<p>Okay so I'm trying to figure out what to do with two gap years, and I was wondering what would be most beneficial to me as far as admissions go. I should preface this by saying that I am a very late convert to medical school admissions and I currently have no medical experience (shadowing, volunteer, etc...) and insufficient community service. That's all stuff I'm working on during my upcoming senior year, but one year is not a lot of time.</p>
<p>I've been playing around with a few ideas, and I'd like some feedback on what would be most beneficial considering I have the ultimate goal of going to medical school and becoming a doctor.</p>
<p>1) Apply for a Fulbright grant in an Asian country in an unrelated field. This would be a time crunch and a lot of work, but could be a rewarding experience. I'd still try to get involved with the medical community wherever I ended up, but the research would be in energy use since that is what I'm most qualified to do (and most likely to get a grant to explore).</p>
<p>2) Do research at a medical school as a lab assistant. This would allow me to stay where I am and continue the community service and medical involvement from senior year. I think this would show continuity in my community service, but I already have lots of research experience, and it seems very typical. It seems like you need to stand out and be different to be accepted into Medical School.</p>
<p>With that said, I have a very strong GPA, and I think my MCAT will be pretty strong as well since I tend to be good at standardized tests (no guarantees though...). So which do you think would be a better option?</p>
<p>I see merits of either choice. If you do the Fulbright, you have a prestigious award to add to your CV as well as the opportunity to travel to and serve in another country. That would be really exciting! If you do research, you can continue establishing yourself in your community and may get to do interesting research. </p>
<p>In your situation, considering you’re light on the extracurriculars per your original post, I think I’d go with research and continuing to establish yourself. I think I’d rather be able to prove, through my experiences, that I am sure about my decision to enter the medical field and know a thing or two about it. I’d rather make sure all my bases are covered (research, volunteering, leadership, employment, clinical experience, etc etc) than add an exciting thing to the mix. Who knows–while some may think Fulbright/Asia is awesome and impressive, others might think it was foolish to prevent developing more relevant medical experiences. </p>
<p>If you had said you had a great GPA and MCAT score and collection of ECs and wanted to take some time off to figure out your life a little more or prevent yourself from getting burnt out or… then I would have said go for the Fulbright (if I were in your shoes). </p>
<p>I disagree that you need something spectacular (such as a Fulbright) in order to stand out. I think you can distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack by doing the things you care about with integrity and dedication. Adcoms aren’t looking for superstars. They’re looking for students who are worth their investment of time, money, and effort to train them as physicians. Prove to them that you are worth their investment by demonstrating your commitment and potential. </p>
<p>(Just my 2 cents. For what it’s worth, I’m currently a third year med student)</p>
<p>Wow, Kristin that was really insightful. Everything you said makes sense, and I think the most important thing to do right now is to show my commitment to the medical field. Maybe my better option is to go out on a limb and apply for a Fulbright attempting to do medically relevant research. It’s pretty likely I won’t get the award due to my inexperience, but that would be fine considering I could still stay in the community and show my commitment there.</p>
<p>Cool idea to combine the two. I know very little about the Fulbright, but that sounds reasonable. Why 2 gap years? Perhaps if you were up for doing more, you could finish up your med school-related ECs (including research?), have more relevant experience for a med-related Fulbright, do that, then apply–probably the best of all worlds.</p>
<p>I can definitely understand not wanting to postpone further though. It’s such a long process! On the other hand, you have your entire life to work, and as people get older and have more commitments (eg families) it allegedly gets a lot harder to just spur of the moment apply to programs in Asia etc.</p>
<p>Fullbright program is extremely competitive. I believe, annually ~8000 are awarded worldwide off which <3000 go to US applicants. Counting on a Fullbright is almost like counting on an admission to a top 5 medical school. I suggest that you should have a solid backup plan for your volunteering experiences. Having said that, being a Fullbright scholar is a HUGE deal. I can’t believe how that would be anything but a great positive to your application.</p>
<p>To be sure, Fulbright is a great honor. What I meant was, if your options are 2yr Fulbright in an unrelated field maybe with some medicine on the side OR to complete your med school ECs, AND you’re set on applying to med school in 2yrs, then I think it’s better to complete med school stuff. Primarily I think this because I know an important element of med school interviews is proving your dedication to the field of medicine, and I am not convinced the OP’s original Fulbright plan would satisfy various adcoms. </p>
<p>I could be entirely wrong through! Just my thought.</p>
<p>I agree with kristin that it depends on the timeline but if we throw out the timeline it’d definitely be better to be a fullbright scholar than not.</p>
<p>It also includes those who received specialist arts and specialist scientific awards.</p>
<p>(FWIW, D2’s BF from high school won a Fulbright to go to Spain to study flamenco, but said friend was already one of the top flamenco artists in the US and has been dancing and teaching professionally since she was 16.)</p>
<p>This whole thread reminds me of the old joke:
“How to make a million dollars and not pay a penny in taxes. First, get the million dollars…”
Let’s get the Fulbright first, before worrying whether there are better ways to spend gap years.</p>
<p>…no bb, you don’t get it, because the OP, who hasn’t re-appeared since 7/23, is asking a facetious question on its face: “Fulbright or Med School Research”… This post received a series of ever more solemn responses, including yours(“I’d do the Fulbright for the experience.”). The quick answer is “If you’re a lock for a Fulbright, do that. It will really help your medical school application.” Full stop.
Next posting will be “Do I accept the MacArthur grant, or do some shadowing?”
Some people come to CC for actual advice; others view it as an old George Carlin routine("ok Father, suppose…). This post is the latter.</p>