Written by Mark Alshak
A lot of people are in a rush to get out of college and into medical school because they think they’re going to be in school forever. Truth of the matter is that it won’t make a difference if you enter medical school a year or two after college. If anything, it may actually not only help you as a person, but also help you as an applicant. If you decide to apply straight out of college, you have to crunch all pre-med requirements in the first two years and then take the MCAT by the time of the summer after your junior year in which you will be applying to school. Not only does it make it tougher on you as an applicant, it really stresses you as a person. Every med school admissions officer I have personally talked to has encouraged students to take a year or two “off.” I put off in quotation marks because you’re not actually taking time off, but you’re spending it doing other things. Spend this time to do something you’re truly passionate about. You will never have this time again in your life so don’t just throw it away. Moreover, having those senior year grades and ECs will really help your application become complete. Don’t be in a rush to go to medical school, it’s not worth it in most cases.