Time Off Between College and Medical School

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Every premedical student at some point encounters the decision of whether to go straight to medical school after college or to take some time off from school first.  The traditional path has been to start medical school immediately after college, but nowadays many medical students take a nontraditional path.  Some even go into medicine as a second career later in life.  This blog post explores the details of each option.

Going to medical school immediately after college can be a good option if you’re feeling ready to start it at that point without first taking a break from school.  A major advantage of this option is that it allows you to become a physician at an earlier age than you otherwise would.  As the medical training path to become a physician is long, starting your training earlier could increase the number of years you will work as a physician and thus, increase your financial earning potential from that type of work during your career.  Another advantage is that you may have an easier time finding writers for letters of recommendation required for the medical school application process than you would if you applied to medical school later in life.  Many applicants obtain these letters from college professors, and those people are more likely to remember you if you are currently in their classes or took classes with them recently.  Furthermore, since you will still be a college student during the application process if you choose this option, you may have easier access to an academic advisor who can help guide you through the process, as that type of person is typically available on college campuses.  The main drawback to going directly from college to medical school is that the tight timeline it requires decreases the opportunities you have to gain work experience or volunteer experience before medical school.  Nowadays medical schools value real world healthcare experience (paid or volunteer) in applicants at least as much as grades and test scores.  They want to know that the applicants they accept really understand what a career in medicine involves, and there is no substitute for the learning that real world experience provides.  If you already have significant healthcare experience, you may be able to build a strong medical school application immediately, but if you don’t have that, you may want to consider whether taking some time to gain that kind of experience after college may be worth it to strengthen your application.

If you take some time off from school before applying for medical school, your application will likely look a little different, but by no means will taking that time off automatically decrease your chances of getting into medical school.  In fact, if you use the time off well, it can make your medical school application stronger.  Since you won’t have school obligations during that time, it will be an opportune time to gain healthcare experience, whether that means shadowing doctor, volunteering at a hospital, working in a healthcare setting (e.g. as a scribe or medical assistant), or assisting with research.  The break from constantly being in school may also help you feel mentally refreshed when you start medical school.  If your college classes did not cover all the premed academic requirements (which may be the case if you’re doing medicine as second career), you might spend sometime completing a post baccalaureate program to complete your premed requirements.  Gaining world healthcare experience is also strongly recommended in that scenario.  When you write your personal statement for your medical school application, make sure you explain how you spent your time off from school and how it contributed to your interest in medicine, as that can make all the difference in how favorably schools view your application.

I personally was one of the people who took some time off between college and medical school.  During that time I completed an accelerated EMT program, worked briefly as an EMT (not very long since I quickly realized that I didn’t like driving big vehicles), and worked as a research associate at a pharmaceutical company.  Since I only had a year and a half break between college and medical school, I was able to easily stay in touch with a few of my college professors who agreed to write letters of recommendation for me, and I was able to take the MCAT while my college level science knowledge was still relatively fresh.  In hindsight I’m glad I took that break from school.  Aside from giving me a welcome break from constantly going to classes, it gave me time to study for the MCAT without needing to study for any other tests at the same time, and it gave me time to gain real world experience that I could use in writing my personal statement and preparing for medical school interviews.  Some of my medical school classmates took some time off from school after college, as well, and some took the traditional route of starting medical school immediately after college.  My oldest classmate started medical school at age 45, and another classmate decided to go into medicine after years of being a music teacher.  Even with this variation in our academic journeys, we completed medical school and residency and went on to become attending physicians.

Whether you decide to start medical school immediately after college or take some time off from school in between, please know that either option can lead to a successful career in medicine.  I encourage you to reflect on your goals, personal needs, and the amount of real world healthcare experience you currently have as you make this decision.  In the end you should choose the option that is right for you personally, even if it’s different from all the other premed students around you.  If you need help figuring out which option is right for you, please feel free to send me an email at tunerx97531@gmail.com.  All mentoring I provide is free and confidential.