Taking a year long break before PhD??

[monanana]

Hello,

I am an international student with US BS in Microbio and want to pirsue a PhD here. I was wondering how much worse my chances are if I wait a year vs. applying right after undergrad, if at all?

Thanks

[Jay's Brain]

In general, I don't think the year makes a difference. A lot of people, including myself, choose to take a year off before going through the rigours of graduate applications. That being said, consider what you will be doing for that year. Will you be involved in work that will improve or help your application (research, volunteer in labs, etc)? Alternatively, will you be finding a job to fund your graduate studies? 

In my opinion, taking a year off can benefit you tremendously if you are using it wisely to decide on what to pursue or using it to improve your application. However, it is still a long duration and you may run the risk of not having the motivation to pursue grad school. That's something to keep in mind.

As for being an international student, I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not. Each year there's a limit to how many international students can be accepted depending on the institution, so you may want to look into that.

[monanana]

Yupp I plan on relaxing a bit and volunteering as much as possible. I doubt I will be able to find an OPT job as so many Med School fails have high GPAs and what not so I don't think I can compete But hopefully doing some meaningful things! Thank you!

[Shamrock_Frog]

I took four years off. But I worked during those four years. My career aspirations changed and I took the time off to figure out what I wanted to do. But I also used those four years to gain work experience and learn new things, like programming. Taking a year off shouldn't impact your chances, but you should still use your time wisely.

[_kita]

As others have said, use the time wisely. The time off can actually make your application.

I took 4 years off and worked in the field made great connections & found my professional voice. I taught, counseled, and stayed current with reading research. Took the masters to decide which career path fit better & develop personal research based on things during those 4 years.

But, productivity and making yourself marketable is key.

[bsharpe269]

Taking time off will definitely not hurt you! Get involved in full time research for the year and it will help you tremendously in the application process. Based on my interview experiences, most of the people interviewing at top schools took some time off.

 

I don't find the concern that you might not want to go back to school very compelling. If you don't feel motivated enough to go back to school after a year off then you probably shouldn't be in grad school at that time anyway!

[quirkycase]

I'm with the previous posters--taking time off can actually boost your application if you stay productive during that time.  In my case, I've been out for three years, and it was the best decision I could have made.  I originally wanted to take a year or two off to get more research experience before going into a PhD program, but I ended up changing my entire career plan and switching fields. I spent the first two years working part-time and volunteering in a lab, and this current year working internationally. I feel like gaining "real world" experience and taking a step back helped me approach the application process with more maturity and confidence, especially since I was younger than most when I graduated from undergrad.