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.