Graduate Education. Do you have any advice for someone pursuing this gap year opportunity?

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1 Name: Tamara JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2013 I attended the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and pursued a Master of Health Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I really enjoyed my year at Bloomberg. I thought that the faculty was outstanding and I loved gaining an in-depth public health education. The program itself was academically challenging, but I think its rigors have prepared me well for medical school. After I graduated from the School of Public Health, I started working as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins Adherence Research Center within the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. I would highly encourage anyone seeking to strengthen their academic profile to apply to Bloomberg. I would caution any student against taking the program lightly (especially within the Biochemistry department) since it is quite academically challenging. I think Bloomberg improved my medical school candidacy by giving me an opportunity to show my proficiency in upper level science classes.

2 Name: Carolyn JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2012 I graduated from JHU a year early, so I applied to medical school "on time", although I had a gap year (which would have been my fourth year at Hopkins) in between. I took the opportunity to study music abroad, earning a Masters Degree in Music in cello performance. I loved what I did with my year between undergrad and medical school. I was able to focus on something that I had always wanted to but did not have adequate time to during undergrad. I gained invaluable life experience, and experience with all kinds of people, not just those in the medical/science community. I mainly applied to graduate school music programs, but earlier in the process I considered and began the application process to Teach for America. Do not just look for something that you think will make you "look good" to medical schools. Once you go into medicine, you probably will not have the chance to large amounts of time (e.g. years) to pursue other interests. If you have other interests, now is the time to do what you want with them! I know plenty of people in medical school who took time working for NGO's, volunteering, teaching, living abroad, and doing things completely unrelated to medicine--and to be honest, these people are more prepared for medical school. We can all study hard and work hard by now, but a truly good doctor has to be able to relate to people from all walks of life, and those of us with more than medical/research experience are uniquely prepared for this. I think my experience caused medical schools to take me more seriously as a person. By pursuing my own interests, I showed my depth as a person and my ability to interact with different communities. Choosing opportunities for your own reasons, not because it's what "looks good", shows your depth, maturity, and intelligence as a person, and gives medical schools an opportunity to see other dimensions of you as a person. But, if your primary reason for a gap year opportunity is to prove something to a medical school, then that defeats the purpose! I firmly believe that the gap year should be for you, not

3 for the medical school, and I also believe (from my interviewing experience) that medical schools take this perspective as well.

4 Name: JHU Alum JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2013 Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Different from to the MHS, the ScM is a year of science heavy coursework AND a year of research. Through the Office of Pre-Professional Programs and Advising and the advisors in public health at JHU You can never start the process early enough. The last thing you want is to be stuck without an opportunity because you didn't start early enough. I have had the opportunity to take additional graduate courses which shows medical schools that I can handle the course load and have pursued a novel researched based thesis. Will have earned a Master's degree by the end of it.

5 Name: JHU Alum JHU Undergrad Year: 2010 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2011 Masters of Health Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Recommendation from a friend. Part time work at the Clinical Trials Center in Baltimore. Be open to research in this program. The faculty here are amazing and can get you far if you are interested in research or want a recommendation. I was a humanities major and it greatly strengthened my science background.

6 Name: Pooja JHU Undergrad Year: 2010 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2010 Masters in Health Science in Environmental Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through Public Health advising. Travel, Teaching Assistant position I loved it! Helped me make the transition from college to grad school, and I felt more refreshed and ready to go when I got to med school. That said, don't feel obligated to take a year off - if you're ready to go, go! It showed my commitment to higher education and to environmental health and sustainability (which I spoke a lot about in my personal statement). This experience made me a more well-rounded person and gave me something more to contribute to my class!

7 Name: JHU Alum JHU Undergrad Year: 2008 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2009/2010 Master of Health Science at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Employment as a clinical research manager It's expensive, but a great way to boost your resume and gpa for med school. It was a great experience that showed a different side of medicine while still preparing me for medical school.

