ihavesomanyquestionssos
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I need some advice about how to spend my gap year. I am currently finishing up my medical school secondaries, so I plan to (hopefully) matriculate into medical school in 2024. My original plans have been to spend this year teaching English at an elementary school in Spain. I am set to move out and start that position in mid-September. I really love teaching (I would like to have some involvement in academia as a physician) and I also hope to greatly improve my Spanish speaking abilities, ideally becoming fluent. The program I am going through only requires 12-16 hours of work each week, so I would potentially have lots of time to travel, something I will probably not have time for during my med student or residency years. I wouldn’t really have any money saved up for med school which is not exactly ideal. (I might even lose money from my savings)
However, I have also been offered a Research Assistant position in a lab at Johns Hopkins. It is very in line with my research interests, especially being clinical research in the field I am most passionate about. I plan to participate in research wherever I go to medical school, and I know I will learn so much from this experience. Obviously, this is an amazing opportunity and most people would probably think I'm a fool to even consider passing it up. The only thing is, they would ideally want me to stay for 2 years. This would either mean I defer my acceptance or just stop writing my secondaries and apply next year.
I am extremely grateful to have both of these opportunities but I just really don't know how to choose. I wouldn't say I'm a competitive applicant for Johns Hopkins med school so I doubt it would have any influence there, but it may help me with residency/building connections? I would also be making a lot more money if I take the RA job, but I can't help thinking about all the personal growth I would have living in a new country.
I have been so set on moving to Spain to improve my Spanish, immerse myself in new cultures, and travel, but now I am rethinking all of it. I would love to hear anyone's opinion on this
However, I have also been offered a Research Assistant position in a lab at Johns Hopkins. It is very in line with my research interests, especially being clinical research in the field I am most passionate about. I plan to participate in research wherever I go to medical school, and I know I will learn so much from this experience. Obviously, this is an amazing opportunity and most people would probably think I'm a fool to even consider passing it up. The only thing is, they would ideally want me to stay for 2 years. This would either mean I defer my acceptance or just stop writing my secondaries and apply next year.
I am extremely grateful to have both of these opportunities but I just really don't know how to choose. I wouldn't say I'm a competitive applicant for Johns Hopkins med school so I doubt it would have any influence there, but it may help me with residency/building connections? I would also be making a lot more money if I take the RA job, but I can't help thinking about all the personal growth I would have living in a new country.
I have been so set on moving to Spain to improve my Spanish, immerse myself in new cultures, and travel, but now I am rethinking all of it. I would love to hear anyone's opinion on this