What are you doing in your gap year?

[TurnYourHeadAnd]

Besides frantically filling out secondaries, what are you doing in the year between graduation and med school?

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[deleted103730]

working, researching, and volunteering.

 

[LodiDodi]

I'm taking more undergrad classes to mend my gpa just in case this application cycle goes bad. I'm also working and thinking about doing some research since I missed out on that during undergrad and wish I wouldn't have. Volunteering as well.

Basically I'll be doing everything with the assumption that I wont get in (which is a 50/50 chance).

 

[jochi1543]

I'm taking more undergrad classes to mend my gpa just in case this application cycle goes bad. I'm also working and thinking about doing some research since I missed out on that during undergrad and wish I wouldn't have. Volunteering as well.

Basically I'll be doing everything with the assumption that I wont get in (which is a 50/50 chance).

Same here. I also have a guaranteed interview at one Canadian school because of my stats, BUT my acceptance (if any) would be conditional on this upcoming year being 30 credits, 80% of the courses being 300-level and above, AND with a GPA of 3.7. So it's gonna be a pretty intense academic year for me.

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

drinking, playing rugby, drinking, and working

 

[Funky]

just working
maybe traveling if i save up enough

 

[neurochic]

working

researching

traveling

hopefully learning lots

 

[ReachingTruth]

save african baby
working
volunteering
traveling

one of those won't likely happen.

 

[K2theG]

work, play RUGBY, drink ....... say again PLAY rugby and DRINKING!

 

[Rikkye]

volunteering

shadowing

working

jc classes

and MUSIC!!!! (piano) <-- very important

 

[leaftye]

I might just be tired, but why take a gap year?

 

[Dulcina]

i might be wrong, but i think they're talking about if you apply after senior year, you have a year out of school while you're waiting to hear back from schools

 

[dhowe2909]

Research at the National Cancer Institute, graduate courses in immunology, possibly volunteering or teaching kaplan in my free time

 

[Dr. Josh]

Research at the National Cancer Institute, graduate courses in immunology, possibly volunteering or teaching kaplan in my free time

are you actually doing all this right now? Isn't it difficult to get a job at the NCI?

 

[146233]

I might just be tired, but why take a gap year?

i might be wrong, but i think they're talking about if you apply after senior year, you have a year out of school while you're waiting to hear back from schools

This also applies to non-traditional students, people in SMP's or post-bac programs, etc.

 

[mmcnam]

moving to LA, working (hopefully research), volunteering?, interviewing???

for those of you who are working, have you got jobs and what are they? i'm applying everywhere right now and i'm waiting to hear back. just curious.

 

[ShineForYou]

as a quasi-non-traditional student, i vouch for getting a job. first there are the pros--no homework, no exams, and you get paid! but i think the most important advantage of working is the perspective that you gain from being in the real world. student life gives limited perspective, and working has really helped me to mature as a person and see the world differently. i've been working for three years and i'm applying now to go to school next fall. a lot of my friends from undergrad are just now starting to finish up their 4 years at med school, but i don't regret the time i've taken off the least bit.

 

[Bartelby]

Working (research at a University), writing, and relaxing. I am taking some time to kind of kick back after graduating and before starting medical school.

It's weird, every resident I talked to while externing at a residency program (and most of the attendings that I have mentioned this to as well) said that they wished they had taken a year off. After spending a lazy summer completing secondaries and living in a deserted college town, I am not so sure I am feeling the magic. I think people have this perception of a gap year travelling Europe or volunteering in some far away place, but who can afford that, especially with interview travel costs? At any rate, I am taking a gap year because I started the pre-med track late, not because I wanted to take one. Hopefully by the end of the year I will know what is so great about it.

 

[Snips McCool]

Research at the University of Cambridge. Hopefully I'll be able to do more traveling than just flying back for interviews.

 

[dia009]

i'm kind of non-trad.

also.. i'm learning to draw...

 

[WurangBlang]

currently being a bum... playing jazz piano and watch animes. I am planning to work soon. And may be volunteering at the hospital again, if i don't hear any good news from '08 cycle.

does working out count?

 

[michiganblue08]

is it true that you have to pay your college loans in your gap year?

 

[cruz21]

sadly yes, unless you do something like teach for america or americorps which will allow you to defer them. i think this is why a lot of people (who have loans) choose to work during the gap year.

