What should I do during my gap year?

[premedasaurus]

Hello everyone! I am about to graduate, and I have no idea what to do during my gap year. Any suggestions would be wonderful, but I would love to know what to do to fill my gaps and what could be something exciting/unique to do before starting my medical career!

My info:
GPA: 4.0/4.0 science
MCAT: N/A (taking this summer)
Clinical experience: 300 hours volunteering in a private clinic, 500 hours as a caregiver, 500 hours as an autism behavioral technician, 100 hours shadowing
Research: 1,200 hours total across 2 labs with some poster presentations
Volunteering: 300 hours for a cancer nonprofit (activities were non-clinical)
Leadership/extracurriculars: 400 hours as a tutor and president of a club
Normal GPA-related awards

THANK YOU! 🙂

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[Grogu]

Sounds like you've got a solid application so far, great job. How about a missions trip overseas or traveling to a different part of the country to work on a community service project? Something like this would be unique, outside of what you've already done, and give you ideas/stories to talk about in your application. Find some work to support yourself financially, as this also gives you some real world professional experience as well.

 

[viralhiker]

Sounds like you've got a solid application so far, great job. How about a missions trip overseas or traveling to a different part of the country to work on a community service project? Something like this would be unique, outside of what you've already done, and give you ideas/stories to talk about in your application. Find some work to support yourself financially, as this also gives you some real world professional experience as well.

Voluntourism during a pandemic? Why not do community service near where they live? I'm sure you don't have to travel thousands of miles just to help others.

 

[DrVan Nostrand]

Voluntourism during a pandemic? Why not do community service near where they live? I'm sure you don't have to travel thousands of miles just to help others.

the peace corps is even starting back up very soon. some places are pretty safe to go to now

 

[viralhiker]

the peace corps is even starting back up very soon. some places are pretty safe to go to now

Peace Corps seems like more than just a gap year commitment. OP doesn't have to travel to do community service.

My advice OP would be to get a job and find volunteer roles in your local area. If your non-clinical volunteering only consists of the cancer non-profit, it might help to get a perspective from the underserved institutions near you.

 

[Grogu]

Voluntourism during a pandemic? Why not do community service near where they live? I'm sure you don't have to travel thousands of miles just to help others.

You don't, but he/she asked for suggestions. They already have a reasonable amount of service where they live, so if I had an entire year, yeah I'd find an opportunity outside my immediate area to gain more experience. Another 300 hours at the same cancer non-profit isn't nearly as exciting as medical missions trip for example. I'm sure they could find more local opportunites, but again if I had an entire year, I'd think about exposing myself to completely different cultures and perspectives.

 

[wysdoc]

Sounds like you've got a solid application so far, great job. How about a missions trip overseas or traveling to a different part of the country to work on a community service project? Something like this would be unique, outside of what you've already done, and give you ideas/stories to talk about in your application. Find some work to support yourself financially, as this also gives you some real world professional experience as well.

This is unlikely to add to the already strong ECs of @premedasaurus and not advisable during a pandemic. Finding the need in your own community is best. Hone in on the MCAT first then find your next job or volunteer site.