Gap Years
Unpopular opinion: It’s not just a year off!
Written By: Caylen Davis, DDS
Last Updated: June 2024
There are a lot of mixed feelings about gap years and whether or not to take them. Some will encourage it while others will cringe at the thought of it. However, I hope this article will clear up all the tension in the room.
Disclaimer: The following information is adapted from ADEA Go Dental.
What Is A Gap Year?
First of all, a gap year is essentially a period of time between the end of undergraduate education and the beginning of dental school. It’s also important to note that a gap year does not have to be twelve months. They can be two, three, or more years long depending on your circumstances.
Reasons To Take A Gap Year
Trying to figure out if a gap year is right for you can be very stressful. What holds a lot of pre-dental students back is that there is sometimes a negative stigma behind taking a year off. Some think that a year long break will cause them to lose momentum and focus. However, if you’re spending that time wisely and building your resume, a gap year can be very rewarding in the following ways:
Time to strengthen dental school application.
Time to work on finances.
Time for intra-personal growth and focus.
So, think of a gap year as an opportunity. In order to make the most of your gap year, focus on what motivated you to take one in the first place. What are your weaknesses as a dental school applicant, and how can you strengthen them? This will help guide you on how to manage your time before applying to dental school.
What to Do During your gap year
There are a lot of reasons why students decide to take a gap year, and everyone’s experience is different. Some pre-dents want to strengthen their academics while other’s want time to study for the DAT and save money. Whatever the reason, here are a few ideas of what you can spend your gap year(s) doing:
- Dental Assisting / Working in a Dental Office
- Dental Service Mission Trip
- Master’s Program / Post-baccalaureate Program
- Leadership Conferences
- Stress Management Workshops
- Volunteering
- Shadowing
- Travel
- Other Interests
These are just a few options! The possibilities are endless, but no matter what you decide to do, you should approach your gap year(s) with a plan. How will you spend your time, what kinds of things will you do to improve your application?
If you plan on working, you can try to find a position at a local dentist’s office. Many pre-dental students train as dental assistants and save money working this way. If this isn’t possible, working while finding dental volunteering or shadowing opportunities is another great way to gain dental experience. If you want to travel, consider adding a mission trip into your plans. Gap years are amazing ways to explore and grow.
Post-baccalaureate and master's programs
Deciding to take a gap year is already a stressful decision in itself. However, deciding whether or not to take a post-baccalaureate (“post-bac”) program is even more daunting and very confusing.
what is a "Post-bac" program
Firstly, a “post-bac” program can refer to any academic work that you complete after undergraduate graduation. These are usually designed to support students in the transition from undergraduate to professional school. Just Flossy strongly supports programs like these because they have greatly helped many underrepresented minority students in successfully applying to dental school. Here are some examples of program types provided by Johns Hopkins University:
Career Changer programs provide students who did not complete pre-dental requirements as undergraduates with the basic pre-dental sciences and coursework and experiences needed. These programs are usually completed within a year or 15 months.
Academic Enhancement programs are designed for students who have completed the pre-dental sciences as undergraduates but need to “enhance” and strengthen their academics. This basically gives students the opportunity to prove themselves by taking more demanding science courses.
- Special Master’s programs are for students who completed their pre-dental requirements and need to enhance their academic record. Generally, the programs are linked to a dental school. These programs may offer guaranteed dental school interviews for performance, DAT preparation, and academic advising (Great options for underrepresented minority students: Meharry’s Master of Health Science program and Hampton’s Masters in Medical Science program).
Underrepresented in Medicine post-baccalaureate programs usually fall under enhancement programs and are designed to support underrepresented minority and/or educationally or economically disadvantaged students and increase the numbers who apply successfully to dental/medical school.
uLTIMATE LIST OF POST-BACC/MASTER'S PROGRAMS:
Which Program is right for you?
What kind of program you choose to apply to will depend on a lot of factors and there are a lot of things to consider before applying. How much time do you want to spend in the program, how much are you willing to pay in tuition, and which program will benefit you most? These are all very important questions to consider. Just Flossy recommends reading over this page first to aid in your decision making.
Discussing Your Gap Years During Interviews
Okay, so you’ve decided that you want to take a gap year or two. That’s great! Enjoy that time to grow as an applicant.
However, no matter what you decide to do during your gap year(s), it’s important to be able to talk about them during your dental school interviews. So it’s a good idea to start thinking about that now. Do not stress about how your gap year will be viewed by admissions. More likely than not, school admissions will not care if you used your gap year to rest, work, study, or travel. Everyone’s journey is different. Therefore, simply talk about your accomplishments during your gap year. How did they make you a better applicant and future dental professional? How did you gap year strengthen your desire to become a dentist? Beyond this, even explain how your gap year experience made you a better person overall.
The Big Picture
Gap years aren’t for everyone, but if you decide that this is something you want to do, it can be a very enriching experience that you surely won’t regret.
Author’s Note: I took a gap year to devote my time to applying to dental school while working full time as a dental assistant. I also created Just Flossy during my gap year! The sky is the limit. A gap year can be a time filled with growth to become the best version of yourself possible before dental school if planned correctly. Do your research and allow for self-reflection to make the best decision.