To take a gap year or not to take a gap year, that is the question! For me, at first it was not an easy decision. However, as time went on I realized how happy I would become with my choice, and after just finishing my first year of medical school I certainly do not regret it. In fact, I would 100% make the exact same choice again. For the focus of this article, I will hone in on some reasons that people give why they do not want to take a gap year and discuss how I approached those issues. It is important to remember though that this is still a very individualized decision and that one person’s opinion may not be the right choice for you! However, I hope that seeing my own thoughts as well as links to other “gap year” resources in the article will help you to solidify your personal decision. I won’t want to go back to school if I take time off: I hear this as a reason that students do not take time off all of the time. However, personally I knew that after everything it took to get accepted into medical school I would not simply throw away that acceptance. After 4 years of neuroscience courses in undergrad, the MCAT, the application process, and all of the other activities that I did in college, it was plain and simple that when I was accepted I would go. I think that for many students the fear of the unknown is why they say this is the reason they do not want to take time off. Most people going into medical school have only ever known school and school related activities, even if some of those were “extracurricular”. Many students have not branched outside of that academic setting to really pave a path for themselves outside of schoool. Having said that, everyone is an individual and students do need to honestly assess whether they feel as though they would or would not return to school. What would I do during that time? Many students are simply just not sure of what they would do with that time. If you’re looking for some ideas, I worked as an EMT, assisted at a medical clinical in Ghana for a month, co-created and co-founded an app for pre-meds called PreMD Tracker, went to France, went on a cruise, read many books I had on the back burner, earned my second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and enjoyed spending time with friends and family. And yes, that was all in one year. It may sound like a lot, but I’m not advertising this to intimidate anyone. My point is that in your gap year you should try to do something to strengthen your application but remember to take some time for yourself to relax and rejuvenate. Medical schools aren’t particularly looking for someone who took a year-long world-wide vacation but if you’re frantically studying and working the whole year, would that bring you much benefit either? For some more suggestions I recommend looking into research, travel, MCAT studying, extra classes to boost your GPA, or working to pay off existing or anticipated debt. Will it hurt my chances of getting into medical school? Many people are surprised to hear that it really does not seem to hurt applicants and can help in many cases too. According to the AAMC, medical schools want strong applicants and students that are fresh and ready to go. If that means taking some time off to rest or strengthen your application, that is okay. It is important to be honest about your experience and discuss what you learned from it and how you’ve grown. We all change and develop personally and professionally as time goes on and it is encouraged to highlight that growth. Anything else? Ultimately, as great as a gap year was for me and many of my friends, it is not for everyone. So, it is important to honestly self reflect on what decision will make you happy and what decision will make you the best doctor you can be. Do you have helpful resources I can look at? I would recommend looking at the AAMC website links below as they have a lot of honest answers that I think can really help students make what can be a difficult decision. source
