Studying abroad senior spring?

[fogo]

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Hello all,

I am aiming to finish undergraduate in 3.5 years (fulfill all requirements for graduation) and spend the last spring abroad -- most likely to Brazil. The question is, I am hoping to apply right after junior year, so I'm afraid that some of the interviews might clash with studying abroad timeframe, which runs from early January to mid-July. Is it still feasible to go abroad, and fly back to the States whenever an interview might pop up after January (I'm assuming that not many will have interviews after December anyways)? Thank you for your help!

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Probably no easy, safe answer. It has the potential to either hurt you or not matter at all. However, many people call studying abroad the highlight of their college career. You'll have to make a choice.

Is there no workaround? I wanted to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country, which is difficult to fit into a science major, so I'll be doing a summer session instead or a semester. My school also has short things over January. Could you not do it earlier? Maybe not, I don't know your schedule, but it's a possible compromise.

 

[fogo]

I would like to do it earlier, but I would be taking prereqs for both my major and MCAT until after junior year fall. I would take biochemistry and Physics 2 in junior fall, then prepare for MCAT junior spring (so junior year would be likely impossible), and hopefully just get in time for applying and submitting in the summer. I guess senior year summer could be a possibility, but I think I'd prefer to show continuity to medical schools by sticking with summer lab research at my institution.

I am also interested in pursuing a research Fulbright scholarship -- specifically, the one in Netherlands regarding childhood cancer research. I consider studying abroad as an absolute must before entering medical school, so I do think senior spring might be the best compromise. Any thoughts?

 

[fogo]

Hi gonnif, thank you for the helpful reply! Regardless of what happens, I want to start medical school right after four years in undergrad, with no gap year(s) inbetween. I want to graduate in 3.5 years not just because of the extra tuition but also because the ~6 months of free time that I'd get would allow me to not only relax but also travel the world a bit, while waiting for med school results come out. If not something as structured as study abroad, are there other programs that I could take advantage of in that timeframe that would let me go to South America in some way and get to explore the culture? I speak fluent Spanish and intermediate Portuguese.

 

[fogo]

Assuming cost and getting into med school straight aren't an issue, I believe I could leverage the free time after December (when I graduate in 3.5 years) into something like traveling/relaxing. I'm asking if it's not a 'study abroad' per se, if I could pursue something like this in the spring. I don't want to work in a research lab full time the spring before Med school...

 

[twentyeightmiles]

I've met a few people living abroad while applying, but it seems to require a very sizable wallet.

As a note, a Fulbright definitely requires a gap year. 🙂