One of the things I get asked about the most is my gap year. Why did I take one? Would I recommend it? What did I do during it? And the list goes on.
So I didn’t originally plan to take a gap year. I did all of my research into the physical therapy profession alone (no help from an academic advisor, and my university unfortunately didn’t have a pre-PT club), so it wasn’t until around my Sophomore year that I realized exactly how the application process worked. I didn’t know that you applied a year before you actually started school, so this sort of set me back. I wasn’t upset, because at that time I didn’t have any shadowing hours, and my resume was pretty sparse. I had enough time to get everything done, but I also didn’t want to rush. I decided that I would take a gap year to recuperate from the last 17 years of school (WOW!), improve my resume, and complete most of my shadowing hours.
Things were all fine and dandy until the summer before my senior year. I was talking to a friend that applied to PT school a few months earlier, and she informed me that I would have to have most of my hours completed when I submitted my application. Thank goodness for her (shoutout to Courtney!), because I would have had to take an additional year off (remember I was planning to accumulate most of my shadowing hours during the first gap year). I spent that whole summer and my senior year shadowing my butt off. I shadowed during the school year, and over my Christmas break. Everything worked out in the end though, and by the time I applied I had accumulated 138 hours in 4 different settings.
Now that you have a little background on my situation, on to my gap year experience!
My Experience
I really enjoyed my gap year! I did get a little bored at times, but that could have definitely been avoided (more planning). It took a while to adjust to being back home with my parents, and I struggled quite a bit with feeling unproductive and “behind”. I found out about my Duke acceptance at the end of September, and I immediately was ready to start school; it was hard to wait. I wrote a few Instagram posts about my gap year feelings:
It’s so weird. When I was in school, I couldn’t wait to graduate and have a break. To just be free and not have to worry about studying for that physics test or that anatomy practical. Now that I’m not in school anymore, now that I finally have that break, I oddly miss it so much. I miss learning. I miss feeling productive. I miss feeling motivated. I miss being surrounded by other like-minded individuals. I miss living with my friends. Post-grad life is very confusing, and usually a difficult time for a lot of people. I feel like I’m in this weird “in-between” stage of my life. I’m living at home with my parents, which I still haven’t fully adjusted to after living on my own for 4 years. I’m working a mentally-draining retail job that I don’t love (which is okay I guess, because it’s not long-term), and counting down the days until PT school. And a big part of me feels like I’m wasting this time I have. This time to not have any school work. This time to enjoy my family. This time to relax. One of my new year’s resolutions was to be more present and live in the moment, and I feel like I’m failing. I’m having a hard time appreciating where I am. I’m so ready for my future, but I don’t want to take the present for granted. I feel so weird. Idk what to call this feeling I’m having, but I know that I don’t want to keep “counting down the days”. I want to enjoy the journey, but I’m not sure I know how.
As many of you know, I decided to take a year off before starting PT school. While it has been nice to relax, work, and not have to worry about school, this has also been a very stressful/confusing time. I have contemplated whether or not I should have gone straight to PT school after undergrad. I have felt lost. I have felt unmotivated. Am I wasting time? Should I have gotten a medical-related part-time job instead of working in retail? Am I “behind” in life? Ultimately at the end of the day, these things don’t matter. Regardless of what my peers are doing, I have realized that all of the choices I’ve made, have been the right choices for ME. This time off has allowed me to grow. To learn. To mature. To improve my communication skills. To save money. To enjoy my friends + family. To relax. Everyone’s timeline in life is different, and that’s okay! It’s crazy to think that when I was younger I thought that I would be married by 23 and have kids by 26. Reality: I will begin PT school at 23 and graduate + start my dream career at 26. There is no “cut-off” age for you to reach your goals, so don’t think that you have to adhere to ridiculous time limits to be successful.
Things definitely got better after these posts, but like I said, post-grad life can be hard, especially if a lot of your friends are in school, or already working in their field. In a perfect world I would have taken half a year off (and started school in January instead of in August), but Duke is a fall start program so this wasn’t an option.
