Gap Year Advice

[futurepa71]

I noticed that many people apply at age 22-25 on the applicant's stats page, and I am wondering what advice you all have!

 

I am considering taking a gap year, because I really want to make sure that my application is nice and full of a lot of wonderful stuff (there's so much I want to do!), and I feel very overwhelmed trying to cram it all in the 2 years I have left of college. I don't even have a car yet because my parents just bought a new house and the money I am making at work is going toward a service trip to Guatemala this spring break. Plus, since the applications go in so early, the work I do during my senior year won't even count towards the application.

 

Also, if you have a pretty average GPA, would it be worth it to take on a minor to boost it up? Gaining more HCE hours would be a given, I assume.

 

Any advice is welcome! Thanks so much!

 

 

[rev ronin]

What do you mean by "a pretty average GPA"?  Minors per se don't really seem to help, but relevant coursework, especially upper division biological sciences, certainly will.

 

I highly recommend structured overseas medical work as HCE, and I love Guatemala.

[thehikerpa]

From someone who is currently working through her gap year, I can share my experience with you.  I played a collegiate sport in college and did not have time to hold a job, go to school, and play.  I decided to take a year off because I needed HCE and wanted to work/save up money for school. Since you have two more years left, you have tons of time! I agree, relevant coursework is going to look great.  I wish I would have had another year to take classes like immunology or embyrology. Since most schools require a large amount of HCE, I would focus on building up your hours as much as possible.  Do you have a job right now that allows you to give hands on care to patients? If you can't work during school, volunteering during summer breaks is also beneficial. Since I was free in the summer, I volunteered at a local hospital in the OR and ER transporting patients, observing surgeries, etc. Shadowing PAs is also something you can start to do!  Try to shadow as many different specialities as you can!  Showing PA schools that you're into a lot of activities and active in your community definitely cannot hurt.  As for school, focus on getting the best grades you can (that should be pretty obvious). and if you have any thoughts about what particular PA schools you would like to attend, research them and see what letter grades they require. Clearly you want to shoot for A's in every class possible but don't freak out if you get a B or even a C.  I applied with a 3.67, which is a solid GPA, but is on the average/lower end when applying to PA school.  All of my biological science classes were A/A-'s while I received mostly B's in my chemistry courses.  I applied to 8 schools, received 5 interview offers, and was accepted to my first two interviews.  I actually cancelled 3 because I figured I wouldn't choose them over the two I had already been accepted into.   It just goes to show you that you do not need a 4.0 or 10,000 hours of HCE to get into a PA school.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do until the beginning of my junior year and I just worked my butt off and did everything in my power to make my application as strong as possible.  Getting the interview and standing out on paper is the hardest part... the interview lets the PA school see who you really are. Don't stress out about it too much yet because you still have a decent amount of time!  I think that gap years can't really hurt, especially if you are a little worried about your GPA/classes/HCE. Anyways, that was a book.  Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions about anything and good luck with the rest of your undergrad!

[cm7sus4]

I attended a 2-day pre-health professions forum at UC Davis a couple of years ago; the largest workshop was a Q&A with an admissions committee panel with reps from around the country.  The top two questions were "what are my chances with a low GPA" and also "what do you think about a gap year?"

 

Each admin rep answered the last question differently.  Some reps took kindly to the idea and encouraged it, in order to give yourself a more rounded experience with healthcare before taking the plunge.  Some were indifferent, stating that it shouldn't be a problem, given you do something constructive.  Others were against the idea entirely, stating there is no reason to delay application if you know this is what you want to do.  It all depends on how your prospective school(s) will interpret your intentions with the gap year.

 

Personally, I am taking a number of gap years.  I found work in a major hospital center, in primary care administration.  I work with an MD and an NP closely; I chose to go into primary care admin to give myself a look into the day-to-day operations of the clinic I wish to work in.  I have plenty of experience as a care provider working with doctors but no experience with the admin side.  I had to do this for myself in order to make a well informed decision, and I am now confident that I can handle/tolerate on the administrative responsibilities whereas previously I could not say that due to lack of that specific experience.

 

I would say that, if you choose to take a gap year(s), then make sure you are doing something that works toward accomplishing your end-goal.  You should feel comfortable explaining to an adcom why you chose to do what you did, and how it helped to get you to where you are.

 

As far as the minor - don't take on a minor course of study to boost a GPA, take upper division science courses to do that (unless, of course, your minor is something like biochem).