Considering a gap year before medical school? Learn the pros, cons, and how to make the most of your time off to boost your application and personal growth.
Hey! I’m Nikita Kulkarni, a first-year medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine. I took a gap year before medical school and I worked, researched, travelled, read, and spent time with friends and family during that time. I can confidently say that year restored the energy I needed for school.
In this blog, I’ll break down the key factors to consider when deciding on a gap year while sharing my experience. By applying these factors to your situation, you can better determine if a gap year before medical school is the right choice for you.
A gap year, sometimes called a growth year, is a year focused on skill-building in the area(s) of your choice, also dedicated to growth, rest, and resilience building. This has been an increasingly popular option among pre-med cohorts between foundational coursework and medical school. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 73.2% of students who began medical school in the 2023-24 academic year took at least one gap year. Most commonly, students will use this time to strengthen their applications and spend time in the workforce.
You can feel like you are limited to the “traditional” path, going to medical school right after college. Multiple factors play into this decision, such as preparedness, finances, external expectations, or personal goals. When I was considering taking a gap year before medical school, I was balancing my expectations, readiness, and the expectations from those around me.
Sometimes there is societal expectation to push through your medical education and complete the process as quickly as possible. Since it takes so long from undergrad to attending-hood, the next logical thought might be “why make it even longer?”, which may lead some students to continue on the traditional path despite their personal feelings and circumstances. In some cases, this is fine, and students are adequately prepared to move through these stages swiftly. For others, it might lead to early burnout and a lost opportunity to strengthen their application.
For those fresh out of college, a gap year is a great way to rebuild the stamina you’ve been utilizing throughout college. Reflect on your growth and take time to recharge.
My gap year helped me improve my time management skills and set strong boundaries, allowing me to conserve my energy while also gaining work and research experience. Many skills I gained while working, like self-driven inquisition, design, leadership, and collaboration, are directly correlated to my strengths as a medical student now. A gap year allows space for reflection as well. It helped solidify my decision to enter this field, as I saw firsthand the impact physicians had on patients while I worked as a scribe.
Along with the personal and professional growth you may encounter, a gap year can help you be a more competitive applicant, as this growth can be documented and further serve as an example for your candidacy.
Lastly, it gave me time for my art and time with friends and family. Since I had already applied when my gap year began, I enjoyed more of the year as the cycle dwindled. For others who took at least two years, it was also “extra” time for application writing, MCAT, or coursework, since their application cycle would begin their second gap year.
There is no official date to have this decided, and life events happen unplanned. Traditional applicants apply after their junior year of college, and if they matriculate, they would begin medical school in the fall after their last semester of college. The consideration for taking a gap year should start early: the more time you have the better you can plan. Ideally, the latest you would want to decide is before your senior year of college.
The medical school application process kicks off in the spring before your intended matriculation year, with primaries (AMCAS/AACOMAS) opening in May and submissions starting in June. Secondaries roll in over the summer, followed by interviews in the fall and winter, with most decisions coming out by March.
I decided to take a gap year in my sophomore year of college. I was reticent during my freshman year, but I felt more confident when I engaged in more research and understood the importance of clinical experience. I spent my junior and senior years looking for strong gap year experiences and my senior year was more geared toward writing for my application. I continued as a remote scribe through my gap year.
Use the time before your last gap year(s) to build a strong network and create and pinpoint programs or opportunities that sound good to you. For example, if you’re a musician, use this time to keep playing or teach lessons. If you play a sport, organize a team to play in your community. Leverage your interests and use the “extra” time as an advantage to build opportunities that are not traditionally available.
A gap year before medical school can be a good time to improve your academic stats. Of note, a competitive GPA is 3.7 – 4.0. This could be the time you spend looking into a post-bacc or a Master’s degree. If you have any coursework left to complete, complete this prior to applying. Bringing up your GPA will be a strong indicator that you are resilient in the face of challenges, and also serve to keep your application in the running for schools that screen out.
Similarly, there is no applying to medical school without an MCAT score (except in rare cases of accelerated programs), if you haven’t taken the MCAT by early summer before your senior year, this pushes you into the necessary gap year category. If you’ve taken it already and believe you may want to retake it, check out our article about MCAT Retaking. A gap year can be a great time to study for the MCAT in a dedicated manner and potentially score higher.
