Taking a year off? What did you do/would have done with that time?!?

[UMICHPremed]

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Hey,

For all of you who took off a year before applying, what did you do during that year?

If you didn't take off a year, what would you have done if you did take off a year?

I am currently a junior, and I am seriously contemplating taking off a year. I have a 3.8/37Q. I feel like activity wise, there are several holes that I need to plug to have a shot at a good school.

 

[doctorshateher]

Wow! I am almost 100% in the same situation as you. Like, exact same stats, grade, state and scenario/reason for taking a year off.

The only thing I think is really missing from my application is some solid clinical experience, so I plan on taking a quick CNA course and then working for a year as a CNA most likely at a nursing home. It won't be the most glamorous job, but I think it shows commitment. Also, CNA courses are cheaper than EMT courses, and CNA jobs are a lot easier to come by (at least around where I live--which is around where you live as well, lol)

Additionally, I'll be doing drum corps next summer and volunteering at a free clinic in Detroit doing health education one day a week.

Hopefully, this will give me a flexible enough schedule in the fall for interviews and also allow me to extend clinical experiences and make a small amount of money to pay for said interviews.

 

[Evergrey]

What did I do in my two years off (note: I am midway through, and just began applying to medical school this year)?

Take a Biochem class, study for the MCAT, languish in unemployment hell, take odd jobs wherever I could (retail at Halloween store, anyone?), finally get a full-time job that I hate, quit the job, apply to medical school, languish in unemployment hell again and kick myself repeatedly for not getting a healthcare cert in order to get a meaningful/useful job.

By the way, average time it takes to get first job for new grads right now is 6-8 months. How ridiculous is that. By the time you get a job, it will be time to quit soon and start medical school. In other words, most longer-term/interesting jobs may be closed to you unless you can arrange to begin soon after you graduate.

I'm not bitter at all 😉 But word of advice, if you are going to take a year off, make sure it is planned out and doesn't happen suddenly, like it did for me. If you can make plans, then I'm sure you will have a great gap year.

Maybe I should do the CNA thing, I wonder if I can find a school that works with my schedule. So far for EMT and Phleb, the ones nearby are rigidly stuck in the semester system.

 

[willen101383]

I took 5 years off bro. Its called "life" ,live it. You will be fine.

FYI. I worked full time. Got 3 dogs. Lifted a ton. Bought a house. Didnt do any extracurriculars. Partied. Got a masters degree. Learned to love to drink good scotch. Brewed a lot of beer. Built my own 2 keg kegorator for said homebrew. Ummm lots of other stuff too I think I am leaving out. There is more to life than going to med school.

 

[jm192]

My MCAT was the problem, so I would have worked on that.

And gotten a job. I worked, but only part time, and through my University.

 

[chasincam]

^ What willen said. I've already taken off 3 years. I did research for one year and now I'm teaching middle school science. For me, its been a ton of fun. I really enjoy "life". I feel like a much stronger applicant than the one I was 3 years ago. I plan on applying next year and will have had at least 5 years off before I start medical school, if I get in.

But its all up to you. Some schools may want/like that much "life" experience between college and med school. Some may not really care. Honestly, just do what YOU want to do and what makes YOU happy. You already look like a stellar applicant. You're going to be doing medicine your ENTIRE life. Why not try out something you always wanted to do? For me it was teaching.

What's the worst that could happen? So you tried out something and realized you liked medicine a lot more. Or, you try out something new and gain another passion that you could somehow mix with medicine and then be an even better doctor. I for example, always liked teaching. I have been teaching for a few years now and I really enjoy it but I also know its not a career for me. But I now have a better ability to teach than I did before, I could easily combine teaching and medicine in every day practice, and I will never have the "what if" go through my head if I'm second guessing if whether or not I should have tried out teaching first....because I did 😀

 

[willen101383]

^ What willen said. I've already taken off 3 years. I did research for one year and now I'm teaching middle school science. For me, its been a ton of fun. I really enjoy "life". I feel like a much stronger applicant than the one I was 3 years ago. I plan on applying next year and will have had at least 5 years off before I start medical school, if I get in.

But its all up to you. Some schools may want/like that much "life" experience between college and med school. Some may not really care. Honestly, just do what YOU want to do and what makes YOU happy. You already look like a stellar applicant. You're going to be doing medicine your ENTIRE life. Why not try out something you always wanted to do? For me it was teaching.

