Gap Years

To the Editor The rise in prevalence of gap years among applicants prior to medical school, as described in the Viewpoint by Dr Schwartzstein and Mr Marzouk, not only presents a trend but rather an evolution in how we, as future physicians, strive to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive application process to medical school. While we do not deny that the gap-year system may be flawed and possibly exacerbate inequities, for many students, especially collegiate athletes, it provides a unique opportunity. If taking 15 to 18 credit hours per semester was not enough, as athletes, we dedicated more than 40 hours per week to our respective sports, including meetings, practice, weight lifting, and treatment and recovery from injury. As former collegiate athletes, we utilized gap years as opportunities to strengthen our résumés, which, as a consequence of the time devoted to athletics, often lacked experiences in research and clinical work and were blemished by some grades or Medical College Admission Test scores. While many athletic programs attempt to mitigate the athletic and academic workload by providing tutors and academic advisers along with other resources, the difficulty of obtaining acceptance into medical school is at an all-time high. Competitive applications require more than just good grades and communication of the demands of a “full-time job” (our sport), which is sometimes perceived less favorably when compared with more traditional premedical activities.