<p>HELLO =) my first post. I will “make [my] first post today and be part of [the] community!” hahaha… LOL. anyways. I hope my question doesn’t sound too stupid.</p>
<p>so I know that the Perkins loan has a nine-month grace period, and that the Stafford loan has a six-month grace period. If you’re planning a gap year or two doing research or clinical hours before applying to med school, should you enroll part-time at a jc on the side or something to defer your loan repayments? or is there some other way?</p>
<p>You may be able to apply for income-based repayment if your income is low enough. Some jobs (mostly in education or other public service sectors) may be eligible for loan forgiveness.</p>
<p>I think long-term unemployment (6+ months) will also qualify for loan deferment, but you will have to demonstrate that you’re actively seeking full time employment.</p>
<p>Americorps, TFA and Peace Corps all offer loan forbearance during your 2 year term of service.</p>
<p>Not sure enrolling in a JC is great idea since you must take a minimum of 12 credits/semester to be considered a half-time student (and thus be eligible for continued loan deferment). These credits must be reported on your med school application and will be included in GPA calculations. It’s hard to balance both a full time day job while still doing well in 3-4 courses each semester. </p>
<p>It also might raise questions as to why you’re taking coursework at a JC after completing a bachelor’s degree. (Will look like you’re GPA padding–which may not be favorably viewed by adcoms).</p>
<p>Re-reading now that I’ve had some sleep and a cup of coffee----</p>
<p>You might consider enrolling in grad classes if you’re researching at an academic lab. In part because you may get free courses as one of your employment perks. (Typically 4 credits or 1 class/semester.) In part because most academic labs will give you release time to attend classes held during he day. In part because a grad program may certify you as being at half-time status with 2 classes instead of 3 or 4. (Check this as I’m not sure if the feds will accept this.) In part because grad classes or even undergrad classes clustered in a different field (as opposed to JC GE classes) look like you’re pursuing academic interests, not padding a resume.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear you got some sleep. As for coffee… others get so much from it but I’ve yet to benefit highly from it ;_; plus the bitter taste hasn’t been growing on me at all.</p>
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<p>OOH =] Would that be something like an unstructured post-bac? Since I’m just taking classes and I have no plans on getting a separate grad degree.</p>
<p>trying to get hired by an academic lab itself is fiercely competitive right? I hope I can get a spot…</p>
<p>Being hired at an academic lab is fiercely competitive. (D2 is in hot pursuit of such a slot right now… will just have to see how it goes. <crosses fingers="">) </crosses></p>
<p>When her smallish neuroscience research lab (top 35 research U) hired a full time lab manager/research asst last spring, they had over 40 fully qualified applicants for it–most from ‘name’ schools like Yale, Swarthmore, Duke…</p>
<p>Scary!</p>
<p>At NIH, they only hire ~5% of applicants–and usually because s/he already has a skill set they’re looking for or has a current research relationship with a staff member.</p>
<p>And unstructured post-bacc! Good description!</p>
I do not know how competitive it is. I heard at one time that one lab at DS’s school just uses GPA as one of the major criteria to screen the applicants - the one(s) with the highest GPA got in. (I think all of these applicants are from the same school where the lab is.) The lab likely does not have much time to sort out the applicants, so they choose this easy way, since most applicants can do the job (and isn’t it the same for medical school? Most applicants can “do the job” there if given the opportunity, but there are just not enough seats.)</p>
<p>@WayOutWestMom & mcat2: if one fails to get a research position at an academic lab, what are some alternatives with higher chances of getting research experience? If you know that info would be highly appreciated for now, I’m pursuing shadowing experiences at a local hospital - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. I’ve sent out an e-mail for contact requests.
[I’m sorry if this is off-topic. Since you (WayOutWestMom) already gave me your two-cent, until anyone else has any opinions on my OP, I’m hoping you might have something for me from experience…]
[& mcat2! thanks for responding! =D]</p>
<p>You might look at lab tech positions at biomedical companies. I work at a biomed research lab that is NOT associated with a major university. (Private, not-for-profit entity.) We hire lab techs to work in all sorts of animal and wet labs.</p>
<p>Not sure how many jobs are available at a national level, but we are far from the only private company in the med research game.</p>
<p>If you’re more interested in the people side, look at program assistant positions in soft fields/public health–like autism education or disability services. One of D2’s sorority sisters is now THE project manager for a major autism study at big name research hospital 2.5 years out from graduation --despite a mediocre GPA and no graduate coursework. (She has wonderful people skills and is a great organizer. BTW, she started with a minor position in a local hospital outreach program and got moved up to bigger responsibilities every 4-6 months until she was hired to run this project in an entirely different state.)</p>
for now, I’m pursuing shadowing experiences at a local hospital - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. I’ve sent out an e-mail for contact requests.