I was hesitant about taking it at first as well. At first, I didn't really want to take it because of how anxious it made me just thinking about the whole process. But in the end, it'll most likely help with me getting into some place good and I can just explore and try things out there. So even if your parents want you to take it to go into medical school, you can always just do so in order to get another good thing for colleges to look at so that you won't have to worry about it later.
And if possible, try taking it early on, especially if your school counselor can hook you up with a fee waiver your first time taking it so you can get a feel for what it's like.
As for gap years... well, I never really thought about that, so I'm not sure what I'd do right after high school. xux