take a year off?

[Luv2Dance]

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Hey guys,
I am three weeks from graduating OSU and three months away from starting OUCOM. However, to this day I keep asking myself if I had made the right decision and if I am ready to make this longterm commitment at this time. I have been thinking about taking a year off and starting in 2007 at OUCOM. I am already ahead of my class by one year since I skipped 4th grade in elementary school, I am burnt out, I have never had the typical free and careless college lifestyle because of school, work, family, living at home etc.... and I feel like there is a lot I missed out on in undergrad. By taking a year off I can work, party, and perhaps travel to get all that out of my system before med school. On the other hand, maybe taking a year off will make it a lot harder to go back to school. Also I am the type of person who likes to do work and hates wasting time and after a week of doing nothing productive, I become miserable. Should I take a year off or do you think I can do whatever I need to do the summer before medschool and get into a dedicated and serious mode this year?Thanks for your advice!

 

[xTinaBna]

Hey guys,
I am three weeks from graduating OSU and three months away from starting OUCOM. However, to this day I keep asking myself if I had made the right decision and if I am ready to make this longterm commitment at this time. I have been thinking about taking a year off and starting in 2007 at OUCOM. I am already ahead of my class by one year since I skipped 4th grade in elementary school, I am burnt out, I have never had the typical free and careless college lifestyle because of school, work, family, living at home etc.... and I feel like there is a lot I missed out on in undergrad. By taking a year off I can work, party, and perhaps travel to get all that out of my system before med school. On the other hand, maybe taking a year off will make it a lot harder to go back to school. Also I am the type of person who likes to do work and hates wasting time and after a week of doing nothing productive, I become miserable. Should I take a year off or do you think I can do whatever I need to do the summer before medschool and get into a dedicated and serious mode this year?Thanks for your advice!

I think you need to take a step back and think about any personal interests/goals (travel, hobbies, friends, etc..) you may have aside from med school. Since you've been pretty productive all your life, its understandable that you dont like wasting time. But i dont think any time you take for personal growth is wasting time. Think of taking a year off as doing what you want to do without some future agenda. You've worked hard and succeded at getting into med school, and now you have the opportunity to spend your time they way you like to. If anything, taking a year off would get you re-energized and motivated for school. I was actually 2 years ahead in school myself, i graduated in '04 and was in a post bacc program after that. I'm on the waitlist this year, but i honestly am glad i didnt jump into med school right after college (i definitely needed a post bacc 🙂 )..i feel that the past 2 years helped me discover my indpendence and the kind of person i want to be. It may be different for you, but i say..take a break! 😉

Also, i dont know about oucom, but i was under the impression that med schools need a significant reason to grant you a deferral..just make sure that oucom will give you the deferral if you decide you want it. Good luck and congrats on getting in!!

 

[BMW19]

The sentence that you mentioned where you are miserable after a week of nothing to do says it all. If this is true how will you deal with it when the "fun" of the year off gets old. You will prob. want to rip your hair out. I think 3 months off is plenty to "get it all out of your system". Book a 3 wk trip to somewhere you always wanted to go. But a year is a long time to be doing nothing. Trust me it will get old. Plus medicine is a long road, believe me you don't want to extend it anymore than you have to! Take it from someone who was a non-tradit applicant.

Not to mention you will be losing a nice years salary by taking a year off. Anywhere from 130k to the max (name your specialty salary). This may not seem like a big deal now, but when you start paying back your loans that year lost will be a bigger deal than you think.

Just my opinion. Enjoy your 3 months off, party , travel whatever. You will be refreshed and ready to go in August.

BMW-

Hey guys,
I am three weeks from graduating OSU and three months away from starting OUCOM. However, to this day I keep asking myself if I had made the right decision and if I am ready to make this longterm commitment at this time. I have been thinking about taking a year off and starting in 2007 at OUCOM. I am already ahead of my class by one year since I skipped 4th grade in elementary school, I am burnt out, I have never had the typical free and careless college lifestyle because of school, work, family, living at home etc.... and I feel like there is a lot I missed out on in undergrad. By taking a year off I can work, party, and perhaps travel to get all that out of my system before med school. On the other hand, maybe taking a year off will make it a lot harder to go back to school. Also I am the type of person who likes to do work and hates wasting time and after a week of doing nothing productive, I become miserable. Should I take a year off or do you think I can do whatever I need to do the summer before medschool and get into a dedicated and serious mode this year?Thanks for your advice!

 

[Krazykritter]

Now as a MS1, traditional student, who will be done with first year tomorrow (woo-hoo)...I would advise you to do whatever you need to do to get a clear head about you. Entering MS1 year w/out a clear mind & with a doubt as to what you should have done would be pretty rough. As you will hear from other med students...the material you study isn't necessarily any harder than in undergrad, but you will not be able to believe the amount of material & how much time you will HAVE to put in. I could not imagine making it through this year w/out a clear mind & knowing that this is the right place for me.

Most schools will give you a deferral for one year. I would advise you to make a telephone call & ask them when is the latest that you must decide on your status. That way maybe the summer will help & if it doesn't, you can always defer a year. Good luck w/ your decision.

 

[MikeyLu2010]

i pretty much took a year off by taking a half course load..as well as doing nothing for the summer ...and I am totally ready for Med school....I would take the break..if you are already mentally burnt out...just my 2 pennies

 

[Luv2Dance]

thank you guys for all your wonderful posts, i really appreciate your opinions. if anyone else would like to post something, you are more than welcome to.

 

[Gmw1386]

It sounds to me like a year off would just drive you insane. My advice is to just make the next three months as enjoyable as possible. Give yourself a break and just relax for the entire summer. I also wonder whether I'm going to feel burnt out after for years of undergrad. I think I def will, so I plan to just take the entire summer off after undergrad assuming/praying/hoping that I get into medschool. Screw getting a job and finding people to shadow. Just have fun and you'll be ready to hit the books after a summer of doing nothing.