Year Off Choices...Volunteering?

[ieatkids]

So i'm sure many have had this dilemma and you are always told it depends and i'm sure this is true but it's still so hard to decide what to do with your year off especially with deadline for GREs and Masters programs coming up so soon.

optimally i would like to just take one year off and i need to get my volunteering in. Anyone know any good volunteering options aside from pluggin myself into some hospital and telling them to make me their slave. I was considering EMT-B but i don't know how that compares since med schools specifically ask for hospital work?

Volunteering in inner city schools, like teaching counts right?

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[junebuguf]

Are you in the cycle this year? If so, it depends on how strong an app you have. If its weak and/or borderline, I would look to one year MS or certificate programs to give you every edge, if its strong, volunteering is fine. If you truly have the luxury of volunteering for a year, do something meaningful to *you*, not what you think med schools will consider more impressive. I would probably steer clear of hospital work though, its low-level, most docs know everything that goes on and wont be that interested. Teaching at an inner city school will give you great conversational topics during your interview!

 

[AndyDufrane]

AmeriCorp has a sort of volunteer program called HealthCorp that actually does pay and gives you money for college too, I did before I went to med school

 

[LSJST5]

You should look to do AmeriCorps or teach english for a year.
I did AmeriCorps and am currently working on MPH then going to Peace Corps then med school
Have fun

 

[ieatkids]

So about the AmeriCorp thing....I've heard about it as much as Peace Corp but i really don't know much about it. Where does AmeriCorp situate you and could i just work somewhere of my choice (like close to home?). Can you guys post more info on AmeriCorp?

Optimally i've decided to just stay near my research lab and try to do something around it because i really enjoy research. I've considered doing a masters just to raise my GPA and learn more about health care.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ieatkids]

Are you in the cycle this year? If so, it depends on how strong an app you have. If its weak and/or borderline, I would look to one year MS or certificate programs to give you every edge, if its strong, volunteering is fine. If you truly have the luxury of volunteering for a year, do something meaningful to *you*, not what you think med schools will consider more impressive. I would probably steer clear of hospital work though, its low-level, most docs know everything that goes on and wont be that interested. Teaching at an inner city school will give you great conversational topics during your interview!

i don't know if i will apply this cycle since my GPA and MCATs are fairly weak. I am above 3.0 but my MCATs are below 30. I have another thread in the MCAT section if want to post advice there for other people to read.

But could i apply and tell them i'll do volunteering during my year off? I don't want to have to wait 2 years...i'll probably have to.

 

[silverdime]

Two doctors I know read applications for BU med school. They know I'm taking a year or two off (planning a post-bac) but were shocked to hear I was also considering the option of getting ajob to pay the bills plus volunteering that was not necessarily hospital- or clinic-related.

It's a sample size of two, but I thought it might be good information to pass it on to people who are considering a kind of gap year between undergrad and med school: if you can't go directly, they want to see proof in the interim that you want to go into medicine. (Especially if your grades are iffy, as mine are.)

So if you decide to do volunteering that doesn't directly show you want to be a doctor...be careful when you apply that year. Apparently a gap year + non-doctor related activities sends up a big red flag for application readers.