My real answer is that I plan to travel, take it easy, make some money in preparation for medical school. But I'm guessing that that's not what they want to hear. What the hell should I say? I don't know what they want to hear.
How do I answer "what do you plan to do for 2012-2013 if not in college"?
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That's a bunch of bull. If that's what you're going to do, then say it. To me, it sounds fantastic. Traveling and broadening your horizons is nothing to hide from medical schools.
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I'd leave out the 'take it easy' part, but there's nothing wrong with saying that you plan on travelling and working (especially if you know what you're going to work as).
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There are few wrong answers to this question. Examples would include "doing lots of blow", "spending my folks' retirement money on hookers and craps in Reno", or "perfecting my pastime as a serial rapist". Lucky for you, "working and traveling" is a perfectly acceptable response.
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I disagree. You shouldn't make up something that you don't plan on doing this year, nor should you do volunteering or research just because you think it will look better to med schools. I also don't think you should tell med schools that you plan to be rejected.
As per the rejected part, my bad, i thought this question was the one where it is known that you didn't get into medical school so what do you plan on doing.
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You don't have to specify what kind of writer you are.
Tell them what you are actually going to be doing. Of course you should dress it up and make it sound nice to read, but it should reflect what you're really doing. This way, if you're waitlisted/need to send in an update, you can let them know how the stuff you said you were gonna do is going.
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Why not? It's something that is unique about you. Not many pre-meds are published fiction authors.
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First off, that cool as heck! Second of all, being yourself (both with respect to the writer thing and traveling this year) is the most important thing you can do.
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Thank you for posting that... I am working on my answer to this question currently and that actually cracked me up.
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This is not a personal statement. It is a question without much wiggle room. Answer it truthfully and completely. Whatever you do in a gap year is fair game for interviewers. The last thing you want is for someone to say, "So you wrote in your app that you were going to do x, y, z, but your facebook, friend, family etc. says you were in Italy for a month, what was that?" If you are traveling, put it. If you are working, put it. It will not substantially hurt your application to have what you are doing there. But you will kill your application completely if you are caught being even remotely dishonest.
Firstly, I self-publish online. Anyone can do it. It's easy to do and you can make easy money off it. Secondly, I definitely don't want adcoms reading my romance fiction. You never know who you're going to offend. I'm fine with saying I'm a fiction writer. But I don't want to get any more specific than that. I'm wondering if I should avoid the subject altogether.
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I just want to say that your avatar is incredible.
I really can't look at it and not get a laugh out of it.
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You're dumb. Every single one of your unique qualities should be used to support your application. Don't give them your pen name if you really don't want them to read your stuff (they probably won't read it even if you do give them your name).
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This is incredibly important and true but come on guys, we can do without the insults right?
How do you plan to "make money in preparation for med school"? With a JOB? Great, then discuss the job you'd like to get (or better yet, apply for and get a job).
It does make you sound really privileged if you say you want to travel and relax. Most people cant afford that without the help of their parents. Also, if you've never held a 9-5 job, then med schools would definitely like to see this...
Keep in mind, 12 months is a LONG time. You can't possibly be traveling for that long. I know a bunch of people who quit thier jobs in June or July to travel for a month or two tops. Point is that no one "travels" for a whole year. I'd think about getting a job and/or volunteering otherwise sitting around and twiddling your thumbs for 12 months will get boring.
It does make you sound really privileged if you say you want to travel and relax. Most people cant afford that without the help of their parents. Also, if you've never held a 9-5 job, then med schools would definitely like to see this...
Keep in mind, 12 months is a LONG time. You can't possibly be traveling for that long. I know a bunch of people who quit thier jobs in June or July to travel for a month or two tops. Point is that no one "travels" for a whole year. I'd think about getting a job and/or volunteering otherwise sitting around and twiddling your thumbs for 12 months will get boring.
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I just want to say that your avatar is incredible.
I really can't look at it and not get a laugh out of it.
lol thanks! Whenever I look at it it stops me from saying what I really think...thus preventing me from going to banned camp!
I wasn't going to say that I was going to relax on the application, guys, chill. The reason why I would be able to afford doing nothing all year is because I've worked my ass off all my life. I would really like the opportunity to do nothing, for once. I really do not want another McJob. I've been there, done that. Been working since I was 15 in retail jobs. I'm 25 now. I've worked an office job for a year. No thank you, I'm done. I've already done a lot of volunteering. I really didn't have a plan for this year. I was going to work out more, spend more time on my hobbies, write to save up money. I want to take piano lessons. I also cook meals for my parents, but I hardly think they're interested in my daily activities.
The thing is, I think it would be a bad idea to tell that how I support myself now. If they start asking prying questions but I refuse to give them examples of my work, what does that say about me? The most I'm willing to say is that I'm a fiction short story writer. Nothing more.
The thing is, I think it would be a bad idea to tell that how I support myself now. If they start asking prying questions but I refuse to give them examples of my work, what does that say about me? The most I'm willing to say is that I'm a fiction short story writer. Nothing more.
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I would say something along the lines of taking a year off to look over my application and work on it to strengthen it for the following year
What you've just described is definitely not nothing. If you dont want to list all that stuff (cooking, piano, etc) you definitely dont need to. I think it's actually very intriguing that you're planning on supporting yourself through writing. Don't worry, you dont need to present them with a copy of your work (they dont have time to read it, anyway), but it would come across as odd if you didn't describe in more detail what your stories are about in your interviews at the least. Nonetheless, since you have worked a 9-5, I don't think its necessary for you to get a full time job. Despite the fact you have volunteered before, there's never too much you can do, and the great thing about volunteering is that you can do it a lot or a little. For the sake of having fodder for your secondaries and your interviews, I'd suggest doing a small amount of volunteer work (building a house with habitat for humanity or being a Big Brother/Sister only require a couple hours per month).
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Is this a troll thread? OP keeps giving great responses to the question, then says, "but I don't think I wanna say that." Just be genuine and honest. Sound excited about your time off and what you plan on doing.
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Tell them you are traveling because it is going to be fun and something you wanted to do when you graduated, but also see it as a benefit by being exposed to various cultures outside of your hometown and university. I would also include working because they will understand that no one wants to take out student loans if it can be avoided and it will make it seem like you didn't sit on your ass for 12 months.
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http://www.instagramtheworld.com/post/23108636010/our-itinerary-around-the-world-in-200-days
Not quite a year, but pretty impressive. And the most expensive part of traveling is the travel. Once you reach your destination, you can mostly get by on relatively little.
I think you're overreacting. I highly doubt that you're going to be asked for proof that you're writing. If you don't want to give out your pen name, then don't. Your response to their questions (based on what you've written here) will probably be more off-putting than the fact that you're a romance writer.
