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What did you do during your gap year?
Started by ambitiousMED
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I think most of us on here have taken quite a bit more than a gap year. Just a note, there are quite a few posts on this topic in pre allo for people just taking a year or two before applying. That might be more comparable to what you are doing than us folks who are doing major career changes.
In answer to your question. I wasn't planning on applying when I graduated. I was research oriented so I went to grad school for a bit, got started in an allied health field, and have worked in that field in several roles at an academic teaching hospital for the last 7 years or so, and am finishing up a graduate degree in Epidemiology.
But what to do on a gap year for you is going to depend on your overall situation. Are you missing parts of your application? Do you need more clinical experience or volunteering? Is research something you want to dabble in a bit more? Are you grades up to snuff? If yes, work on that stuff then. If you're pretty well set on meeting requirements to turn in a solid medical school application, then I'd suggest a combination of getting a job to make some money and then having some fun with your time, while keeping up with a little bit of community service, maybe do some traveling if you are able and stuff like that.
In answer to your question. I wasn't planning on applying when I graduated. I was research oriented so I went to grad school for a bit, got started in an allied health field, and have worked in that field in several roles at an academic teaching hospital for the last 7 years or so, and am finishing up a graduate degree in Epidemiology.
But what to do on a gap year for you is going to depend on your overall situation. Are you missing parts of your application? Do you need more clinical experience or volunteering? Is research something you want to dabble in a bit more? Are you grades up to snuff? If yes, work on that stuff then. If you're pretty well set on meeting requirements to turn in a solid medical school application, then I'd suggest a combination of getting a job to make some money and then having some fun with your time, while keeping up with a little bit of community service, maybe do some traveling if you are able and stuff like that.
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Work, save your money in preparation of moving to school, needing up front rent money, moving costs, supplies, etc. Remember that loan money doesn't come until 3 weeks into the semester.
I worked a whole bunch to save money towards living expenses during medical school, and then I quit my job and traveled extensively for a few months. Maybe not the best use of some of that money, but it was calculated and enjoyable. As I sit here on a Sunday memorizing biochemical pathways, I daydream of playing Tejo and drinking bad beer in Colombia. Sigh.
I've heard Colombia is so much safer now, and very beautiful. Do you think traveling there alone as a woman and finding a job teaching would be feasible, or would that be unwise? I'll probably chicken out, but it seems like this is the last chance we have to study abroad unless we attend a school with an international rotation.
I worked, then lost my job, then won 2 epic passes for vail, collected unemployment while skiing in the winter and sitting by the pool in the summer... Honestly, that's totally the way to go... get a job, work some hours, have some fun...
I don't know about finding a teaching job specifically (though I met a boatload of people in Peru who were teaching English for the summer), but I'd say more than half of the people I met traveling in Colombia were solo females. I can't think of anywhere I went in the country that traveling alone would be a problem. Admittedly though, I spent very minimal time in the big cities. I'm more of a small town type of guy. Actually, stay away from the Venezuela - Colombia border. Feel free to PM me if you decide to go, and I'd be happy to share my tips and suggestions for places to go and things to do.
Thank you for that offer! I will take you up on it should my funds allow for travel in the near future. 🙂 The Spanish in Colombia is supposedly more "pure" than Spanish in countries like the Dominican Republic or in Puerto Rico, so it's very appealing in that respect. Since you're more of a small town type of guy that actually puts my mind at ease, as I've heard that a lack of "street smarts" (my sister's words, not mine - she's lived in a big city for years now) can create a lot of problems when traveling in countries with a less well developed infrastructure and police force.