 

[jochi1543]

is it true that you have to pay your college loans in your gap year?

Depends on your loan terms. My old lender gave me a 6-month grace period after graduation (no interest, no payments). My current lender also has a 6-month grace period, but only for payments (interest still accumulates).

 

[xx216xx]

Teaching high school biology and paying off credit cards...stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid

 

[yellowumbrella]

Research, shadowing, volunteering...

now i'm joining AmeriCorps! Very excited.

 

[pandulce321]

Teaching high school biology and paying off credit cards...stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid

I am teaching high school chemistry... but I am worried about getting the time off I need to interview. How are you handling a balance between the 2?

 

[shevie]

taught high school english last year, got married and moved last summer, NIH postbac fellow this year (graduated 2 mos after turning 20, thought I was too young to be a competitive applicant, so I took 2 yrs off rather than one)

 

[artaxerxes]

taught high school english last year, got married and moved last summer, NIH postbac fellow this year (graduated 2 mos after turning 20, thought I was too young to be a competitive applicant, so I took 2 yrs off rather than one)

thats a lot of stuff for a 20yr old, especially the marriage.

Did you finish college early or had some sort of non-traditional education experience.

 

[artaxerxes]

I am teaching high school chemistry... but I am worried about getting the time off I need to interview. How are you handling a balance between the 2?

thats what subs are for! say you got an attack of gout or have irratible bowel syndrome.

 

[Cabbage]

prolly doing a post-bacc or MPH if i dont get in this cycle. so pretty much i'll be studying/slingin yayo

 

[Jolie South]

Depends on your loan terms. My old lender gave me a 6-month grace period after graduation (no interest, no payments). My current lender also has a 6-month grace period, but only for payments (interest still accumulates).

If your payments are more than 25% of your monthly income, you can get an economic hardship deferment. Also, if you have money and just don't want to pay, you can get a forbearance. Then, when you matriculate, you can defer because you are a student.

 

[Jolie South]

as a quasi-non-traditional student, i vouch for getting a job. first there are the pros--no homework, no exams, and you get paid! but i think the most important advantage of working is the perspective that you gain from being in the real world. student life gives limited perspective, and working has really helped me to mature as a person and see the world differently. i've been working for three years and i'm applying now to go to school next fall. a lot of my friends from undergrad are just now starting to finish up their 4 years at med school, but i don't regret the time i've taken off the least bit.

I appreciate everything that I have that has come directly as a result of my own income. It feels good to be independent. I was rather spoiled as an undergrad and grad student. I didn't appreciate the value of money before. Working really gave me that perspective. Even if my parents offered to pay for med school, I want to be responsible for my life and would probably not accept.

 

[Fiddlergirl]

I'm working as a lab tech (medical research), taking an EMT training course and enjoying actually having a life. I'm still playing with the local orchestra but I've joined a opera group and I've still got time to play with the SCA. I'm really loving this whole "no homework" thing.

 

[Quix]

Teaching (Intro to Philosophy, Ethics, Logic, Technical Writing, English Comp, Law and Ethics), research (& trying to get NIH funding for one of my studies), etc., etc.

 

[tulane07]

I was banking on a job that would have started this month and I did not end up getting it. I had to move home and am now scrambling to find a job while filling out secondaries. I know I would be a stronger applicant if I wrote about my medical-related job and volunteering I'm going to do, but since they are not set (I'm interviewing etc) I can't write anything. Any advice on what to do? I could wait to send in my secondaries but I hear its best to send them in ASAP...

 

[NAmd1112]

After looking for jobs and not finding any, I decided to start a Masters program with my summer supervisor in September, I'm hoping I can finish it in one year so it will be a lot of work

 

[gujuDoc]

currently being a bum... playing jazz piano and watch animes. I am planning to work soon. And may be volunteering at the hospital again, if i don't hear any good news from '08 cycle.

does working out count?

If you are a pretty good performer and piano player, you could instead do something creative by volunteering at nursing homes to perform jazz piano for the residents. That would be more creative and be a way to combine your love for music and need for gaining community service hours.

 

[yungwunn911]

when you guys say gap year... do you mean down with college waiting to apply (and or receive acceptance?) or ....

-mike

 

[ask1andy]

Working 50+ hours a week as a lab manager. Applying for medical school. Volunteering at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Enjoying a breath of fresh air after graduation.