The most important advice we offer is to apply to professional schools when you are ready to present your strongest application possible. Someof you are simply going to be significantly stronger - whether academically and/or in other aspects of your application -- at the endof your senior year as opposed to the end of your junior year. Taking time off can be a very positive step on your way to becoming a health professional. In fact, the median age for first year medical students is now nearly 25! Of course, what you do with that time should be meaningful and perhaps science, health or service related; working in a research lab or a hospital; teaching; completing a fellowship or service program, or perhaps even traveling and exposing yourself to medical care in the places you visit. The added experience can enhance your qualifications and show your commitment to a career in the health professions. For many students, it may be an advantage to wait until after graduation to apply. It gives you extra time to raise your GPA, study for entrance exams, refresh, and gain additional related experiences. Taking time off is definitely something to consider. Deciding when to apply to health professions school is one of the more important decisions that you may face as an applicant. Only about 40% of Johns Hopkins applicants currently planning to apply for 09 are from the Class of 2009 - everyone else is taking or has taken some time off before matriculating. Every student whom I have talked with who has taken time has benefited from it. They have all found something productive to do in their time off, and may be more attractive to admissions committees because of this new experience as well as the maturity that you gain from being in the real world for awhile. For those of you on the fence, here are a few reasons why it may not hurt to wait: 1. You need more time to study for the MCAT. Applying for 10 means you could spend all summer studying MCAT, and still have time to retake it if necessary before applying. 2. You have a borderline GPA. The numbers part of your applicant profile almost always improves in your senior year if you're a junior, because you have more control over the courses you take, and you're just more acclimated to the college environment. Also, if you're a senior, you may want to enroll in an academic record enhancer post-bac program to improve your GPA during the year you are applying. 3. You don't think you'll have strong letters of rec. Again, if you're a junior, your classes are likely to get smaller next year, and you'll have more opportunity to forge relationships with your faculty. You'll also have this summer to work on getting a letter from a supervisor or volunteer coordinator in your summer activity. 4. You don't have time to focus on the preparations required to apply. You have essays to write, letters of recommendations to gather, standardized tests to study for, schools to research, as well as the rest of real life and figuring out what to do this summer. If you can't spend the time you need on application prep now (and secondary essay writing this summer for MD/DO applicants), it might be better to start getting organized this year, but focus on applying next year. 5. You have no experience with what working in medicine, and with patients, might entail. Without having participated in some activities that allow you to serve the community, and build the skills you need to be a physician, it will be hard to convince schools that you have a realistic understanding of what youre about to undertake. 6. You just aren't sure about medicine yet or you can't articulate your motivation well on paper and in conversation. If you need more experiences to back up your "gut feeling" that you "must" be a doctor or dentist or vet, then by all means, take the time to find those experiences. 7. There are other things that you want to experience before taking the next step to health professions school. Once you get to medical school, it becomes more difficult to take time off -- you're more likely to have financial concerns, family concerns, and a professional schedule that will keep you from, say, traveling to Africa for six months, or learning to skydive, or going to culinary school. Health professions school (and the support Hopkins provides in working with you to get there) will still be there for you if you go and do these things and return to the application process later. Alumni from Hopkins who went to medical school report that there are many ways to spend time after graduation and before enrolling in medical school. Their reasons vary from needing time for a break, for clarifying career goals, for pursuing an activity of interest, or for improving credentials. In all cases they report positive results from the decision to take time off. During the glide year you will be filling out secondary applications, going to interviews, and wondering what you will be doing next year. You also need to keep your foot in the door of the medical field in order to show your continued interest and dedication. You do not need to do all of the following, but you should consider doing at least two of them in addition to applying to medical school: 1. Take additional courses in upper division biology and/or chemistry. 2. Get a job in order to support yourself, pay for application fees, finance travel to interviews, and pay off educational debts. If you can find work in a clinical health care area, or biological/medical research environment you may strengthen your medical school application. 3. If you are fortunate enough not to need to work, additional volunteer work in healthcare or research could also strengthen your application. A useful listing of "post-graduate opportunities" is compiled by the Career Services Office. DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE TO POST GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES 4. If you receive MCAT scores of 9 or lower you may need to retake the MCAT. This means that some of your time during the glide year should go toward studying for the MCAT or taking a review course. Please call to set up an appointment with one of the advisors to determine a course of action. We have had several students successfully navigate the challenges of being abroad during their glide year. Here are some tips from one of these students: *APPLY EARLY!!* The most important piece of advice is to turn in everything as early as possible. Although this is the general advice for everyone, I cannot stress this enough for those with restricted schedules. This enables medical schools to notify you with interviews earlier, during a time when they are still flexible in scheduling them. *SEND LETTER* In addition, I also sent out a seperate letter of explanation as to when I would be in the country and available to interview. I also stated my schedule restrictions in any space provided in the secondary applications. *TWO TIME SLOTS* Also, I tried to make my schedule as flexible as possible. Instead of only coming back to the U.S. once for interviews, I chose the months of October and January to be available to interview. These months worked out perfectly for me, as I did not miss any interviews due to my year abroad. If an applicant applies early enough, he/she should be able to hear back from schools between late August through early October - perfect for round one: the October interviews. I chose January as a backup for those schools who reviewed my file for a second time before offering me an interview or for those schools who didn't start interviewing until November. That way, I guarded both my "early" and "safety" bases. *SCHEDULE EARLY / ASK FOR EARLIER CHOICES* Most schools allow applicants to select the interview date. If the options do not match with the applicant's schedule, he/she can call the school to explain his/her situation and location abroad. Most schools will recognize their abroad experience as worthy of being flexible to change their interview date. Applicants should check their emails often (daily) and schedule an interview as soon as possible before optimal slots are taken. Even if a school indicates that it cannot change the interview date once it's set, it doesn't hurt to call and ask. I was able to push up my final interview by 3 weeks and return to China that much earlier because I asked a school (who initially indicated interview dates were final) to change my interview date. Finally, there is always the possibilty that an interviewee canceled on a particular date, allowing you to squeeze into an earlier spot. Applicants can call schools to see if there have been any cancellations, allowing them to interview and return abroad earlier. If you have additional questions, please speak with one of the pre-professional advisors. | 
