3 post-interview rejections, next steps / gap year ideas?

[theevilsloth]

Hey everyone, for those who didn't matriculate right after completing their Bachelor's degree, what did you do while applying to med again? My GPA and MCAT are juuuust good enough to get interviews in Ontario and OOP, so I'm not worried there. My ECs were good enough for 2 Ontario schools and an OOP school. That being said, they can be stronger. I think my weakest points are lack of research productivity, no career progression, and no ECs outside of the premed norm.

It's clear to me that my weak point is definitely the interview, and that this will be the #1 area to improve upon next cycle. However, I don't want to waste this year, and I want to do everything in my power to ensure that if I don't get in this cycle, I'll at least have a better chance for 2021-2022.

I'm thinking that it's time to look for a full-time job, although this is hard with only a BSc, especially since my interests lie more in health science, policy, and clinical research type positions. Also, COVID. Did anyone have success finding these sorts of jobs with just a BSc and some RA experience? I can also take a 2 year masters, but my GPA is decent and I'm already getting interviews, so I almost feel like taking an application cycle off would be shooting myself in the foot. 

Is / was anyone in a similar position to me? Are there options I'm not considering that I should be looking at? I'm just feeling a bit lost right now. Any advice is appreciated!

[JohnGrisham]

Find work, look in non-profit sectors and areas that involve "helping" in some shape or form.  You don't need to go with your "interests" since its not going to be forever anyways. Broaden your horizons, and realize that with a BSc, nothing is beneath you. Even getting a year of full-time experience in customer service roles in retail would help your application.  

Dont bother with a masters.

[theevilsloth]

Just now, JohnGrisham said:

Find work, look in non-profit sectors and areas that involve "helping" in some shape or form.  You don't need to go with your "interests" since its not going to be forever anyways. Broaden your horizons, and realize that with a BSc, nothing is beneath you. Even getting a year of full-time experience in customer service roles in retail would help your application.  

Dont bother with a masters.

Thanks! Yeah non-profits would be a perfect match, I'll start there. And while I realize that nothing is beneath me, I worked in a retail clothing store for 4 years throughout university and I don't see myself going back to a retail environment.