Which is better: take a semester off, or take a whole year off?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

whitetopaz

Full Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
63
Reaction score
51
I failed step, and have to re-take it before starting clerkships.

I was given two options:
1. Take one semester off, and graduate a semester later (i.e. December 2023 graduation instead of May 2023 graduation)
2. Take an entire year off, and graduate one year later (i.e. May 2024 graduation instead of May 2023 graduation)

I know both are terrible options, but is one better than the other? Either way, I would be applying for 2024 match, so I'm wondering if I should just take a research year. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I would do with the two empty semesters (Fall 2021 and Spring 2024).

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Care
Reactions: 1 user
I'm sorry you're in this situation.

Personally I would take the whole year, but I also have some research interests that I think I could expand on. Having some more research/publications may help you with Match too, depending on what specialty you want.

Of course it's just all dependent on you and the clerkship schedule you'll end up with if you only took a semester off. Right now, the student loan interest is paused until January, but not sure if it'll be the extended again, so you may end up accruing interest for half of your gap year (I'm actually not positive how this works with time off).
 
I'm sorry you're in this situation.

Personally I would take the whole year, but I also have some research interests that I think I could expand on. Having some more research/publications may help you with Match too, depending on what specialty you want.

Of course it's just all dependent on you and the clerkship schedule you'll end up with if you only took a semester off. Right now, the student loan interest is paused until January, but not sure if it'll be the extended again, so you may end up accruing interest for half of your gap year (I'm actually not positive how this works with time off).
Thank you for the feedback!

I spoke with my deans, and they said setting up a research year should be pretty straightforward (I already have multiple publications and several years of research experience).

I wasn't gunning for anything ultra-competitive. Prior to failing Step, I was mostly considering anesthesiology, EM, IM, and Neuro. I'm not sure how feasible any of those specialties are for me currently, but I think the best approach for me would be to destroy Step1 (was projected to score 240-250, so the failure is an especially crushing blow), then go from there.

I had not really considered the student loan interest aspect, so thank you for pointing that out!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thank you for the feedback!

I spoke with my deans, and they said setting up a research year should be pretty straightforward (I already have multiple publications and several years of research experience).

I wasn't gunning for anything ultra-competitive. Prior to failing Step, I was mostly considering anesthesiology, EM, IM, and Neuro. I'm not sure how feasible any of those specialties are for me currently, but I think the best approach for me would be to destroy Step1 (was projected to score 240-250, so the failure is an especially crushing blow), then go from there.

I had not really considered the student loan interest aspect, so thank you for pointing that out!
Talk your school's financial aid office, they'll be able to advice you about student loans and grace periods and whatnot. I took a semester off and it ate up my grace period, so now when I graduate I have to enter loan repayment asap
 
If you set up a research year, it all depends on how much of your time will be devoted to the research and how much you will have left to spend studying. If you can get away with studying hard, taking a Kaplan course, and retaking Step 1 after just a semester, then that may be your best option. Research is not something to be taken lightly, and may be very time consuming, depending on what you're doing.
 
Whoa you were getting practice scores >240 and you failed? What happened? Youre also like the 2nd user in the last few weeks that's posted such a crazy drop on the real deal with a failure being the result
 
Top