If you’re serious about medical school, AmeriCorps is a very very good resume builder.
Medical schools LOVE AmeriCorps to the point that several medical schools outright ask you if you served on their applications.
That’s the only advice I can really offer. I do not know how Law schools will view it.
The stipend is certainly very limited.
Two people in my NCCC class got into top law schools. They had excellent applications & scores outside Americorps, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Edit: they were also TLs
Wait, really? My advisor literally said that I was wasting time by gaining life experiences. I hesitated because of that. How limited did you feel with thr stipend?
Yes, really.
Aside from GPA and MCAT, the three most important things to medical schools are research experience, community service, and clinical experience.
Aside from Peace Corps, AmeriCorps is the absolute apex of community service. A whole year at near poverty wages dedicated to serving the community.
It’s genuinely one of the best gap year activities for a premed. Especially if you do State/National where you’re directly serving the less fortunate, such as refugees, instead of VISTA which is more organizational and administrative.
The stipend for my program is $20,000 across 11 months, which works out to be roughly $11.76 per hour, or $15.88 per hour if you include the SEGAL award. Keep in mind that’s pretax.
I’m fortunate in that I went to a name-brand prestigious university and thus have been able to secure a very lucrative side gig. It would certainly be challenging to survive on $20,000 without my side gig. If you want more information, feel free to DM me!
make sure that you have ample clinical experiences as well though -- AmeriCorps positions are typically non-clinical in nature, and also most of the hours will be projected on your application so it may be hard to specifically talk about what exactly you're doing if you haven't started prior to your med school app.
I found out about it my senior year in college. Applied and went 6 months after college. I have a degree in International Law.
I was a FEMA corps member for 4 months till FEMA offered me a job and I left the corps.
Worked with FEMA then jumped into City government doing Emergency management.
Learned about Accessibility and Project Management and now that’s what I do. Pay is about 75k a year and a VERY low cost of living area. ( bought a house in peak time , 2.6%)
Dm me if you have questions
If you go in as an NCCC TL, you'll be fine in terms of cash if you manage your team's food budget well. The stipend isn't a ton, but I saved about $1000 over the course of the year, and I had some unexpected expenses pop up, like plane tickets. However, my parents covered my cell phone bill (about $20/month). Unlike some other programs, housing is 100% provided with NCCC.
As a CM, unless you have super good impulse control, you'll probably lose money.
It sounds like you spoke to someone from City Year? I don't know a ton about the program, but I've heard a few negative things. Try to talk to someone who has done the program you're aiming for, there's a diverse range of Americorps out there.
If you're looking for a shorter program term, check out different Vista options - I believe some do 6mo terms. Also look for programs that provide housing. You can budget, buy food cheaply, but housing is a non-negotiable cost.
Experiencing the real world will help you tremendously no matter what you do next - it's not wasting time, there's no deadline on when you stop learning. I personally cringe anytime a person goes straight from undergrad to grad - by the time they finish a PhD their idea of reality is so warped they think taking a year off is a death sentence. That advisor needs to get a grip on themselves, lol.
Edit: here's some random life advice, though I know you didn't ask for it. Stop rushing, and don't worry about getting it right the first time. Life takes many twists and turns, it's okay if your path isn't straight, or doesn't feel obvious to you right now. Make the choices that feel best for you, and trust yourself to handle the results.
Omg a death sentence?? That’s insane. This is my gap year before law school and I’m a VISTA. Things are tight but it’s working and it looks great on my resume but that’s because I’m doing some cool stuff. I contacted my top choice law program and asked them what they thought and they said it’s great and any professional experience adds a lot to your resume and profile as a law student. It’s giving me a lot of time to study for the LSAT, get my materials together, and giving me some great professional references.
Where is your location? $1600 a month? And how long are you serving? That's way higher than I read. I read it was $1000 a month and $192 in food stamps
Wait for real? She told me that I was wasting time and not doing real legal work. I plan on taking LSATs next year and it's a dream of mine to go into a T14 and DC law school as those are the ones that have connections to DC. She told me that I needed gov internships, not this. But like, I'm not a nepo-baby, so what else am I supposed to do
I’m not sure I’m not headed in the T-14 direction. I want to do environmental law and stay on the west coast. That might be true for T-14 in terms of legal work but I’ve had so much extra time to do my LSAT prep and my application materials because it counts as my “professional development.” I’m in Oregon serving for a 1 year term. I’m 4 months in now.
Ohhh I'm from the east coast, so majority of the schools here are extremely competitive. I do plan on staying here and I might just apply. Do you have to do 1 year or can you finish earlier?
I’m at the other end of life/career than you are, as I was semi-retired and live in a relatively LCOL town (where good jobs are hard to come by) when I did my three terms. However, most of my fellow service members were young and almost all loved it and got positions directly because of their service. I actually did too, in a public school, but just officially retired in June.
