Explaining a year off?!?

[bluemorpho]

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Many of the secondaries ask for anexplanation of your year off. My personal reasons are that I was not ready to work that hard/ I needed a break from school to have some fun. I needed to evaluate all of the information I had been bombarded with in the past 4 years (ethics and science stuff). And also I needed to end that chapter of my life before jumping into medical school. But what will the medical schools see as reasonable reasons for not going right in?

If I say I didn't go in because I wasn't ready, how do I keep them from thinking I am still not ready?

Sticky situation.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

What did you do in your year off? If you travelled and such, you could write about that, but if you stayed home and played video games, then that could be tricky.

 

[VFrank]

I think it's very mature you took a year off of school because you weren't ready med school yet. Many people jump right into medical school after college because they are impatient with the rest of their lives. I also think it says a lot that you're coming back to finish what you started -- I know a couple people who took a year off and then never came back (loss of momentum, I guess). I think what's more important than WHY you took a year off was what you were doing during that year. Were you doing anything productive, or just sitting around? I think if you tell adcoms you weren't ready for medical school, but you did spend productive time doing ::blank::, they'll respect that.

 

[tinkerbelle]

Are you sure the question is asking you to explain why you are taking a year off, or is it asking what you are doing in that year off? My applications just want to know what i will be doing.

But to answer your question, I wouldn't specifically say that I wasn't ready for medical school. Instead, I would say that I wanted to travel or experience things I might not have the opportunity to experience while in medical school.

 

[jlee9531]

most want to know what you did in your off year. but i guess theres nothing saying you cant explain why you took the year off as well. i explained my reasons along with telling what i did in my years off.

 

[bluemorpho]

Most of the school are "What have you been doing?" but others have a why feel to them. I have been working as a clinical research assistant, helping conduct studies on multiple sclerosis at OHSU. So I have something to say, I just get all worried about these apps. I just need to do them and move on 😀 Good luck to all and thanks for the input.