Take GAP year or no?

[ktruon2]

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I called the adcom for a school that I got rejected to post interview and I got the vibe from them that the only big factor as to why I didn't get in was because I applied too late and the seats were basically filled.

I asked them about taking a gap year and they said if this is really what I want to do I should just apply this cycle.

What do I do? I've heard that reapplicants should have significant change in their applications to be considered and now their adcom is telling me otherwise 😕.

 

[mvenus929]

How many schools did you apply to before? How many interviews did you get? When did you apply?

The last time I applied, I applied early, and fairly broadly. I got 4 interviews, but no acceptances. I didn't get in because 1) I was young and 2) I didn't have a great deal of clinical experience. By the time May rolled around, my application had changed very little, and I hadn't addressed the weaknesses in my application. So, I opted to take a gap year, and I think my application now is amazing. If I don't get in this year, it's got to be my personality that's clashing with people, and that's not really something I can address.

If the only weakness your application had was that you applied late (and you'll need to define late... if you barely got your application and secondaries in by the deadline, that's a little different from applying in August and being complete in, say, October), then you can reapply this year and have a much better chance of getting in. But, if you have any other weaknesses in your application, you might want to consider addressing those before you make the decision to apply again.

 

[sarahl86]

I don't see why a committee would imply it would hurt you to hold off and improve your application...but you may have been misinterpreting or the other person misconstruing as well. Did you not really change or do anything new throughout this cycle? I made a lot of changes when I realized the first time I applied wasn't going to pan out. Maybe get more substantial experinces with your clinical ECs or a publication from research?

We also don't know your stats though so we can't comment a whole lot. It may have been problems in your LORs or PS but I think that having a year to decompress and re-evaluate why you want to go into medicine will be hugely beneficial. You can gain meaningful experiences and you will show just as much determination applying next year as you would have this year because either way you're not giving up on your dream, just solidifying the chances of it happening if you spend the gap year wisely.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

welcome to politics.

My impression is that the true reason many applicants are not accepted is that they applied too late. I personally experienced but don't want to get boring w/details.

I'd suggest at least adding some icing to your app, AND (of course) applying way earlier. It will likely cause issues at some schools if you don't add icing (another LOR, maybe more EC/clinical hours, etc) due to cognitive dissonance -- schools (in my opinion) don't WANT to admit they didn't accept a great applicant because the schools admissions office was swamped and they didn't read all of the applications carefully -- they want to admit a reapplicant who is committed and has strengthened their application.

Note to poster above -- you CAN fix your "personality clashing with people" -- perception, largely, IS reality -- if you stop to think of the interviewer's perspective, recognize you won't change their fundamental beliefs in a 3 minute answer, and recognize that much of medical training is kowtowing to others rather than expressing your individuality, you'd be most of the way there. again, this is just my opinion based largely on non-med experiences

 

[mvenus929]

Note to poster above -- you CAN fix your "personality clashing with people" -- perception, largely, IS reality -- if you stop to think of the interviewer's perspective, recognize you won't change their fundamental beliefs in a 3 minute answer, and recognize that much of medical training is kowtowing to others rather than expressing your individuality, you'd be most of the way there. again, this is just my opinion based largely on non-med experiences

I get along with people fairly well when I have limited contact with them. I work in a hospital and see patients for all of 5 minutes at a time. I haven't heard any complaints about my attitude in their rooms, though they have complained to me about some of my coworkers and thanked me for not having such an attitude as they did.

None of my coworkers have any complaints about me that I've heard, except that I'm very quiet. I'm an introvert and a listener... I can't change that.

So if I clash with people, I can't really affect it. It's not like I'm nosy and boisterous and need to calm down. I'm naturally subdued.

 

[lionel black]

.Hi there! Yeah, I agree with the above: gap year is a good idea! I took one myself, four years ago. I wanted to go travelling while doing something useful and related to what I was going to study later (medicine), and so ..I found a company specilaising in volunteer projects and internships abroad and took part in this wonderful volunteer medical placement in Ghana. Participating in this project made me appreciate the value of education even more and gave me even greater motivation to study medicine as I realised how important and rewarding it is to help others. I am now a proud medicine student and I wouldn't change my volunteer experience for the world 😉 So, I encourage everyone to pursue their dreams! 🙂.