Will taking a gap year off before undergrad hurt me?

[mahnster13]

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I am a senior, going to be graduating this year with a 3.87 GPA. I have taken 5 AP classes, 3 of which I am doing the exams for at the end of this year. I feel that I have severely limited myself by only applying to the University of Washington at the request of my parents. However, I want to get into somewhere like Johns Hopkins or Northwestern.
If I took a year off, so I can take a couple of SAT II's before I graduate, possibly retake the SAT and raise my mediocre 2060 score, and do something like volunteer at a hospital (I want to be a doctor eventually), will this hurt my chances?
I hear that the University of Washington isn't accepting many people right now, even with my credentials, and I was wondering if a year off to take those tests and apply to more colleges in different places would be a bad idea.
Would medical schools frown upon my taking of a gap year or two before going for an undergraduate degree?
I also hear it is kind of a good idea from some, after having done 12 years of mandatory education. If I have at least another 12 ahead of me, how bad would it hurt me if I took a year or two off and volunteered somewhere while I did it?
Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[DrYoda]

The undergrad you go to doesn't make a huge difference to med schools, so I'd say taking a year off just so you can get into Hopkins or Northwestern isn't a particularly well spent year.

It's been awhile since I applied to college, but I don't remember it being horrible expensive to apply. If you want to take a crack at some big name schools go for it. You should apply to some of your other state schools as well, so at least you have a back up option. It's also good to apply multiple places so that you can compare financial aid.

If you want a break year for other reasons,something to consider: Take a gap a gap year between HS and college and your earning potential would most likely be pretty poor, especially given the current state of the economy. If you take a gap year between college and med school you'd have a better chance of making a decent living and maybe saving some $ during that year.

I'm not sure as to if it looks good/bad/neutral. Just throwing some thoughts out.

 

[mahnster13]

well i didnt really apply anywhere else because my parents and my counselors and teachers thought i had a good chance at getting into UW
but i havent heard back from them yet, and ive been hearing that they are accepting very few people
i would only take a year off if i didnt get into the UW

 

[niranjan162]

well i didnt really apply anywhere else because my parents and my counselors and teachers thought i had a good chance at getting into UW
but i havent heard back from them yet, and ive been hearing that they are accepting very few people
i would only take a year off if i didnt get into the UW

Well it sounds like your choice is pretty much made up for you. But if you could get into hopkins or northwestern you can most likely get into uw. y would it hurt you.

 

[Eisley]

You'll have a tough time getting into Hopkins or NW if you're the same person who got a 1350~ on the SAT.