Furthermore, you may have accumulated fewer shadowing, community service, volunteering, patient exposure, or research hours yesr you need to be competitive for certain medical programs. Alternatively, you may be the type of student who has the stats and the right extracurriculars but you simply want to take some time off to gain real-world experiences e. Or, you may be ready to apply with respect to academics and extracurriculars but have to tend to personal matters e. However, just because a lot of premed students have to decide maake to spend their gap year does not mean that the decision-making process mmedical any easier or less stressful. This guide covers various options for how to spend your gap year, including whether or not each one is right for you.
1. Start Saving a Year Out
Or would you be better off taking a gap year before medical school? As the medical school admissions process becomes more and more selective, students are increasingly taking gap years before they sit down with their AMCAS applications. The degree to which students benefit from a gap year before medical school varies depending on how they spend their time off. As with any big decision, a useful step to decide the right call for you could be to draw out a pros and cons list. There are benefits to taking one, such as saving up money for tuition or more opportunities to improve your application. But it will obviously take more time before you actually become a doctor. The biggest reason students choose to take a gap year before medical school is if they are skeptical about their chances and want more time to work on many aspects of their application. Often, the MCAT is one of the core factors behind this rationale. If your initial MCAT score was significantly lower than the median numbers for the schools you have in mind, a gap year can provide you with a bigger chunk of time to actually sit down and prepare. Make the most of your gap year to study and ensure that you can achieve a higher score this time around. A gap year can allow you to think critically about whether you need more exposure to patients or greater time spent on research and publications. Face it, college is a very intense four years. But, top medical schools expect their students to succeed in the sciences. So, if you want to raise your GPA to compete with the academic skill set of your peers, a gap year before medical school could certainly provide you with the time to take post-bac science classes and boost your profile. If you decided late in the game that medicine is the path for you, taking a gap year for post-bac classes is essential to get the pre-req classes under your belt! If you decide to take that time off, you will be able to commit full time to a job preferably in the medical field and build a more competitive application.
1. Improve your MCAT score
Check out these awesome tours!
If you are like many premed students, you are pretty ambitious. You may have it all planned out. Immediately after graduating college, you plan to enter med school and continue on the path to becoming a doctor. But have you considered taking a detour and following a different timeframe? A gap year is pretty much just what it sounds like. It is a specific period of time off between studies. Some students take a year off between high school and college.
Parents and soon-to-be college students are giving the gap year a second look after the White House announced that Malia Obama will be taking one before attending Harvard in Also popularized by England’s Prince Harry, who famously took time out for ranching in Australia and volunteer work in Africa in , the gap year is a break between high school and the start of a person’s higher education or between college and graduate school. Most often, the gap year is used by young people as an opportunity to see the world, explore new cultures, immerse themselves in a nonacademic pursuit, work a job or internship, or volunteer for a cause. The goal is to gain valuable life experience before delving deeper into academics, trade school, military service — wherever your next step in life takes you. Of course, a year of self-exploration doesn’t come free. Read on for our student guide to prepping finances for a gap year. How much a gap year will cost depends on how you plan to use it. So, map out your yearlong plan, estimating how much money you’ll need. Of course, plans change. And that’s okay. All you really need is a good estimate to get you motivated to start saving. Now that you’ve got a savings goal, open up a separate bank account to house your gap year fund drive. To make your big funding goal seem more achievable, break it down into smaller, more manageable monthly and weekly goals. This will keep you from feeling overwhelmed. Next, devise a plan for reaching these mini-fundraising goals. Will you cut down on weekend spending?
Global Pre-Meds
Many high school students take a gap year before entering university. This is a year in which they usually travel abroad and see the world to broaden their horizons. In my opinion, a gap year is a perfect opportunity for a young person to learn new things about life. Our educational system teaches students many useful subjects, but some things are only learnt by the experiences you face in life, such as doing things on your own and finding your way around a new place. Also, the cultural experience of visiting somewhere different from your home country is very valuable. You can learn phrases from a foreign language and try out new customs and traditions. Some people believe you should start university directly after finishing school. Also, there may be a fear that your gap year will turn into two, or that you will never attend university. The lessons you learn on a gap year can prepare you for life in a way that university cannot. Also, with some discipline, you should be able to do a gap year, then go to university.
2. Open a Gap Year Bank Account
One of the main concerns for anyone medival on a gap year is how to actually afford it. The promises of volunteer work and beach life are all well and good, but how will you afford your hostel for the night, or a bus to the next town, or postcard home to the suckers that stayed? Here are 19, but I can guarantee there are hundreds more, gap year money-making schemes. Just let your imagination, creativity and entrepreneurialism be your guide…. This is always a popular one in Australia.
Comments
Post a Comment