Year off before med school a bad thing???

[kmnfive]

check this out.

This is an Interview feedback by a UCLA applicant

i thought taking a year off to do something constructive would be a good thing?

maybe this applicant just farted around?

look on the bottom for the comment about taking a year off.

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[IndyZX]

there are threads on this, do a search.

you should take a year off if you want to. if you are going to miss out on something that you will never be able to do again (like play poker professionally for a year ), you may regret it forever.

that said, dont do just to make yourself look interesting -- its not going to help you in any way that is worth 1 yr of your life.

 

[Neuronix]

This guy got an antagonistic interviewer. It sucks, but it happens. Some people are just really really opinionated and they take it out on the people they interview if they don't say exactly what they want to hear. You do have some interviewers who try to be tough just to see how you'll respond, so still try to keep things upbeat if you get one. It's a very lame style of interviewing. Many schools want feedback on their interviewing systems so that they can weed out interviewers like this.

Taking time off after undergrad is a perfectly viable thing to do. I did it, and I used most of the time to improve my application. Even if you don't use it to improve that, you're probably going to do something that you can list as major experience.

 

[kmnfive]

well my major concern is that i might not be able to finish my prereqs until my senior year.

and ive heard its not advisible to take your mcats without all your prereqs finished.

 

[PublicHealth]

I took TWO years off, and don't regret it one bit. I completed an MPH, did research in psychiatry, published five articles, shadowed several docs, and toured Europe. No regrets. Becoming a doctor is a job that you practice for all your life.

Cheers,

PH

 

[closertofine]

I finally got my internet back on, can you tell?! (I'm answering more of the posts than usual....). But did any of you read the first question he listed at the bottom of the page? It was "what exactly happened that caused your father's death?" or something like that!!! How fair or legal of a question is that?! I just think that interviewer was messed up....I'm taking a year off too, and kind of just "farting around" at the moment...not good, I know... but going to start working at Kaplan, and trying to find something else too...

 

[fullofhope]

I love my year off... I'm involved with research and have a great job... but more importantly, I've found that I've matured more in this one year than the past four in college. I am glad that I took the time to understand myself better, hang out with my family and friends, and better understand medical research. I dont know if it helped me in the application process, but it will undoubtedly help me as a person in my medical career.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Just thought I'd post an alternative point of view. I took two years off, and really wish I'd just gone for it and applied on time. I also was under the impression that I couldn't take care of all my prereqs in time, but I ended up being able to -- after I'd convinced myself to take time off. Then one year stretched to two when an great-sounding lab tech job demanded a two year committment. It turns out that I actually don't like research (regular human contact is critical to my well-being), so despite my job being the absolute ideal wet lab job, I wasn't happy there. I ended up quitting and am now working in clinical research, which is fine, but I really want to be in med school already!! If you're thinking of taking a year or two off, definitely think about your motivation. If you really have some once-in-a-lifetime opportuinity, by all means take it. On the other hand, if you're just not sure you can get your **** together, try remembering how excited you are to go to med school and try to use that enthusiasm to propel you through the hoops we all have to jump through.

 

[OrneryOne]

I have to echo fullofhope's post. I took time off and had a great job in research which I loved. It was a time of personal reflection and growth and some very needed 'down time' from going to school. Through my job I learned so much about the practical and real applications of the sciences I had been studying school. I know this will help me tremendously in med school. As much as I enjoy research, I also learned that this is not the path I want to take in medicine. I want to have interaction with people/patients. A side benefit I received from this experience is that I got an excellent LOR from the person I was doing research for. I do not think that taking time off between undergrad and med school will hurt your app in any way. Many people do it for various reasons and ad coms are aware that this is a common thing. At most of my interviews I was asked about my research which lead to some interesting (and positive) discussions.

 

[Lux Aeterna]

I am having a great time taking a year off (I'ma typical college grad--21 y/o). I'm basically a community service clinical research type person, and hated the thought of working in lab. But I wanted to make sure it wasn't for me, so I gave it a shot---and turns out --woooo I love it! So it's been a great experience....we're putting out alot of abstracts and papers, I get to pick the brains of the fellows in our labs and ask them about their experience in becoming doctors, my PI is awesome and lets me shadow her in the hospital. It's also great to see the principles I've learned in action. And realizing how the work we do can affect treatment for patients, etc.

So I've had an awesome experience, I feel less stress than I would if I was applying during school. I'm also getting married so the year off has given me time to plan out stuff, travel, enjoy some quality time with my parents and my sister before my marriage next summer. I spent all of my college summers interning in different cities-- I missed home!

So I have to recommend it! I was also always young for my grade so I don't feel like I'm "wasting" a year. Even if I wasn't a year younger, I still wouldn't feel like it's a waste.