8 Name: Daniel JHU Undergrad Year: 2008 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2010 I received a Master's degree in one year, and then pursued one year of employment with the research lab in which I did my master's degree. My gap year was an excellent experience, and I had the opportunity to learn from one of the world's greatest biologists, and I also enjoyed time out of school before beginning medical school. I pursued the Master's degree and a job as a Lab Manager. The Carnegie Institute of Washington, behind the Hopkins Homewood campus offers positions in some of the world's greatest labs. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a career in biological research or medicine. Working with a respected scientist improved my application, and also gave me extra experiences with public speaking, thinking like a researcher, and continuing learning advanced biology.

9 Name: Rebecca JHU Undergrad Year: 2008 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2010 Employment/ I did two gap years between undergrad and professional school (veterinary): (1) Graduate education - 1 year Master's in Biomedical Sciences at CSU - with a focus in vet science, and (2) Employment as a laboratory animal veterinary technician at Georgetown. I found both experiences mainly via internet searches... (1) Grad school - there are significantly fewer 1 year master's programs that are pre-vet friendly (e.g. they do not require MCAT scores), and CSU happens to be one of them. (2) I found the lab animal position online by searching for opportunities at large institutions in the MD/DC area. The job description/opportunity was not advertised, but I contacted the veterinarian there to ask if they needed anyone, and it turned out that they did. " Other graduate programs (1 year master's) that I applied to were the JHU MPH, Tufts MAPP, and the Drexel VMS programs - all of these programs allowed submission of the GRE (as required for vet school applications) rather than the MCAT, and some were veterinary specific (Drexel VMS and the CSU programs). Other employment opportunities that I considered and applied to were research-based (as a research assistant). (1) Grad school is a great way to improve grades if your undergrad grades are average or not super competitive, and also will allow you to get involved with research, or teaching students for example (e.g. TA-ing), which will further improve your candidacy. (2) I think that a year of employment (while you are writing applications and attending interviews) is a huge advantage - it allows you to spend a lot of quality time on your application, and you don't have to worry about missing class and exams in order to attend interviews. My employer was very understanding of the application process, so it wasn't a hassle to take time off.

10 I changed my career path late in the game (didn't decide upon vet school until the summer before senior year), and gap years allowed me the opportunity to buff up my veterinary and research experiences before applying. Grad school also allowed me to improve my academic record.

11 Name: Audrie JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2013 I enrolled in a graduate school program to get my Master of Public Health (MPH) in epidemiology with a concentration in global health. I found it online through a school of public health school web search. I will also be taking a year off in between school (grad school and med school) to save up money and make sure that I have enough time to focus on my thesis before applying to medical school. Consider the fact that the program may require you to take another gap year (a year between graduate school and medical school) due to the course work required to finish a graduate degree. I have not only improved my GPA, I have also received valuable experiences such as doing research abroad in Thailand, working with injury prevention departments in hospitals, and doing a non-profit internship with LIVESTRONG. I was able to also gain further knowledge on a population scale that I think will not only improve my medical school candidacy but also my future as a physician.

12 Name: Adedotun JHU Undergrad Year: 2012 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2014 Currently doing an MHS in Reproductive Biology at JHSPH department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Through past experiences (research and job) at JHSPH. Speaking with Pre-Prof Advisor Other public health in schools out of state. Explore your options. Determine why you're taking a gap year, what the best options are for you and go for it. Apply to things very early. Bolsters my academic capabilities.

13 Name: Miriam JHU Undergrad Year: 2010 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2012 MA in Medical Sciences from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). The Pre-Prof website had a section about special masters programs. After looking through the opportunities and doing some internet research I applied to a few graduate programs. I also was employed as a research technician at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine for a year and a half before I started applying for special masters programs. If you are reapplying, figure out what are your weaknesses and take the time in that year to strengthen them. Special masters programs can be good to strengthen your academic knowledge and are a great preparation for medical school courses. Some programs feed into the admitted class for upcoming years at associated medical schools, depending on the program. It's a lot of money, so be sure this is something that you believe is going to help you get to your ultimate goal. If in doubt, talk to a pre-prof advisor. I believe that without the program I would not have been accepted to medical school. I think it greatly helped in my acceptance.

14 Name: Scott JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2011 Received my MHS in mental health from JHSPH. Advertising through the public health department. None, credits transfer and make it easy to do the program. Make sure you try to publish your master s thesis. It's been an awesome experience working on a paper from start to finish that is completely my own work and first author! Make sure you can explain why you decided to take a gap year - I needed time to improve my grades, senior year helped and doing very well in the master s program looked good as well. It also allowed me to finish up some research projects I was working on at Homewood, as well as continue working and work on my own paper.

