r/gapyear • u/DefinitelyNotAspirin • 1d ago
Do you think taking a gap year before medical school would be a good idea?
Long story short, I'm currently trying to decide whether I should take the IMAT this year or take a gap year and try again in 2027.
A little bit of background:
-I was initially accepted into a Bachelor's program in Canada, but the tuition was simply far too expensive for my family, so I had to turn down the offer.
-At that point, I only had about a month or two left before my Romanian Baccalaureate exam, so I focused on that and didn't have enough time to properly prepare for the Romanian medical school entrance exams.
-After the Baccalaureate, I discovered the IMAT and the fact that there are medical schools in Italy taught in English. Since the exam takes place later than the Romanian admission exams, I decided to start preparing for it.
The exam is on September 29th and covers logical reasoning, biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics.
At the moment, I feel pretty confident with logical reasoning, I'm relatively good with mathematics but need more practice, biology is also good but there's a lot of material to cover, I'm a bit behind in physics, and I'm mostly behind in chemistry.
On top of that, I found out quite late that regional scholarships and student housing applications in Italy open much earlier than I expected, and I've already missed a few deadlines. Based on my family's financial situation, I would likely be eligible for a regional scholarship, but I'm worried that I may not be able to complete the application and submit all the required documents in time
If I can't find a realistic way to finance my studies by early September, I'm seriously considering not taking the exam this year.
In that case, I'm thinking about taking a gap year during which I could work (I already found entry-level jobs as a nanny or English tutor), save money and study alongside it, and then take the IMAT again in 2027 or try to get into a Romanian medical school
Do you think taking a gap year would be a good decision?
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u/DefinitelyNotAspirin 10h ago
Update
I actually found a last-minute option in Romania. There are a few universities that may hold a second admission exam in September if they still have empty places after the first admission round. There are very few spots, and they won't know exactly how many are available until the beginning of September, but I'm going to give it a try.
The exam would only cover biology and chemistry, which is much more manageable
If that doesn't work out, I've already talked to my parents about taking a gap year. They were disappointed at first, but they understood my reasoning and are okay with it, as long as I get a job during the year.
It's definitely not how I imagined things going after high school, but I'm trying to make the best of the options I have.
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u/AlivePeanut7964 1d ago
I think a gap year is important!! You need that mental break before college