year off before med school?

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Young Scientist

Young Scientist
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Is anybody taking a year off before med school or contemplating it? I really want but not sure if I should do it.

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I took a year off. Well, actually I applied and didn't get in last year so I was sort of forced to do so...but it worked out well because I think I always wanted to take a year off I just wasn't brave enough to do it. It's been a great year. I spent 3 months in florida living near the beach with some friends, just surfing and working just enough to get by. In 2 weeks, I'm leaving for a month-long trip to India and Nepal just because I've always wanted to see Everest. And in May, I'm going to see some family in Germany for a month and house sit. So in my case, taking a year off has so far been a dream come true. Keep in mind that I've dipped heavily into savings that I had put aside for just such a period of time. If you don't have any money saved then your year off will likely involve a great deal of working, etc...which is certainly not a bad thing, I'm just trying to avoid it.

If you're interested in traveling I have quite a few ideas if you need some. Originally I planned on going to Guatemala for 3 months to study spanish and work in a clinic...you can get by there for around 200-300 dollars a month if you're careful...maybe even less. Anyway, I'm a travel freak if you can't tell...sorry to go on and on, I just wanted to give you an example of how cool a year off can be. Don't forget that you have to pay for applications and interviews though...that's a hassle for sure.
 
Young Scientist said:
Is anybody taking a year off before med school or contemplating it? I really want but not sure if I should do it.

Just letting you know that MANY people take a year off. Check mdapps, most schools' average matriculation age is >22. Granted non-trads skew the mean, but it still indicates quite a few students take time off. Going from ugrad to med school is not like going from high school to ugrad. Personally, I encourage you to take a year off. This will be one of the few if only times left in your life when you can be free of committments and your time for the most part will not be yours once in med school.
 
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I am currently taking a year off (graduated last May). I spent the summer working at a Boy Scout Camp as the Health Director and now am working at a medical device company supporting a clinical trial. Although the work is not very interesting, it has allowed me the opportunity to save money and do some traveling (went to Amsterdam and Belgium over Thanksgiving). It's been really nice to get some "real-world" experience and understand what other people do every day at a job they don't necessarily love. It's also been nice to come home in the evenings and have no homework or other commitments, which has allowed me to get involved in things I couldn't do in undergrad. Although it's been great having this break from school and the constant stress of homework/studying, I'm definately very excited to start school in August and now feel like I'm refreshed and ready for the challenge.

If you can afford it, I would recommend doing as much traveling as possible (or other activity that you love but that you couldn't do much of in undergrad) and just enjoy your time off. I'm planning on quitting my job in May and spending a week in the Boundary Waters canoeing and then working at camp again, where I can sail and spend lots of time outside. As long as you're able to do things that you love and will not necessarily be able to do, the year off will be worthwhile. Best of luck with your decision!!
 
I'm currently taking a year off, I'm loving every second of it (no tests, homework, anything, echoing previous posters), and I used this time to enhance my application. I've been accepted to a top 10 school and I attribute some of my attractiveness as a candidate to the unique experiences I've had in my current taking-a-year-off job and the volunteer experiences I've had during my time off as well. You WILL have the chance to talk about your year-off activities in your interviews if you begin them early enough, and I firmly believe this is almost always an asset to you!

In short, do it! Don't be afraid - like others said, if you don't find a job, just go travel! You have a lifetime to pay back any loans you may take out, and besides, you'll be taking out a bit fat loan for school the next year, so why not add travel expenses to that? A drop in the bucket... :)
 
Do it! You wont realize how bad you needed it until you come home and find out that you can workout and watch desperate wives with no guilt in the back of your brain because you have no homework.

It was teh best thing I did, not to mention that I am paying for my own computer and stuff for medical school.
 
THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK

I love to travel! Ive been all over Italy, Spain, Germany, Vienna, and many other places. I think that next year in Jan (my senior year in college) I will go to India with a few friends to volunteer or something. So traveling I've done a lot of. On one hand it would be nice to watch TV and not feel guilty about it, but I want to get involved in something cool that I could talk about during the interview.
 
JMC2010 said:
If you're interested in traveling I have quite a few ideas if you need some.

Im a "travel freak" too, so shoot!

and im sure other people want to know too
 
OrganLibrarian said:
I'm currently taking a year off, I'm loving every second of it (no tests, homework, anything, echoing previous posters), and I used this time to enhance my application. I've been accepted to a top 10 school and I attribute some of my attractiveness as a candidate to the unique experiences I've had in my current taking-a-year-off job and the volunteer experiences I've had during my time off as well. You WILL have the chance to talk about your year-off activities in your interviews if you begin them early enough, and I firmly believe this is almost always an asset to you!:)

Sorry but you lost me there a little. Let me get this: If you're currently taking a year off and were already accepted to top 10 schools, how can you attribute your attactiveness at a candidate if you're already accepted. Did you apply 1st and then take a year off?