15 Name: Christina JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2013 Employment/ Working as a dental assistant while taking upper level science courses (Pre-Dental) I received guidance on what to do from Ms. Droscoski and searched for jobs/classes nearby. Volunteering as a Sunday school teacher at my church. Research different options and choose ones that are productive, yet enjoyable! Other than that, make sure to be aware of all deadlines and plan a general timeline for the year. It improved my GPA and experience in the dental field; and it reassured my decision of going into this field.

16 Name: Russell JHU Undergrad Year: 2011 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2013 /Research I worked full time for 2 years as a research technician at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In this capacity, I performed glycobiology research, participated in journal clubs, attended the national Society for Glycobiology meeting in San Diego, I took three graduate courses at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and published two papers. As an undergraduate I began performing research in this laboratory over the summer between my junior and senior year of college. I was able to demonstrate my skills and attention to detail. Soon after I was offered the position to continue the research I was performing as an undergraduate. Part of the opportunity was luck because I was able to step into a newly open position at the right time. The other part was being able to get this experience early on in college and build the rapport with my supervisor. I also worked part time as a personal trainer (~12-20h per week) and an MCAT tutor for a company called Top Test Prep (depending on availability of clients). I volunteered at both Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as GBMC as a customer service representative. I was elected as the alumni treasurer of my undergraduate fraternity. I also took the opportunity to participate in recreational sports such as beach volleyball on the weekends. I believe that it is one of the greatest experiences you can have. I have learned an incredible amount about both science and myself simply by gaining this experience. It truly gives one enough time to decide what career path is best for them! My advice would be to try and build these experiences early so that you have experience when you want to apply as well as to actively seek out employers who might want you upon graduation. I think it had a dramatic impact on my candidacy. With the added year I was able to publish two papers and was invited to attend national conferences in glycobiology. I was able to prove my candidacy by taking courses with the medical students for a grade so that my performance could be directly compared with current students. I was also able to demonstrate that I'm passionate about science and the mechanisms of disease. When interviews came around, I was prepared to talk about my project

17 from all the practice I had due to lab meetings and presentations in the past. I highly recommend it to all applicants.

18 Name: Jackie JHU Undergrad Year: 2008 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2011 Research/ Ophthalmology research at Wilmer Eye Institute, MHS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Bloomberg

19 Name: Henry JHU Undergrad Year: 2012 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2014 Employment//Research 1) Full-Time Employment as a Lab Engineer. 2) Part-Time. 3) Independent Research as part of. 1) Applied to a University of Pennsylvania job offer for said Lab Engineer position. 2) Applied to graduate school. 3) Part of Make sure you have made a commitment to research before embarking upon this path. All of the above experiences have greatly strengthened my ability to work independently, and have shored up my research background to a great degree.

20 Name: Ting-Yu JHU Undergrad Year: 2010 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2012 I did a two-year master s program. I heard about it from people/learned about it online. N/A. If you are going to do it, do it well and get the most out of it. This should be a maturing experience as well. No matter what you do, as long as you work hard and learn new things, this experience will not only make you a better applicant but also help you oftentimes in a surprising way in the future. During your gap year(s), continuously ask yourself why you want to go medical school (or other health professional schools). I personally discovered more reasons (and better reasons) why I wanted to be a doctor. One friend of mine realized she actually wanted to be a nurse, not a doctor after two gap years. Now she is a nursing student! You never know what you really want to do unless you take the time to seriously and critically consider it. This is a interesting question for me to answer because I was only waitlisted by one school and got rejected by the others that I applied to. In any case, I do know that I was able to strengthen my weak areas and most importantly learn much more about myself and really know why I wanted to be a doctor. I think it's the most valuable and most important part of gap year experience in general.

21 Name: JHU Alum JHU Undergrad Year: 2012 Medical school application cycle (2011, 2012): 2014 Medical Science Preparatory program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Internet search for Master of Science programs. Dr. Verrier provided guidance and advice. It is proving to be beneficial.