<p>I have decided to take a year off between undergrad and med school (I'm currently a junior). My advisor told me to get a job doing research, but I'm really not interested. I would really like to do something exciting abroad, but the volunteer programs I've seen are kind of expensive, and I don't want to ask my parents to pay for all that, especially since they're going to be paying for med school later.
I'm probably being really picky, but any suggestions for a not too expensive way to spend a gap year (or part of it) abroad?
Any advice on gap years in general would be welcome as well.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Peace Corps, but longer than a year.</p>
<p>Americorps.</p>
<p>Can’t give advice on gap year abroad, but I can tell you that taking a gap year between college and med school was one of the best things I ever did. (I worked as a lab tech for the year, grunt work rather than research but made money and supported myself). By the time I got to med school it was clear to me that it was a privilege to be learning and have people teach me–and that made my attitude so much more positive about the whole thing. Same was true for others who took time off in between. Good luck…</p>
<p>^
agree, my year off was such a great thing for me not only because having my senior year on my app boosted my chances but also because it’s great to experience a year of life that is not school before med school.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that if you go abroad, you either can’t go for a few months or have to be able to fly back for interviews. It sounds like you’re more interested in doing service work than research. Why not do something in the states?</p>
<p>First of all, thank you all for the encouragement. It’s good to know I’m not making a bad decision.
@i<em>wanna</em>be_Brown: You’re right, I do want to do service work, not research. I don’t necessarily want to spend the whole time abroad, I know that would be difficult. I would like to spend some time outside of the states though, because I never did any study abroad, and it’s something I feel like I’ve missed out on.
Out of curiosity, what did you do during your year off?</p>
<p>D1 had time off before med school; D2 will also be taking time off before applying to med school.</p>
<p>D1 worked at multiple part-time jobs (sometime 3 at once!), earned her EMT-I and spent 3 months in South Africa doing service work (which she earned the $$ to pay for herself).</p>
<p>D2 will graduate in May and will be working as RA in a research lab at a med school hospital for 2 years. Like _Brown above, she wants a break from classes and studying before diving into the intense academics of med school.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, why not? Not sure what kind of advice you are looking for. We told our kid while she was in HS not to expect any gap year, she did not care for it either. She had plenty of fansy trips abroad and many other long lasting EC’s both medically related adn in her personal area of interest. She is also going yet to another month long trip after finishing her current block at Med. School.
She will be working at 2 clinics. She commented that they utilize Med. students primarily as translators. She is taking Medical Spanish outside of her Med. School program.
Your situation seems to be different.</p>
<p>Son also a current med school student took a gap year as well. He wanted his senior year which included a mandatory thesis the time to complete it and use it and his senior grades for his med school application. His thesis was health care economics and his advisor/mentor just won the nobel prize for economics, his goals being an MD/MBA/MPH.</p>
<p>He used his year to complete more research, attend another university and gain another 2 degrees not offered at his first uni, and TA while at the 2nd uni. Since the 2nd school is a large in-state school they also offered PE classes not offered at his previous. So in addition to completing biochem and microbio degrees w/genetics minor he also took golf, tennis and swimming. After a certain unit load the price for tuition is the same.</p>
<p>He was able to transfer in his first degree units and all his AP exams he was unable to use at his 1st school. So he needed part of his summer and fall, spring semesters to complete the two degrees. In order to be able to TA and finish his research he needed to be matriculated as an undergrad, so he enrolled. Worked out great for him.</p>
<p>Not only did he have LORs from his profs at first school (degree in econ), and his summer programs but also from the science profs at the 2nd school. He had completed all his prereqs previously so he was able to just take the upper division classes needed for the majors and classes that would help with med school classes, anatomy/physiology/micro/biochem/cell bio/physical chem…</p>
<p>He did consider the second degree somewhat of a break from his first university experience where he was also a D1 athlete, overloaded credits every semester, research work, thesis and its prep (2 years of prep), and summer research every summer along with summer classes. An a hectic social life.</p>
<p>So his fall/winter of med school interviews was easier to fit into his academic schedule and not have to deal with a college sport practice and game schedule. He had taken the MCAT earlier/previous to his graduating from 1st school, along with the GMAT.</p>
<p>He was able to really enjoy his senior year and was very happy to have that extra time. Now in med school he is also relieved to have taken the classes that he did. It is all fresh in his mind, since he just completed anatomy, physiology, immunology and micro with an underlying theme of biochem. He is not having to learn a new vocab but rather is getting to really master other concepts.</p>
<p>He also got to really take his time and look at the various med schools during his interviews so he would not need to travel back for a second look and spend even more money. He also really analyzed which schools would be the best fit for him so when acceptances started coming in he would not feel rushed in his decisions. Also provided him time to look at the finances and figure out how much each one would realistically cost him in the end.</p>
<p>The gift of time and some breathing room can be so beneficial. He has no regrets and was able to jump into medical school with a real grasp of what he was getting into. Also gave him time to find the perfect place to reside for the next 4-6 years without having to relocate year after year. Someplace he could easily affford, was comfortable and just a few minutes from the school. He landed a 1350+ sq ft 2 brd, 2bath apt. for $700 a month locked into a long-term lease. Has a roomate so he pays under $300 in rent per month. This school estimates housing at $1300 per month in their Cost-of-Attendance. HUGE difference. He has a great kitchen, shops at Sam’s and the local farmer’s market and is spending very little on food. Shuttle to med school doors is free and takes 7 minutes from his door. Easy.</p>
<p>Again, the gift of time is priceless. </p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>^Exactly, if you can afford it why not?
