I am planning to study abroad for a semester next year after I get through all the of the pre-reqs most of my major classes and the MCAT. And honestly, Medical school admissions is the last thing on my mind but It will be one semester BEFORE I begin applying to medical school and I honestly do not want to worry about grades AT ALL (Take 12 Credits of something of classes that interest me and maybe do something else on the side for fun like teach english or get an internship) Has anyone studied abroad and done something worthwhile other than classes? (Wondering if I will be able to balance the two) Also, Is it possible to take the entire semester PASS/FAIL or would it look bad to ADCOMS? I dont really care for it to look good I just dont want it to look bad I am going for the experience solely. Thanks for the help
It is an amazing experience...I went to Spain. Balancing an internship with class is not too bad, in fact I believe they give you credit for it so you can take less classes. I also do not believe many programs do pass/fail. I would say if you had the option to take the classes not pass/fail as they are normally not too bad and very doable.
I spent a semester in Florence and it's definitely one of the best experiences I've ever had, so I definitely recommend you do the same. I would advise you against doing pass/fail though because it would probably look questionable to adcoms. That said, it shouldn't be too difficult to do well academically abroad because you should have few other responsibilities (it's going to be tough getting a job or decent ECs in a foreign country). At least, that was my experience.
Second the advice to study abroad. I spent a year in Italy and we had tons of opportunities fir interesting ECs- I worked in an OR for like 6 months and got to do a lot of amazing things that I'd never have the opportunity to do here.
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