What's the worst that could happen? So you tried out something and realized you liked medicine a lot more. Or, you try out something new and gain another passion that you could somehow mix with medicine and then be an even better doctor. I for example, always liked teaching. I have been teaching for a few years now and I really enjoy it but I also know its not a career for me. But I now have a better ability to teach than I did before, I could easily combine teaching and medicine in every day practice, and I will never have the "what if" go through my head if I'm second guessing if whether or not I should have tried out teaching first....because I did 😀

I personally think you should be required to work for a certain amount of time before you are eligible to apply to med school. Sort of like MBA programs. I am sure certain people are mature enough to go straight to med school at age 21 but I would be willing to bet a decent number should be waiting a few years, I know I sure as hell wasnt mature enough...or driven enough. Either your drive to become a doc becomes stronger as time goes on....or it wanes and you find something else you love doing. The sheer number of "my parents dont want me to do X" threads on here solidify my opinion. Taking time off isnt a negative. Its a huge positive. You get to experience some of your early to mid 20s, something you may be missing out on if you go right into med school from undergrad. I wouldnt give up the last 5 years for the world. Props on giving teaching a shot! 🙂 I had a professor in grad school who is the chief medical examiner down here...and he teaches at night. So it really is doable.

 

[longwhorn]

Worked for a hedge fund m-f and volun. at UT Southwestern every Saturday.

 

[mvenus929]

I took two years off. I spent the fall after graduation getting a phlebotomy certificate. Then I hunted for a job and managed to get one in January. I worked at that for a while. I had another contingency plan... I applied for the medical technology internship program at my hospital, and got placed as first alternate and the director said if I was really interested in doing the program, she'd fill out the paperwork to expand the class to 5. I turned it down because I liked my patient interaction too much--thus deciding to reapply to med school. Interestingly enough, she never did expand the class size. The class that I was supposed to be in was 4, and the class that just started this month is also 4. So I guess they weren't dying to expand it.

Then I reapplied, while still working. I managed to pay off my debts from my first application cycle, fund my second application cycle, and save over 6K to move and get situated in my new place (which I was planning on doing whether I got in to medical school or not).

 

[juliedi]

Even if you don't "need" to take a year off (to improve some aspect of your application), I would totally 100% recommend it! It gives you a chance to give your mind a break from school, to gain some real-world experience, save some money (hopefully...) and to do something fun/worthwhile that you might otherwise not have time to do.

I just graduated from college and am applying to schools now, and in my gap year I'm working part-time in a surgeon's office and part-time as a program coordinator at the YMCA. It's been so great so far, I definitely suggest it to anyone!

 

[twocentnews]

Right now, I'm in my year off and doing a research job and volunteering with elderly on weekends.

Plus, I landed the research gig around April of my senior yr in college, and by choice, I started working in June instead of right after graduation. Your grades and MCAT are much stronger than mine. If you really want a job, you'll find it. Don't worry, and apply!

I highly recommend the year off too. A few months in, and I can feel my love for medicine growing with every day I do research at the hospital I'm at.

 

[45408]

I would have traveled extensively, gone skiing for a few weeks, and slept a LOT.

 

[NickNaylor]

I would get a research job. Or teach as a high school teacher. Definitely not sit around and do nothing, that's for sure.

 

[chasincam]

Thanks Willen. Yeah, teaching is awesome. Naturally, it's a great skill to have. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen patients confused by doctor explanations in my shadowing experiences. Generally its from the specialists, but I've even seen it from GP's too.

At OP. Having time off has also given me a lot of confidence in myself personally which is always a plus when it comes to applications. Good luck finding something you love.

 

[PsychScience]

You could do a post-graduate service program! After undergrad I did a domestic volunteer program, it was a great experience, and you could definitely look for one where you could get clinical exposure. Although, I will admit that on a volunteer stipend (for me, it was like $100 a month) it makes it real difficult to afford applications.

 

[doraxplorer]

First to the OP, GREAT QUESTIONS! And everyone responses are so motivating! I am also a junior and contemplating taking a gap year, which even a few months ago sitting in my premed advisor's office I was 100% opposed to. Now I still have my reserves about taking a year off, but it's been on my mind so much that I'm beginning to wonder if it's a CALLING of some sort! But thanks for the great advice everyone!