To add to my story, yes, because of D’s time constraints and yet another fansy trip abroad before she started Med. School (and it started much earlier than others - in early July), we had to go ourselves and rent appartment for her (which she loves, BTW). Price was not the question, it had to be walking distance from Med. School, be reasonably secure and preferrably have a garage. As a bonus we got her apartment with a great view in the city that does NOT have any reasonly good views. She also has a shuttle, but only one way and only during winter. She walks, since we did not pay for parking at school. And there are many other Med./Grad. students in her apartment, so sometime they have official meetings there, very convinient.
We could not afford her gap year as we were planning to pay for her Med. School and other expenases, and she never asked for it, there was nothing for her left to do before Med. School. But some people are looking for others goals to be completed before Med. Schools, so it is understandable.
I would suggest look into your own situation, what other goals you want to acieve, what plan do you have for your gap year. We are all very different, what works for one will not work for another.</p>
<p>Wow thanks for all the info!
I guess in terms of my goals, I really want to spend some time travelling in Europe because it’s something I haven’t been able to do, and I don’t think I’ll have time once I commit to med school, etc. So what I’m getting from your responses is that if I think it’s worth it, I should go for it. But I don’t want to simply spend the time as a vacation, which is why I was wondering if anyone knew about volunteer programs that would fit want I want to do.
Thanks again.</p>
<p>yeah, i would definitely not use the gap year as just an extended vacation, and I would be wary of doing anything that looks as such.</p>
<p>I spent my gap year as an entry level scientist at a biotech company, volunteering/shadowing at a free health clinic for the uninsured, and teaching for kaplan.</p>
<p>Yeah, save the vacation trip abroad for AFTER getting your med school acceptance.
D1 took the month immediately preceeding her matriculation into med school off to travel through Europe. (Which she also paid for herself.)</p>
<p>^Yes, that is what my D. did and there are opportunites at Med. School also. Other than that you can take as many as you wish, just do not mention them in application.</p>
<p>I’m now thinking the best idea would be to be practical and get a job (doing what, I don’t know!). It’d give some “real life” experience and make some money. And I could still do the travel thing the summer after graduation.
Thanks again for the advice!</p>
<p>…but you are deferring yourself by whole year to make real money as an MD. So, you shoudl have really good reason for doing so, otherwise, you might regret later…</p>
<p>Well, the main reason I am taking a year off is so I can have my senior year grades/activities on my application. My advisor agreed this would be the best option for me. So I figure if I could find a job flexible enough that I could still volunteer and interview for med schools, it would be a more practical option than trying to spend money going to volunteer abroad for an extended amount of time, which was what I initially wanted to do.</p>
<p>^Sounds like plan! The best wishes, many take gap year…</p>
<p>OP,</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, an applicant who graduated with a career-oriented major went to work for a consulting company. Later, he had some troubles getting into a med school. One reason he mentioned was that adcomes at med schools might not be convinced he is committed to medicine career. He later quit his job and went back to some lab in an academic environment as an “almost free” labor for more than half a year and he then got into a med school. His point: not all jobs held by the applicants are treated equal by med schools. (If your major is not very career oriented, it probably would not cause a potential problem.)</p>
<p>This is just one data point. Read it with a large grain of salt.</p>
<p>What you do not want to do is to be idle and do almost nothing in the gap year. It will then really count against you. So the first criterion for taking a gap year or not is: whether you have something meaningful to do in that year. If not, it is better not to take a gap year as it would then look bad.</p>
<p>^But sometime an opposite happens as D’s Med. School class has few lawyers…maybe it is different from Med. School to Med. School…</p>