MCAT, Time off question in interviews

[DoctaFuture]

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For those who took of an extra year or two. When the interviewers ask you about what you've done w/ your time off, do you guys usually mention that you studied for the mcat and took it? Or do you guy talk about your activities?

 

[MCATism]

Maybe ask this in the non-trad forum.... they're more likely to have encountered this situation.

Also, the short answer: Be honest.

And in order to be honest, be awesome in your time off. 😀

 

[LEUNIT]

For those who took of an extra year or two. When the interviewers ask you about what you've done w/ your time off, do you guys usually mention that you studied for the mcat and took it? Or do you guy talk about your activities?

I don't think they want to hear about your MCAT studying (even if that's all you did during your time off). Everyone that has applied to medical school has taken the MCAT.

I'm taking a year off and when I was asked this, I just talked about what I've been doing up to that point, clinical and non-clinical activities (babysitting, teaching piano, etc.).

 

[exptherainbow]

My approach would be to talk about what activities you did and how it impacted you and/or solidified your desires to go to medical school. Make it seem like your time off was productive and has put you in a position to be a better doctor.

I probably wouldn't mention the MCAT unless you were working 90 hours a week and studying for the MCAT at the same time and could use it to demonstrate time-management skills or something.

 

[goldenwest]

You don't have to have been doing groundbreaking research, EMT work, or working in an African orphanage during your year off. Just give a good explanation as to why you took a year off and what you did that was interesting. If you just took a year off because you wanted to make sure medicine was right for you then that would actually help you. If you took a year off for nothing more than to be a bum then that would obviously hurt you.

 

[RuSkaya]

I ended up taking two years off total... I told my interviewers the activities I am participating in during this time, and included the fact that I took a few months off to study for the MCAT full-time and no one seemed to judge 🙂

 

[kcin]

If you're going to tell adcoms that you took time off to study for the MCAT, you better have a really good score to show for it...

 

[Sweetpea MD]

I took 6 years off but also went to grad school at some point in there. I was honest about what I did and also honest about that fact that 2007 was an extremely self-indulgent year where I did nothing but teach dance. Literally.
They didn't seem to mind and even found it interesting. Just be honest! The fact that you studied for the MCAT goes without saying...