What kind of unique experiences did you have? tell us ?!

:)
 
Young Scientist said:
Is anybody taking a year off before med school or contemplating it? I really want but not sure if I should do it.
I'm in the middle of my second year off. It was great to take a full year off and focus on things I wanted to do (work as an EMT, learn the guitar, learn to drive stick, etc). I felt ready when I started applying this last year. You should be careful about when you take your MCATs though, most schools only take MCATS 3 years old or newer. So this year they take 2003 but no later. If I didn't get in this year I'd have to retake them, so it is a risk that you take if you do the MCATs during college.
 
I took the year off as well and it has been a fun and relaxing year. I'm really glad I did because being a student-athlete in college prevented me from doing some of the things I had wanted to do. I have been able to travel to NYC, Miami, and LA, attend a bunch of MLB and NFL games and spend time with my girlfriend and friends. I have also been able to save up and purchase a lot of nice things for my apartment next year including a 42 inch flat screen tv. So I am glad things worked out the way they did although I am definitely ready to start medical school.
 
Young Scientist said:
Sorry but you lost me there a little. Let me get this: If you're currently taking a year off and were already accepted to top 10 schools, how can you attribute your attactiveness at a candidate if you're already accepted. Did you apply 1st and then take a year off?

What kind of unique experiences did you have? tell us ?!

:)

Sorry if I was unclear!! Basically I applied in July, after my cool job/volunteering experiences had already begun, so although I didn't mention these experiences on my AMCAS, since I didn't think they were extensive enough at the time, I discussed them extensively in all of my secondary applications and during my interviews. Does that help? :)
 
JMC2010 said:
I took a year off. Well, actually I applied and didn't get in last year so I was sort of forced to do so...but it worked out well because I think I always wanted to take a year off I just wasn't brave enough to do it. It's been a great year. I spent 3 months in florida living near the beach with some friends, just surfing and working just enough to get by. In 2 weeks, I'm leaving for a month-long trip to India and Nepal just because I've always wanted to see Everest. And in May, I'm going to see some family in Germany for a month and house sit. So in my case, taking a year off has so far been a dream come true. Keep in mind that I've dipped heavily into savings that I had put aside for just such a period of time. If you don't have any money saved then your year off will likely involve a great deal of working, etc...which is certainly not a bad thing, I'm just trying to avoid it.

If you're interested in traveling I have quite a few ideas if you need some. Originally I planned on going to Guatemala for 3 months to study spanish and work in a clinic...you can get by there for around 200-300 dollars a month if you're careful...maybe even less. Anyway, I'm a travel freak if you can't tell...sorry to go on and on, I just wanted to give you an example of how cool a year off can be. Don't forget that you have to pay for applications and interviews though...that's a hassle for sure.

I would love some advice. How can I get started? I would love to join a group (whether volunteer or just travel) that originating from US.
 
Young Scientist said:
Is anybody taking a year off before med school or contemplating it? I really want but not sure if I should do it.
Best decision I never made.
 
I took 2 years off b/c I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to get into medicine and considering how long a path it is, I think it's something you have to be sure about. Anyhow, I spent the time in Bangladesh, originally went there with the Peace Corps and then ended up working for a Spanish NGO. So travel and volunteering together w/out having to pay for it-- I'd say Peace Corps is the way to go. They do want people to stay for 2 years but you can always early terminate after however much time you want. And if you do end up doing that, don't let anyone give you slack for it (PCV's can be pretty competitive about who roughes it more) b/c that's still a year more or whatever time more than most other people do.

Anyhow, good luck with all this. I'm definitely glad I took the time to go thru my experience abroad more b/c of how it changed me than anything, but if impressing admissions committees is what you are looking for, it also helps with that. :)
 
I purposely graduated a year early so I could have a year off before med school. It's a good decision and I'm not so sure I could have handled going right from undergrad to med school.
 
I am also in the middle of my second year off, I am a second year Fulbrighter in Innsbruck, Austria. It has been without question the smartest thing I ever did with my time, aside from going to college in general...I live an hour from Italy, and hour from Munich, Zurich is also close, and I do whatever I want whenever I want..I mean when I'm not at work that is....

For example, I have next week off, I don't like to leave the Alps during the winter, so I'm going snowboarding every day. I speak German really decently now, I have learned to blow glass (I work in a glassblowing high school as a Fulbrighter English teacher) and I have traveled a ton, and am going to the Winter Olympics in a week and a half and breaking the no-leaving the Alps-in winter-rule after that to go to Carnival in Venice.

