Gap Year

A large majority of applicants (between 70 and 80 percent) are electing to take time between graduation and matriculation to health professional programs to strengthen their applications. Taking additional time can enhance your application through academic and experiential opportunities, give you the chance to recharge before entering a demanding program, allow you to save money, and enable you to get more from your professional program.  Many future applicants are hesitant to take a gap year not because they think it’s a bad idea, but because they aren’t sure what they will do.

Explore options and learn how to make the most of your gap year experience by reviewing our Leveraging Your Gap Year Workshop below:

Leveraging Your Gap Year PowerPoint Presentation

You may also review the following resources in planning for your gap year:

Experiential Preparation

Ensuring that you are committed to your intended healthcare program requires first hand experiential preparation in areas related to your future profession. Having robust experiences in clinical, research, and community engagement settings demonstrates your readiness for a rigorous health professional program and confirms your desire to pursue a healthcare career. Thus, it is common for people to engage in additional experiential preparation after completion of an undergraduate degree in order to be a competitive applicant. Areas for additional experiential preparation and opportunities are listed below.

Academic Preparation

Being admitted to a professional healthcare program takes years of preparation and mastery of difficult science coursework. Thus, it is common for people to pursue additional education after completion of an undergraduate degree in order to be a competitive applicant. The two most common forms of additional education are either a Special Master’s program or a post-Baccalaureate program. Both are described in detail below.

Special Master’s Program

A special master’s degree is an effective form of additional education for many reasons. Upon completion of the program, students will earn an advanced degree. Having an advanced degree will help applicants stand out during the admissions process for a professional healthcare program. Furthermore, good grades (typically As and Bs) in graduate-level courses can enhance an applicant’s GPA and demonstrate a positive upward trend in academics. Finally, completion of a master’s program demonstrates to professional schools that an applicant can be successful in difficult advanced coursework, much like what they would experience in a terminal degree program. 

Additionally, participating in a special master’s degree program at a university that also grants the terminal degree an applicant is seeking can potentially serve as a pathway to that program. For example, if an applicant ultimately wants to earn an MD or DO degree, attending a special master’s program at a university with a medical school may prove to be additionally beneficial.

You can also search from a database of special master’s programs designed for people going into health professions on the AAMC website HERE and AAOM website HERE. Some examples of Special Master’s Programs include: 

Brown University Gateways Program at the Warren Alpert Medical School 

Boston University MS in Medical Sciences Program at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (MAMS) 

Drexel University Pathway to Medical School (DPMS) program 

Duke University Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) 

Eastern Virginia Medical School Medical Master’s, MS Program 

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) program 

Georgetown University Special Master’s Program in Physiology 

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Master of Science in Biomedical Science 

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Master of Medical Science Degree (multiple campuses) 

Loyola University Master of Science in Medical Physiology (MSMP) Program 

Midwestern University Master of Biomedical Sciences Program (multiple campuses) 

North Carolina State University Interdisciplinary Physiology Graduate Program 

Nova Southeastern University Master of Biomedical Sciences  

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences program 

University of Pittsburgh Biomedical Master’s Program 

Rosalind Franklin University Biomedical Sciences (MS) Program 

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Master of Science Program in Interdisciplinary Studies in Biological and Physical Sciences (Multiple campuses) 

Tufts University School of Medicine MS in Biomedical Sciences (MBS) Program 

Post-Baccalaureate (Post-Bacc) Programs

Post-Baccalaureate (Post-Bacc) programs are an excellent way for applicants to remediate pre-requisite coursework that they did not score high enough in (typically, students need at least a C for a pre-requisite course to be considered by a professional program). Post-Bacc programs also provide a space for people to complete pre-requisite courses that they may still need (this is especially helpful for career changers or people who decide to pursue medicine late in their undergraduate career). Northeastern University has a Post-Bacc PreMed Program in the College of Professional Studies. Click here for more information on the Northeastern Program. 

Aside from the Northeastern Post-Bacc program, there are several other Post-Bacc programs across the country. Learn more about Postbaccalaureate Programs on the AAMC website HERE. You can also search from a database of Post-Bacc programs designed for people going into health professions on the AAMC website HERE and AAOM website HERE.

Columbia University Postbac Premed Program 

Creighton University Pre-Medical Post-Baccalaureate 

Drexel University College of Medicine Evening Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical 

George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences Post-Baccalaureate Pre-medical Program 

Georgetown University Pre-Health Studies Post-Bac Pre-Medical Certificate Program 

Harvard Extension School Premedical Program 

Hofstra University Premedical Postbaccalaureate Certificate Program in Natural Science 

Johns Hopkins Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program 

Rutgers Post-Baccalaureate Program 

Thomas Jefferson University Postbaccalaureate Pre-Professional Program 

Temple College of Science and Technology (CST) Post Bacc Program 

Tufts Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program 

UC Davis Health Professions Post-Baccalaureate Program 

UC Irvine Postbaccalaureate Program 

UCLA Extension Pre-Medical and General Science Studies 

University of Florida Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Program 

University of Pennsylvania Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Programs 

University of Vermont Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program 

University of Virginia Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program 

PlusOne programs allows current Northeastern students the opportunity to pursue both a bachelor’s and master’s degree successively in a condensed period of time.

Many PreMed and PreHealth students have academics interests that are related to their intended career path where obtaining a Master’s Degree before beginning their health professional program can benefit their future career aspirations.

College of Science PlusOne Degree Programs

Bouvé College of Health Sciences PlusOne Degree Programs

College of Engineering PlusOne Degree Programs