunteering / research / shadowing stats look like?

If you haven't taken the MCAT yet, the extra year is a great time to study and prepare so you can kill it. However, if you already have a good MCAT/GPA + volunteering & shadowing, the gap year might not be necessary (unless you just want to take a little break for yourself). If you post your stats as well as goals (med schools you are interested in applying to), it would be easier to give you a more definitive answer.

Dendwrite, I'm still young in the proccess. I am a freshman starting second sem. No i have not taken the mcat, my sGPA=4.0 while my cummulative is a 3.77. I know I have a ways to go. I've thought of a couple med schools- Medical College of Wisconsin, UW-Madison Med.,Loyola stritch. Those are all I have. I dont know much about them tho. I think a gap year would be nice because I dont have much money. If I work and stuff in my off year then I can have some extra experience and money for the costly application proccess.
On another topic I was wondering for advice. I am thinking of taking one pre req a year to make sure I do well. I dont think I'd do well with two or three. Would you recommend this? I'm a bio major and think this would be the best choice.

 

[DendWrite]

Do whatever it takes to maintain as high a GPA as possible. You are still a freshman, so it's absolutely fine to "ease your way into it" to make sure you can handle the courseload. As long as you are a full-time student, it's fine. Taking a lighter load will also let you do more extracurriculars. Just keep your sGPA as high as possible.

Regarding money: as you are still a freshman, you do have some time, and your sGPA is obviously great. There are lots of options. First, many schools have fee assistance programs if you come from a disadvantaged background. Second, you should look at things like TA or resident advisor opportunities. They look great on your application, and are an easy way to pick up some money (or free room & board, which is essentially money you didn't have to spend). Finally, many labs pay research assistants well ($10+ an hour), so you'd not only have a job but get research exposure. Many of these programs go through work-study...so check with your school's financial aid / student employment office.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't take a year off, but since you are starting out early and have a lot of fee options (and plus a good GPA, especially given your current choices for med schools), I don't think you -need- to take the gap year. If you are solely taking the gap year for financial issues, I'd say get a loan if necessary or start saving up now. One year of attending salary on the other end ($150k+) will easily trump even a $10k loan. Taking the year off to improve your application is another story. Things will become clearer as you move along in the process, but for now just keep up the good work!

 

[KingJames23]

Do whatever it takes to maintain as high a GPA as possible. You are still a freshman, so it's absolutely fine to "ease your way into it" to make sure you can handle the courseload. As long as you are a full-time student, it's fine. Taking a lighter load will also let you do more extracurriculars. Just keep your sGPA as high as possible.

Regarding money: as you are still a freshman, you do have some time, and your sGPA is obviously great. There are lots of options. First, many schools have fee assistance programs if you come from a disadvantaged background. Second, you should look at things like TA or resident advisor opportunities. They look great on your application, and are an easy way to pick up some money (or free room & board, which is essentially money you didn't have to spend). Finally, many labs pay research assistants well ($10+ an hour), so you'd not only have a job but get research exposure. Many of these programs go through work-study...so check with your school's financial aid / student employment office.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't take a year off, but since you are starting out early and have a lot of fee options (and plus a good GPA, especially given your current choices for med schools), I don't think you -need- to take the gap year. If you are solely taking the gap year for financial issues, I'd say get a loan if necessary or start saving up now. One year of attending salary on the other end ($150k+) will easily trump even a $10k loan. Taking the year off to improve your application is another story. Things will become clearer as you move along in the process, but for now just keep up the good work!

Thanks for the help. Anything else that could help out my application. I am doing volunteering and shadowing a surgeon. I was thinking of working at BioLife or doing phlebotomy at the hospital. I was thinking that could make my application look more "special/unique.

BTW, whats your status DendWrite. You still pre-med and stuff? Where at?

 

[DendWrite]

Thanks for the help. Anything else that could help out my application. I am doing volunteering and shadowing a surgeon. I was thinking of working at BioLife or doing phlebotomy at the hospital. I was thinking that could make my application look more "special/unique.

BTW, whats your status DendWrite. You still pre-med and stuff? Where at?

Phlebotomy is good clinical exposure, not to mention that you'll be ahead of the game when it comes to sticking patients with tough access. Plus you'll probably get paid. It's not really unique...there are very few unique activities in the whole pre-med game, just unique experiences. Even the overseas volunteering, teach for america, Peace Corps. They might "look good," but in the end it's the experiences you have while doing things that get you in, IMO, not the things themselves.

I guess I'm "pre-med" (I don't know if there's a term for pre- MD/PhD), but I'm aiming to go into clinical / translational research...hopefully. I'm a sophomore, and I'd prefer not to disclose my undergrad to preserve my anonymity.

 

[KingJames23]

Ok, thanks for the input and help!