anon1234 Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 hi everyone i am thinking of taking a year off after my grad degree, and was wondering if someone could advise me about what i could do in that year to make myself a better candidate. i need to be working full time, will probably be doing something research/health administration related, but i was wondering if anyone has taken time off and worked for a couple of years and then applied to med, and what exactly you did to keep yourself competitive besides working? another concern i have is my OSAP loans - i have to support my family which is why i am unable to apply right now, and i will be working during my extra year to support them, so i would not be able to start paying back my loans just because i am out of school. i am wondering if it is worth it for me to apply for a one year program somewhere and work at the same time? or, if i take some extra pre-reqs which i may do to qualify for some other schools during my extra year, would i be able to apply for OSAP for funding for that even as a non-degree student? thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Apply to defer loan repayment... hi everyone i am thinking of taking a year off after my grad degree, and was wondering if someone could advise me about what i could do in that year to make myself a better candidate. i need to be working full time, will probably be doing something research/health administration related, but i was wondering if anyone has taken time off and worked for a couple of years and then applied to med, and what exactly you did to keep yourself competitive besides working? another concern i have is my OSAP loans - i have to support my family which is why i am unable to apply right now, and i will be working during my extra year to support them, so i would not be able to start paying back my loans just because i am out of school. i am wondering if it is worth it for me to apply for a one year program somewhere and work at the same time? or, if i take some extra pre-reqs which i may do to qualify for some other schools during my extra year, would i be able to apply for OSAP for funding for that even as a non-degree student? thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.o Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 Hey anon, I'm in a similar situation. Just on the tail end of a master's paper and thinking of what to do the next year. I'm thinking of enrolling in Biomedical Science at U of Ottawa as I feel it would be a useful way to pass the year and gain a bit more background before going into medicine (if I am to be so fortunate). Thus, if a 1 year "gap" year turns into a two year one, at least I'll still be doing something useful. Given the current state of the economy and peers without jobs, I figure that enrolling for more school would be more fruitful than burning up a few months jobhunting and then concealing the fact that I don't intend to work somewhere that long. On the side though, planning to join the reserves to give back in times of need and to bring in a little bit of revenue on the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiceWine Posted August 5, 2011 Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 hi everyone i am thinking of taking a year off after my grad degree, and was wondering if someone could advise me about what i could do in that year to make myself a better candidate. i need to be working full time, will probably be doing something research/health administration related, but i was wondering if anyone has taken time off and worked for a couple of years and then applied to med, and what exactly you did to keep yourself competitive besides working? thank you! I took a year after my grad degree and was in the retail business sector. I think it's great being to do something "health" related while being able to meet different types of people during my year off...I think it helped me with my interviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corri Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Also remember that you don't have to pay back your OSAP for 6 months. It will accrue interest though. You can pay back at a reduced amount. For other assistance with paying back, I believe your salary needs to be very low to even qualify. I finished Occupational Therapy, worked a year and now planning to do a 5th year of undergrad to boost my marks, if all goes as plans. I didn't intentionally try to stay 'competitive', just took advantage of my med school back-up plan. I also found that one year isn't enough to save money. With what came with a job... moving and apartment expenses plus starting repayment, it was surprising to me to see that a year's work didn't get me very far. I think it'd be easy and fun to do shadowing in the hospital, attend conferences of interest to you, and work on personal hobbies like traveling or joining a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1234 Posted August 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hey anon, I'm in a similar situation. Just on the tail end of a master's paper and thinking of what to do the next year. I'm thinking of enrolling in Biomedical Science at U of Ottawa as I feel it would be a useful way to pass the year and gain a bit more background before going into medicine (if I am to be so fortunate). Thus, if a 1 year "gap" year turns into a two year one, at least I'll still be doing something useful. Given the current state of the economy and peers without jobs, I figure that enrolling for more school would be more fruitful than burning up a few months jobhunting and then concealing the fact that I don't intend to work somewhere that long. On the side though, planning to join the reserves to give back in times of need and to bring in a little bit of revenue on the side. thanks for the replies and suggestions everyone! mr. o i had a question about your situation, you said you want to enroll in biomedical science at UOttawa, do you mean you plan on starting a second undergrad? or is this some one year program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.o Posted August 13, 2011 Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hey Anon, That's right, I'll be starting a second undergrad. If all goes as planned through, I'll be doing just one year of it or two years at the most. My background is in environmental science and urban planning. Because of this, I have first year bio, chem and physics meeting most of the requirements. However, now that I have set my sights on medicine, I hope to prepare for that route by taking courses that would impart some useful knowledge and make the journey through med school a bit easier hopefully. Additionally, since this was a new career choice I made just this summer, I feel that taking the year to "turn the titanic around" so to speak is a good idea to meet and hopefully exceed the base requirements for admission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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