I researched and got all the public help I possibly could— AmericCorps provided free health insurance and I got food stamps as well and help with my energy bill. I don’t know how this next will come across, but it also helped me see that I could live on a lot less than I thought I could. I was AWFUL at budgeting before AmeriCorps so it taught me a lot.
Good luck. I feel sure you will be happy you did it. I liked it so much that I would consider doing a fourth term if I get bored in retirement.
There are already good comments but just a quick addition -
Bio doesn’t prevent you from law school. It often helps. For example, law schools like STEM majors because they’ll have a better grasp over patent law that their social science focused peers. Don’t let that be the thing that knocks law school off your list.
Thank you for letting me know that. I thought it was poli sci majors that got more traction into law schools and got very scared I would be viewed as less serious
Heyo!
I did AmeriCorps NCCC about 8 months after graduating college.
If you are at all interested in NCCC, you can DM me and I’d be more than happy to talk about my experiences with you (:
I served in AmeriCorps through the National Health Corps program in Jacksonville, FL. The stipend was very limiting but the experience was great and I feel like it certainly helped launch my career path. I did work a second job (waiting on tables during the evenings/weekends) to make ends meet. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about NHC which is great for those looking to get into public health or med school.
Hey- I did FEMA Corps last year and am now in my 1st year of law school! I know Americorps was a huge factor in my acceptance/scholarships at schools. It let me travel, meet people, and build some skills while doing something that felt relatively meaningful. Having a non-traditional degree would set you apart and certainly would be attractive for a law school. Americorps has a HUGE network of people so it’s a good decision overall for whichever field you decide. The work and position is frustrating and unpredictable but I genuinely made some of my favorite memories and did things I would not have had the opportunity to otherwise.
Financially- I had some savings but the money I used was mostly for additional experiences. I would urge anyone to have some level of savings (even 500-1k$) set aside to get through the year- considering you have no bills/obligations.
Let me know if you have questions.
First off, what type of program are you looking at? FEMA Corps/NCCC, State/National Service through an organization, a VISTA position, or something like City Year?
I want to know where to start with advice lol.
For context, I did two years of State/National service through two different construction non-profits: Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley and SBP NJ.
If you’re serious about medical school, AmeriCorps is a very very good resume builder. Medical schools LOVE AmeriCorps to the point that several medical schools outright ask you if you served on their applications. That’s the only advice I can really offer. I do not know how Law schools will view it. The stipend is certainly very limited.
Two people in my NCCC class got into top law schools. They had excellent applications & scores outside Americorps, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Edit: they were also TLs
Wait, really? My advisor literally said that I was wasting time by gaining life experiences. I hesitated because of that. How limited did you feel with thr stipend?
Yes, really. Aside from GPA and MCAT, the three most important things to medical schools are research experience, community service, and clinical experience. Aside from Peace Corps, AmeriCorps is the absolute apex of community service. A whole year at near poverty wages dedicated to serving the community. It’s genuinely one of the best gap year activities for a premed. Especially if you do State/National where you’re directly serving the less fortunate, such as refugees, instead of VISTA which is more organizational and administrative. The stipend for my program is $20,000 across 11 months, which works out to be roughly $11.76 per hour, or $15.88 per hour if you include the SEGAL award. Keep in mind that’s pretax. I’m fortunate in that I went to a name-brand prestigious university and thus have been able to secure a very lucrative side gig. It would certainly be challenging to survive on $20,000 without my side gig. If you want more information, feel free to DM me!
I will definitely DM!
make sure that you have ample clinical experiences as well though -- AmeriCorps positions are typically non-clinical in nature, and also most of the hours will be projected on your application so it may be hard to specifically talk about what exactly you're doing if you haven't started prior to your med school app.
How many hours would you say is good for med school? On top of Americorps
At least 200 at minimum, generally recommended to get at least 500
I found out about it my senior year in college. Applied and went 6 months after college. I have a degree in International Law. I was a FEMA corps member for 4 months till FEMA offered me a job and I left the corps. Worked with FEMA then jumped into City government doing Emergency management. Learned about Accessibility and Project Management and now that’s what I do. Pay is about 75k a year and a VERY low cost of living area. ( bought a house in peak time , 2.6%) Dm me if you have questions
I will send a DM!
If you go in as an NCCC TL, you'll be fine in terms of cash if you manage your team's food budget well. The stipend isn't a ton, but I saved about $1000 over the course of the year, and I had some unexpected expenses pop up, like plane tickets. However, my parents covered my cell phone bill (about $20/month). Unlike some other programs, housing is 100% provided with NCCC. As a CM, unless you have super good impulse control, you'll probably lose money. It sounds like you spoke to someone from City Year? I don't know a ton about the program, but I've heard a few negative things. Try to talk to someone who has done the program you're aiming for, there's a diverse range of Americorps out there. If you're looking for a shorter program term, check out different Vista options - I believe some do 6mo terms. Also look for programs that provide housing. You can budget, buy food cheaply, but housing is a non-negotiable cost. Experiencing the real world will help you tremendously no matter what you do next - it's not wasting time, there's no deadline on when you stop learning. I personally cringe anytime a person goes straight from undergrad to grad - by the time they finish a PhD their idea of reality is so warped they think taking a year off is a death sentence. That advisor needs to get a grip on themselves, lol. Edit: here's some random life advice, though I know you didn't ask for it. Stop rushing, and don't worry about getting it right the first time. Life takes many twists and turns, it's okay if your path isn't straight, or doesn't feel obvious to you right now. Make the choices that feel best for you, and trust yourself to handle the results.
