year break, what to do?

[spunksy]

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Hello!
I'm going to take a year off after my freshman year in college and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or suggestions as to what to do during this time. I'm a hopeful pre-vet student and so far I am looking into research/internships in or around the los angeles area. I want to specialize in small animals and/or wildlife (not sure).
And anything abroad/out of state is good too, as long as it isnt very costly.
Thanks for reading 🙂

 

[Dsmoody23]

Hello!
I'm going to take a year off after my freshman year in college and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or suggestions as to what to do during this time. I'm a hopeful pre-vet student and so far I am looking into research/internships in or around the los angeles area. I want to specialize in small animals and/or wildlife (not sure).
And anything abroad/out of state is good too, as long as it isnt very costly.
Thanks for reading 🙂

My suggestion for your year off is to not take a year off.

Internships and research are what summers and breaks are for.

 

[russellang]

Taking a year off is not a good idea since you would be only a freshman and you would have plenty of time to get experience during breaks. If you took a year off the only time I would consider this is after graduation.

 

[LetItSnow]

Hello!
I'm going to take a year off after my freshman year in college and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or suggestions as to what to do during this time. I'm a hopeful pre-vet student and so far I am looking into research/internships in or around the los angeles area. I want to specialize in small animals and/or wildlife (not sure).

Just out of curiosity, why that timing?

If you want to do small animal and you're set on taking the year off, you might be best served by just getting a job. You'll gain SA clinical experience and make a bit of money.

If you want to take time off - which, btw, I think is an excellent life plan - I'd probably do it as a graduation present to myself.... after graduating. 🙂

 

[libster06]

Just out of curiosity, why that timing?

If you want to do small animal and you're set on taking the year off, you might be best served by just getting a job. You'll gain SA clinical experience and make a bit of money.

If you want to take time off - which, btw, I think is an excellent life plan - I'd probably do it as a graduation present to myself.... after graduating. 🙂

It would seem to me like taking a year off after your first year... out of four... of college would not be productive or recommended. Aside from the fact that statistically the odds that you will jump back into going to school full-time after your year hiatus are against you, it would most likely be hard to find an internship willing to hire you after just one year with no plans to return to school any time soon. Internships are only a few months, so the summer is perfectly fine to get one. Externships are even shorter so you can do several of those within one summer period... plus have fun.

If you've barely even started your undergrad career and you're already planning your time off, I really question your motives... I could understand if you were a Junior, or Senior, but you've got a long road to hoe to be thinking about taking a whole year off after only the first year of undergrad, the one in which you take the basic courses. What about later years when you're getting into much more difficult courses and higher course loads? The whole "I'm going to do internships on my break" is a good excuse and intention, but it's not really a solid thing you could plan on, and then if it didn't pan out, you're stuck. The whole idea just seems like a step backwards if youre planning on going the vet-school route...

 

[kakurubird]

I completely echo what everyone else has said.

I finished four years and am now taking a year (or two, depending on how experience things go...) off before applying. I did research/internships every summer during undergrad (though finding something the summer after my freshman year was definitely the hardest and the only time I wasn't paid/compensated in some way) along with some tutoring and between that and actually having a degree, it's a lot easier to find places willing to take you on for an internship or job.

I have a friend from high school, on the other hand, who took a semester off to do Americorps, which finished a few weeks ago, but is finding it hard to motivate herself to go back and finish her last year of undergrad.
However. I do know people who felt unprepared for undergrad, floundered for a year, took some time off to do something else, and are now doing wonderful. So, not to say that it never works out for anybody, but it really requires a close look at why you want a year off. And if undergrad is going well for you now, it's really probably not going to be worth it.

 

[libster06]

I do know people who felt unprepared for undergrad, floundered for a year, took some time off to do something else, and are now doing wonderful. So, not to say that it never works out for anybody, but it really requires a close look at why you want a year off. And if undergrad is going well for you now, it's really probably not going to be worth it.

👍 Right.... that's what I was getting at. If you're doing it as some sort of career move it's probably going to hinder you. If you're doing it because you're a little burnt out deep down, I would explore other options for your sabbatical rather than something related to veterinary medicine... because at any given time you can quit school and go work at a vet clinic and interning/doing research is a more viable option if you're already in school.

 

[Dexter319]

I definitely agree with everyone's elses comments in this thread, don't take the year off if you can help it. You should just focus on school and remain committed. Schools may question why you took a year off when it comes to applications and unless its due to a severe sickness or family tragedy they may not look on it well.

Besides that I am from the Los Angeles Area and will say there are many great opportunities for pre-vet students here. I did research at IBRRC (International Bird Research and Rescue Center) in San Pedro which I found really interesting and unique. We were tending to oiled or injured birds such as brown pelicans, sea gulls, and more exotic types as well. Next to IBRRC there is also a marine mammal rescue center as well. In terms of veterinary experience there are many small animal hospitals scattered in the Los Angeles area. If you are on the westside near santa monica, there are many specialty hospitals along Sepulveda (VCA west la, VCA California Animal Hospital, Animal Surgical Emergency Center, Animal Medical Center) and there is Advanced Critical Care in Culver City. There are also wildlife reserves and centers in Malibu.

My suggestion to you would be to stick in school and try to balance as much experience with animals as possible during your four years of undergrad and then if you feel you are still unprepared for veterinary school, take an additional year off to ready yourself. That was pretty much my game plan as I worked during the summers and part time during my last two years of college. I decided to take a year off to experience what it is like working in a specialty clinic. If you need anymore help or advice feel free to PM me.