What I did during my gap year:
- RELAX!!!: I spent lots of time with my friends and family, and it was great. I was refreshed when I started PT school, and not burnt out (from those 17 years of school ya know?).
- Work: I was a Sales Lead at The Children’s Place, and worked roughly 20-30 hours a week. I really enjoyed it, and I am grateful for the transferrable skills I acquired while there (leadership, problem-solving, customer service, communication, etc.). It was also nice to live at home with my parents. I could save most of my money from working, because I didn’t have many expenses (no rent, utilities, etc.).
- Take the GRE: As soon as I graduated, I started preparing/studying for the GRE. It was nice to solely focus on the GRE, and not have to worry about any undergraduate coursework. I had a solid 2 months to study, and then I took the exam mid-July.
- Started this blog and my Instagram account: I had a lot of free time, so this was the perfect time to start my blog. I’m sure I could have started it while in school, but I am glad that I had my gap year to really focus on creating content, and building my brand.
- Shadow: I shadowed at an Outpatient Pediatrics clinic (48 hours) in the months before I submitted my application. It was such a wonderful experience, and I feel like it really boosted my application (a new setting, and the clinic was in the Duke Health System). One of the therapists even wrote me a recommendation letter (AND she was a Duke DPT alum)!
- Volunteer: For a few months I volunteered for a Summer Enrichment Program for refugee and immigrant youth (42 hours). The kids were amazing, and I learned so much. This experience was essential to my essays + my personal statement.
Should I take a gap year?
Now this is a very personal decision, but I’ll list a few pros and cons to maybe help make the decision a little easier:
Pros:
- More time to improve your PT school application/resume
- R&R (rest and relaxation)
- You have a break before starting another 2-3 years of school
- You can focus on your application without having to also juggle school
Cons:
- You’re starting school later
- You could lose momentum or desire to go back to school
I may be a little biased, but the pros list is a little longer than the cons list. With that being said, everyone is different, and certain cons may outweigh certain pros in your specific situation. If you do decide to take a gap year, there are lots of things for you to do during it!
Things to do during your gap year:
- Take the GRE
- Expand your network/connections
- Retake classes to boost your GPA
- Volunteer
- Acquire more shadowing hours
- Travel (see the world!)
- Work + save money (stack that paper!)
- Relax
- Spend quality time with friends and family
Gap years can be great if you plan them correctly. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t really change a thing about my journey to PT school. Taking a gap year may not be for everyone, but my gap year was definitely necessary for me! Pro-tip: Don’t let anyone else influence your decision on whether or not to take a gap year. Don’t let society’s pressures rush you. Do whatever is best for you. Gap year or no gap year, you’re still going to reach your goals!
I hope this post answered all of your questions. If you have any more, don’t hesitate to ask below! If you have taken a gap year yourself, feel free to leave any advice below as well!
Thank you thank you thank you. This post was definitley something i needed to read. i felt that i have been rushing my whole pre-pt career because all of my fellow classmates were getting into school and were very successful in their undergrad careers. i’ts taken me a while to understand that EVERYONE’S paths are different but as you said, we are all going to reach our goals. i literally thought the same as you did. “ill be married at 23 with kids etc.” what in the world was i thinking!! I was sad at first thinking about taking a gap year because i have never not been in school (took summer classes every year of my undergrad). But it has taken such a load off of my life. i had been thinking “you have to to this, you have to do that”for so long. but it turned out that i don’t have to do anything i don’t want to do.
thank you girl!!!
Ahhhh this makes me so happy! I am so glad that this post was helpful for you. Good luck with everything!
Thank you for posting about this topic! It feels like such a relief to know of other pre-PT students who have or are thinking of taking a gap year. The constant scale, weighing the pros and cons of whether taking a year off, is exhausting at times. Slowly does the realization hit me, in understanding the importance of running my own race and that is okay to not have the traditional, uninterrupted route. I still have a bit of time to think about when I am wanting to apply, but hopefully when the time comes in applying, I will feel confident and prepared.
Again, thank you!
Best wishes
Thank you so much for this sweet message Caroline! It’s a marathon, not a sprint and your timeline is personal 🙂