If you're planning on studying or the MCAT during your gap year, consider studying with Sketchy. The program covers everything on the MCAT including CARS practice along with quiz questions and official AAMC materials.
Clinical experience is a crucial part of the pre-med experience. This is the final “test” that taught me what healthcare entails and is an irreplaceable litmus for pre-medical students. This includes shadowing, working, or volunteering in patient care settings. This is the best way to know what you’re signing up for. The average accepted applicant has 100–300+ hours before medical school. If you are interested in women’s healthcare, a gap year could be a good time to work full-time in organizations focused on providing equitable healthcare for vulnerable populations, like shelters or organized clinics.
If research is important for your target schools, then it should be important to you too. Many projects utilize stat programs, which can usually be learned within a year and can serve as a great launchpad for research in the future, as a medical student, as well. For example, knowing “R” (programming language) is a good skill to have, and may open doors with faculty who need this skillset on their research team.
It can also be important to consider finances and long-term planning. If you plan on taking this time off and need to consider supporting yourself or any other financial obligations you may have, it would also be important to proactively look for a full-time position with benefits. If you have more flexibility, you may be able to forego a paid position for volunteering or work part-time while balancing other application expectations.
A popular deterrent for taking a gap year before medical school was “a lost year of attending income”. It is also important to realistically consider the cost of multiple application cycles versus the chance of losing an attending’s year of income. As applications become more and more competitive, unless you feel fully prepared, it may be in your best interest to consider a gap year to add to your life experience and application.
Some popular gap year options are engaging in research, pursuing a clinical setting position, or seeking an opportunity in community healthcare. If your target schools specifically value experience from one of those over another, seek alignment when you plan out your gap year. If you are interested in pursuing something specific, this is a great time to begin building the experience and growing a network.
Some popular gap year experiences include:
A gap year can also be a good time to strengthen your GPA or MCAT. Many universities now offer post-baccalaureate programs to target science GPA improvements, geared toward pre-medical students preparing to apply to medical school. Some of these programs also include MCAT prep and application support, which can be great resources if finances are less of an issue. Some Master’s programs are also slightly more designed to fit pre-med needs, so it is also possible to pursue this route. In comparison to a post-bacc, this may take longer, but you would finish with a full degree.
Speak with trusted mentors such as professors, academic advisors, or supervisors who know your goals and can offer perspective on your readiness. Reaching out to current medical students—either at your university or through networking events or social media—can also be incredibly helpful. Many are happy to share what they did during their gap year, how it impacted their application, and what they wish they had done differently. Their real-life insights can clarify your options and ease uncertainty as you make your decision.
Taking a gap year before medical school is a deeply personal choice—one that depends on your academic standing, clinical exposure, personal growth goals, and life circumstances. For me, it was a year of reflection, skill-building, and meaningful experiences that made me a stronger, more confident applicant. Whether you're using the time to gain experience, recharge, or realign your goals, a gap year can be a powerful step forward in your journey to medicine.
Ask for LORs before leaving if you are able to. If you are taking multiple gap years, you may also consider reaching back out to get the letters updated closer to your application cycle. Platforms like ePortfolio will house these letters. Some have an additional cost, but will securely hold the letters while still keeping them anonymous to you.
A gap year will not hurt your chances of getting into medical school. In most cases, it should help, but it requires self-driven goal setting and reaching.
Depending on when you plan to apply, you should apply to medical school the spring before your goal year of matriculation. If you plan to take a single gap year out of college, then your application will have to have been completed within a few months of graduation.
The MCAT score lasts for 3 years after each attempt. If you plan to take multiple gap years, this is something to keep in mind. If your score is set to expire before your application cycle of choice, make sure to plan for a retake MCAT.
This is a valid concern. For me, it was MCAT studying that kept me in tune with studying and that process. I really enjoyed reading throughout my gap year, so I would recommend this too. Really, any subject you are interested in, try to engage with it in a consistent manner. A gap year can be a great time to learn a language or two (even more so with multiple gap years).
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