Year off before med school

[rmegill]

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I am taking a year off before med school, anyone have an ideas of things to do?

 

[theseeker4]

I am taking a year off before med school, anyone have an ideas of things to do?

Work, research, volunteer, shadow, take classes if your GPA needs help, prep for the MCAT if you need to take or retake it, travel if your application is in good shape and you have the money.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Get a job. Depending on where you live and your degree, teaching middle or high school is a relatively easy and high paying job to have for a year.

 

[Osteoth]

Get a job. Depending on where you live and your degree, teaching middle or high school is a relatively easy and high paying job to have for a year.

Would being a teacher be advantageous to being like a lab tech or a phlebotomist, considering the latter two would give you experience in research and clinical involvement,which seem to be more of the "desired" experiences med schools want to see on your application?

 

[eggs13]

Would being a teacher be advantageous to being like a lab tech or a phlebotomist, considering the latter two would give you experience in research and clinical involvement,which seem to be more of the "desired" experiences med schools want to see on your application?

i would say it depends on your previous experiences. if you have a lot of research/clinical experience, but not a lot of teaching/tutoring, then i think teaching would look better, and vice versa.

where i live, you have to have a teaching license/certificate even to be a substitute teacher, which means you have to take the praxis, etc, which means if thats what you want to do you better start planning in january/february of the year you graduate

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Would being a teacher be advantageous to being like a lab tech or a phlebotomist, considering the latter two would give you experience in research and clinical involvement,which seem to be more of the "desired" experiences med schools want to see on your application?

Doesn't pay as much so who cares. If you want more research and clinical experience, volunteer on the weekends. Get a job that pays good money, I'm sure you'll be happy about it when you enter med school with a good 10 thousand dollars saved up.

Plus, OP isn't asking what to do to help his application. Dude could have a lot of research in his undergraduate years for all we know, he's just asking what to do in his year off.

where i live, you have to have a teaching license/certificate even to be a substitute teacher, which means you have to take the praxis, etc, which means if thats what you want to do you better start planning in january/february of the year you graduate

Yeah I guess it varies state by state. If you're in a state that wants you to take like ten thousand exams just to teach basic algebra to 5th graders then it's probably not worth it, but if you're in a district that pretty much lets anyone who can pass the entrance exam and has a BA/BS degree teach then I say go for it and make some easy money.

 

[galaxyx]

Do a "working holiday" in another country.

 

[Praefectus]

Ride in the back of an ambulance and get paid for it.

 

[Freesia88]

I'm curious OP, and with all due respect, why did you decide to take a year off if you were not sure what you intended to do with the year off? 😕

 

[darkjedi]

Travel

 

[vokuf]

Learn to knit

 

[lobo.solo]

Get a job and save some money!!