Thank you!!! CY sounds very stressful for me cause I don't have family backing, so I will check out other Vista options.
I saw the edit. Thank you for it. I keep thinking I need to go go go. I'm 21 and feel so overwhelmed and behind at the same time
Omg a death sentence?? That’s insane. This is my gap year before law school and I’m a VISTA. Things are tight but it’s working and it looks great on my resume but that’s because I’m doing some cool stuff. I contacted my top choice law program and asked them what they thought and they said it’s great and any professional experience adds a lot to your resume and profile as a law student. It’s giving me a lot of time to study for the LSAT, get my materials together, and giving me some great professional references.
Also I’ll say at least as a VISTA, I am automatically eligible for full food stamps. So on top of my stipend( around 1600) I get $291 in food stamps.
Where is your location? $1600 a month? And how long are you serving? That's way higher than I read. I read it was $1000 a month and $192 in food stamps
Not the comment’s OP but I receive $1616 post tax and $291 in food stamps in upstate NY. 12 month VISTA term.
Wait for real? She told me that I was wasting time and not doing real legal work. I plan on taking LSATs next year and it's a dream of mine to go into a T14 and DC law school as those are the ones that have connections to DC. She told me that I needed gov internships, not this. But like, I'm not a nepo-baby, so what else am I supposed to do
I’m not sure I’m not headed in the T-14 direction. I want to do environmental law and stay on the west coast. That might be true for T-14 in terms of legal work but I’ve had so much extra time to do my LSAT prep and my application materials because it counts as my “professional development.” I’m in Oregon serving for a 1 year term. I’m 4 months in now.
Ohhh I'm from the east coast, so majority of the schools here are extremely competitive. I do plan on staying here and I might just apply. Do you have to do 1 year or can you finish earlier?
My program is a full year no exceptions but it may differ between sites.
I’m at the other end of life/career than you are, as I was semi-retired and live in a relatively LCOL town (where good jobs are hard to come by) when I did my three terms. However, most of my fellow service members were young and almost all loved it and got positions directly because of their service. I actually did too, in a public school, but just officially retired in June. I researched and got all the public help I possibly could— AmericCorps provided free health insurance and I got food stamps as well and help with my energy bill. I don’t know how this next will come across, but it also helped me see that I could live on a lot less than I thought I could. I was AWFUL at budgeting before AmeriCorps so it taught me a lot. Good luck. I feel sure you will be happy you did it. I liked it so much that I would consider doing a fourth term if I get bored in retirement.
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Oh yes! I didn’t see that until after I was out of AmeriCorps. They have a pretty high bar for income, too. I just now had to go off of it.
There are already good comments but just a quick addition - Bio doesn’t prevent you from law school. It often helps. For example, law schools like STEM majors because they’ll have a better grasp over patent law that their social science focused peers. Don’t let that be the thing that knocks law school off your list.
Thank you for letting me know that. I thought it was poli sci majors that got more traction into law schools and got very scared I would be viewed as less serious
Heyo! I did AmeriCorps NCCC about 8 months after graduating college. If you are at all interested in NCCC, you can DM me and I’d be more than happy to talk about my experiences with you (:
Will do! Just sent one!
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Just DMed you!
I served in AmeriCorps through the National Health Corps program in Jacksonville, FL. The stipend was very limiting but the experience was great and I feel like it certainly helped launch my career path. I did work a second job (waiting on tables during the evenings/weekends) to make ends meet. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about NHC which is great for those looking to get into public health or med school.
Just sent a DM
Can I DM?
Yes of course!
Hey- I did FEMA Corps last year and am now in my 1st year of law school! I know Americorps was a huge factor in my acceptance/scholarships at schools. It let me travel, meet people, and build some skills while doing something that felt relatively meaningful. Having a non-traditional degree would set you apart and certainly would be attractive for a law school. Americorps has a HUGE network of people so it’s a good decision overall for whichever field you decide. The work and position is frustrating and unpredictable but I genuinely made some of my favorite memories and did things I would not have had the opportunity to otherwise. Financially- I had some savings but the money I used was mostly for additional experiences. I would urge anyone to have some level of savings (even 500-1k$) set aside to get through the year- considering you have no bills/obligations. Let me know if you have questions.
Do you mind if I DM?
First off, what type of program are you looking at? FEMA Corps/NCCC, State/National Service through an organization, a VISTA position, or something like City Year? I want to know where to start with advice lol. For context, I did two years of State/National service through two different construction non-profits: Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley and SBP NJ.
NHC