 

[lareinesoleil]

If you want to take a year off for anything other than immediate reasons (such as health status of you or a family member, burnout, etc) the best time to do it is after you complete undergrad, but before Veterinary School. I don't think you *need* to do it to prepare for Vet School, but if you have things like traveling that you want to do, by all means take the year off at that time and do it. For example, I took a year off right before Vet School to teach English in France and the adcoms did not have a problem with it - on the contrary, it worked in my favor by providing me with something unique and interesting to talk about during my interview.

 

[SilverSpyderGT]

Whether you mean it to or not, if you take a year off after your first year of college, the vet school ad coms are probably going to think that you needed a break after a "strenuous" first year of undergrad. No matter what you do during that year, unless there was an absolute emergency (family situation, illness, etc.), it is probably not going to reflect well on your work ethic when you are applying to vet school.

 

[libster06]

Whether you mean it to or not, if you take a year off after your first year of college, the vet school ad coms are probably going to think that you needed a break after a "strenuous" first year of undergrad. No matter what you do during that year, unless there was an absolute emergency (family situation, illness, etc.), it is probably not going to reflect well on your work ethic when you are applying to vet school.

👍 Troof.

 

[PppermintTwist]

It depends on what you want to do during that year off...
I graduated from high school, took a year off as an exchange student and basically did a 5th year of high school, but in Belgium. From that I can add that I have experience with different cultures, more well rounded, have had time to mature, learned a second language. It was an overall great experience and I believe helped me learn who I was and what I wanted with life.
Then I did an associates degree and one year of a bachelors, and then I took another semester off where I worked for a small animal vet and then went overseas again for 3 months as a nanny.
Then I finished my bachelors degree and took almost two years off working for a vet.
I wouldnt change a thing about my journey to where I am now.

As long as you are doing productive things during your time "off" and not just sitting at home because school was too stressful then I think you should be able to get some valuable life experiences by taking some time off. And its ok to take some time off because you've been in school since 1st grade and want to get a taste for the adult world outside the world of academia.

 

[lareinesoleil]

It depends on what you want to do during that year off...
I graduated from high school, took a year off as an exchange student and basically did a 5th year of high school, but in Belgium. From that I can add that I have experience with different cultures, more well rounded, have had time to mature, learned a second language. It was an overall great experience and I believe helped me learn who I was and what I wanted with life.
Then I did an associates degree and one year of a bachelors, and then I took another semester off where I worked for a small animal vet and then went overseas again for 3 months as a nanny.
Then I finished my bachelors degree and took almost two years off working for a vet.
I wouldnt change a thing about my journey to where I am now.

As long as you are doing productive things during your time "off" and not just sitting at home because school was too stressful then I think you should be able to get some valuable life experiences by taking some time off. And its ok to take some time off because you've been in school since 1st grade and want to get a taste for the adult world outside the world of academia.

It seems to me, though, that part of the key was when you did these things, mostly at natural stopping points along the way of your education (right after high school, after you got an associates, and after you got a bachelors). I think it looks more like you're getting "life experiences" and not that you "can't handle school" if you do it after you complete something, be it high school, college, a 2-year program, etc. It's totally up to you, because you know yourself best, but just keep in mind that you're gonna have an easier time explaining it to adcoms if you're doing something concrete (unique veterinary experience, studying abroad, etc).

 

[libster06]

It seems to me, though, that part of the key was when you did these things, mostly at natural stopping points along the way of your education (right after high school, after you got an associates, and after you got a bachelors). I think it looks more like you're getting "life experiences" and not that you "can't handle school" if you do it after you complete something, be it high school, college, a 2-year program, etc. It's totally up to you, because you know yourself best, but just keep in mind that you're gonna have an easier time explaining it to adcoms if you're doing something concrete (unique veterinary experience, studying abroad, etc).

And truthfully, why do you want to take a year off after 1st semester of college? We never got feedback on that but that is really the big question. If you weren't so inclined to do it the year before, after high school, what confirmed your decision now that the career ball has gotten rolling?

 

[Wubbles]

In my experience, you may find it tough to get an internship or a research position with only one year of school behind you. If you're not currently in school and you even score an interview, they're gonna want to know why you aren't in school and why you're taking a year off so early.
Just my two cents.

 

[PppermintTwist]

It seems to me, though, that part of the key was when you did these things, mostly at natural stopping points along the way of your education (right after high school, after you got an associates, and after you got a bachelors). I think it looks more like you're getting "life experiences" and not that you "can't handle school" if you do it after you complete something, be it high school, college, a 2-year program, etc. It's totally up to you, because you know yourself best, but just keep in mind that you're gonna have an easier time explaining it to adcoms if you're doing something concrete (unique veterinary experience, studying abroad, etc).

Yeah, all but my semester off in between years were at good break times. I agree that after the first year is an odd time. Maybe there is a good reason like some sort of opportunity to get some interesting experiences came up? If that is the case, then I would go for the experience! ( if you know you can go back to school after a break...which is an important thing to keep in mind. )

 

[PppermintTwist]

In my experience, you may find it tough to get an internship or a research position with only one year of school behind you. If you're not currently in school and you even score an interview, they're gonna want to know why you aren't in school and why you're taking a year off so early.
Just my two cents.

I agree that it could be hard to actually get the internship/research position...whoops, got caught up on loving gap years, missed that this person wanted to do a research position.... There may be other things you could do.

Maybe volunteer.... Heifer international, the peace corps... look up different organizations locally or not so local. Check with the town office for volunteer opportunities. etc...
https://heifer.applicantharbor.com/jobmainlist.php?a=m
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whatvol.agr