by Mary Mahoney
Should I Take a Gap Year Before Medical School?
Predictably, the rate at which aspiring medical school students are taking a gap year is rising. According to the AAMC’s 2024 student questionnaire, 74.3% of M1s took at least one gap year between their undergraduate education and starting medical school. That rate was 60% in 2017. Clearly, the takeaway from this data is that the percentage of medical school applicants who took a gap year to improve their scores, experiences, or research before being accepted to medical school is overwhelmingly greater than the percentage who did not. Additionally, the length of the gap for most of these applicants was brief – one or two years.
Reasons to Take a Gap Year
Rather than fretting about whether to take a gap year, you should focus your energy on determining what would turn a gap year into a growth year for you – and then plan accordingly. Many premed students use the gap year to work on improving what they see as their weakest application credential. A gap year gives you the opportunity to retake the MCAT, enroll in a postbac program to improve your GPA, volunteer, or gain clinical exposure. During a gap year, some premed students become emergency medical technicians. Others work to save up money (to decrease their future medical school debt) while volunteering, performing community service, or building research and publication achievements. Others engage in medical mission opportunities to bolster their experience with diverse populations and global health.
Determining How to Spend Your Gap Year
Clearly, as the percentages I noted earlier in this post demonstrate, the admissions committees do not view gap years negatively. But the key is ensuring that whatever you do during your gap makes sense with respect to your interest in becoming a doctor. For some people, that means dealing with practical issues and addressing whatever they need to do in preparation for applying to medical school.
What you might do during a gap year also needs to make sense for you personally, separate from your medical career aspirations. This means being inspired. What do you intuitively feel would facilitate your growth and satisfaction as a person and/or a future doctor? For example, would you like to gain experience with a particular patient population? Volunteer with Doctors Without Borders? Work at the NIH to help with policy and research initiatives?
Other people use the time to assume personal responsibility for a family matter, such as taking care of an ailing family member. They might pursue certification in a complimentary therapy, such as acupuncture. Or they might consider studying Latin.
Still other aspiring medical school students choose to get involved with activities and opportunities that show their commitment and enthusiasm for their intended career. What else could you do that would help you achieve your ultimate goal of becoming a doctor – something that would serve humanity and increase your humility? You could go on an international trip to service the health needs of people in a country/culture other than your own, one where people speak a different language. You might work on gaining more community service or research opportunities. Another option would be attending a postbac program or an “ancillary health” graduate program (e.g., one in human nutrition or narrative medicine) or retaking the MCAT with the help of a prep program.
Whatever you decide makes sense for you, consider speaking with your premed advisor to discuss their recommendations for ways to boost your candidacy. As tempting as it might be to take a gap year to rest, get a break from academia, or go on an overdue vacation with family or friends, do not “underwhelm” the admissions committee with minimal professional commitments during this time. You must demonstrate that you spent your gap year(s) well, working to improve your candidacy via growth, achievements, and experience – with full dedication.
Addressing the Gap Year in Your Application
If you take a gap year, you will need to explain what you did during that time to the medical schools you apply to, either in writing or in person. So, it is a good idea to take notes about your activities along the way. Practice writing about your experiences, and make connections between challenges and growth. Show how your gap year was time well spent and beneficial to your advancement. Explain how the experiences you had during that time changed you and have made you a stronger medical school applicant and future physician.
Also, if you have any ambivalence about becoming a doctor, taking a gap year or two makes perfect sense. Medical students who suffer a change of heart professionally find themselves unhappy and stressed. And medical students experiencing significant stress often demonstrate a progressive decline in empathy, which is a red flag. If they decide to drop out of medical school as a result, they often do so with sizable debt – and with no profession to show for it. So take your personal inventory early and strategically. Examine the reasons you want to be a doctor. If you feel you need some time to confirm that this path is truly the right one for you, take a gap year or two before applying to explore your commitment to medicine and patient care, and your motivation for and dedication to the profession.
It’s never too early to start working on your admissions strategy for your medical school application. Schedule a free consultation, and work one-on-one with an expert advisor who will help get you accepted!
Dr. Mary Mahoney, PhD, is the medical humanities director at Elmira College and has more than 20 years of experience as an advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. She is a tenured English professor with an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a PhD in literature and writing from the University of Houston. For the past 20 years, Mary has served as a grad school advisor and essay reviewer for med school applicants. Want Mary to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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