This summer, before I come back to the US for med school, I am going to live at the top of the mountains here in Tirol for a few weeks and milk the cows and make cheese in a hut, then I am off to Pamplona for Running of the Bulls, then I am going to Corsica for 3 weeks to lie on the beach and do absolutely nothing all day. I will not answer my phone or check my email, and I will do NOTHING. I cannot wait!! (A friend of mine works down there 2 months every summer, free place to stay for me, it helps to have friends everywhere so you can crash with them, if I had to stay in hotels there is no way I could go all these places....and of course they all come here for skiing in the winter and stay with me!)

SOOOOO I would say take AT LEAST one year off, 2 if you can. My experience has been that after getting 2 bachelor's degrees, relaxing took a year...seriously it took me a year to learn how to chill out and I was pretty chilled to begin with, compared to many peeps.

Plus if you come to Europe you can learn about this thing called national health care and this stuff called INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE...wow novel concept

I did have to schedule all my interviews for a 2 week period when I was in the US over Christmas, but it was worth it. There's no point in coming over here if you have to hop the pond all the time. My schools were great about scheduling my interviews, and if they weren't that wouldn't be a school I wanted to go to anyway, if they don't encourage overseas experiences....poo to them.
 
annamoo said:
Plus if you come to Europe you can learn about this thing called national health care and this stuff called INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE...wow novel concept


I actually have talked to a few interviewers about this. Before I spent time in London, I thought the US should try to adopt a national system like the Brits and the French have.

Now that I have seen and talked to people involved in that system, I realize there is every bit as much dissatisfaction with healthcare there as there is here. They're just dissatisfied for different reasons.

Basically if you want top level care (esp. for any elective surgery), you have to have the money to pay for it yourself. [Yes, I realize this is a gross oversimplification, but I don't really want to post a page long argument].
 
Young Scientist said:
Im a "travel freak" too, so shoot!

and im sure other people want to know too

Go to London.

Where to stay: Stay in a hostel (only affordable London accomodations). A friend stayed at Piccadilly Backpackers -- it's only a block or two from Piccadilly Circus, and is relatively new (and thus relatively clean).

To do: Obviously the major city sights (just get a guidebook). Museums are free (British Museum, Tate Modern, National Gallery, and Museum of Natural History are musts). Go to one of the markets on the weekend (not Notting Hill though -- way too touristy after the movie). If you're feeling touristy, go on the London Eye (go around dusk).

For Tea: Tea is obviously a london tradition and a touristy thing to do. But all the famous tea sites are ridiculous expensive (30+ pounds). Except one: The Orangery at Kensington Gardens. Also has the best scenery of any of the tea spots...being in the middle of a park.

Off the radar: If you have seen the movie "Closer", you'll know about this. Otherwise probably not. There is a very small park in central London that contains a memorial to people who died saving the life of another. It's very moving. You'll have to look in a guidebook to find where it is.

Theatre: London's theatre is at least the equal of Broadway. There are some amazing shows. Student discounts are a must -- usually you can walk up to the box office the day of. If you can't get student tickets, go to the Half price ticket booth in Leicester square. For the best theatre, the Royal National Theatre is a must, but it requires some effort to get tixs -- either plan in advance (buy online), or get in line early in the morning (before 8) the day of the show.

Food: British food gets a bum rap. They have some amazing food in London -- it just isn't British. Wagamama for modern asian/noodle cuisine. Find a good Thai and/or Indian restaurant (guidebooks can be trusted for this).

Beer: Hit up a pub. Sit at the bar -- people will talk to you, and it's fun. Just don't be an obnoxious American. If you're a guy, don't order a half-pint -- it's considered unmanly. Try a real British Ale -- don't just order guinness/bass/newcastle or another typical beer

Nightlife: Lots of clubs if that's your thing. Be ready for a 10 pound cover. For student deals, go to Sports Cafe (2 blocks from Trafalgar Square) on Tuesdays, Walkabout (near Soho) on Wednesdays, O'Neills on Thursdays (near Chinatown). A pub called the Hog and the Pound (off Oxford Street) has Karaoke on Fridays, and sometimes stays open late. A pub called the Marlborough head (also off Oxford, half mile west of Hog/Pound) is a fun place -- they have drinks called the 7 deadly sins, and secret doorways leading to the bathrooms. The inside of the pub looks like something out of the Adams Family. Just don't go on a Saturday, or go in the basement. Huge scary goth crowd.


Ok. Guess I tried to turn this into an impromptu travel thread.
 
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