Advice on my plan for gap year?
This is a very tentative and theoretical plan I’ve thought about as a way to boost my chances of matching to a competitive residency post-medical school. For context, currently a junior in undergrad, financially + health restricted. My plan hinges on two things going well:
Apply (and hopefully get accepted) to my college town’s medical school program that accepts 4-5 undergrads a year early. I’m one of 7 currently applying right now (as a junior). This is the most financially feasible and likely medical school I can do. However, the application is binding - once applied, you cannot apply to other schools unless you’re denied.
If accepted, see if they’d be willing to defer my acceptance for a year (I’ve had health issues in undergrad. I want to take a breather and figure out how to manage before undergoing rigorous med school).
My plan if the above is successful:
- My senior year of undergrad, try to join a research lab early at this medical school (other undergrads have done this after knowing they were going to go there). Establish a good relationship with the research director, the students, etc. Goal is to get a good feel for how they operate.
- Spring semester before graduating, I’ll get in touch with research labs at other, larger institutions / hospitals that have projects in my speciality of interest and apply for spots to work at them. Unfortunately, at the medical school I want to go to, there’s not a lot of exposure / research into my desired speciality. I want to increase my odds of matching to my dream speciality at my dream residency location. So, since my dream residency is at a very competitive location, I want to make myself just as competitive - if not more so - than someone at a well-known and well-endowed medical school.
- During gap year, move to this city and work in their research labs, helping with projects related to my desired specialty.
- Then, upon starting medical school, bring a brand new research project that I’ve created (having drawn from the insight and experience of this gap year of research from a well-established project) to my med school research director (someone I already established connections with by doing research for them my senior year of college).
- In medical school years, build on this project and hopefully take it somewhere
- So, when I go to apply for residency, even if worst case scenario I can’t get a publication, the posters + initiative + long-time experience and dedication to the speciality can serve in my favor.
Thoughts on this plan? Or would it just be better to try for medical schools with well-established exposure and projects for my desired speciality?