phrasing help please!!

[mommy2three]

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hey all,
i need some help with the phrasing for part of an answer for a secondary question. the question asks if there are any time gaps in academic career and to explain them. so i have ultimately decided to take this year off rather than pursuing a master's degree. the reasons for this were that i felt i had reached an end to my studies and the options i had presented to me did not serve to further me along my academic path so rather than spend money on something that did not serve to meet my purpose (moving me further along the path to med school) and i had reached a logical end to my academic career (not including med school). also, i wanted to focus on other aspects of my life this year (ie volunteer work, spending time with family, getting my emt-b license, etc). i am having difficulty phrasing the reasons into a coherent sentence that conveys the reasons without sounding negative.
any help or advice would be appreciated 🙂

 

[gman33]

I wouldn't think they would include this year as an acadmeic gap. I think they mean any time during your previous academic coursework (a year off while doing whatever...). If you are a non-trad them you probably do have some time in between ug and when you are applying now. If not, you wouldn't be a non-trad.

There may be another question that asks what you are doing this year. In that case just state what you are doing.

 

[mommy2three]

i was including this year as a gap since i have been in academic life for the past few years and am again not in academic life now therefore it will be a gap in my academic career......perhaps i am over thinking?

 

[kronickm]

I wouldn't mention anything about "a logical end to my academic career". Just say that you know the long and winding road ahead of you and you wanted to spend time with your family and volunteer for a year. Just make sure you follow up on it and actually do some usefull things.

 

[IUgrad]

I wouldn't think they would include this year as an acadmeic gap. I think they mean any time during your previous academic coursework (a year off while doing whatever...). If you are a non-trad them you probably do have some time in between ug and when you are applying now. If not, you wouldn't be a non-trad.

There may be another question that asks what you are doing this year. In that case just state what you are doing.

I agree. I finished with my post-bac in Dec 06, and while I did address other academic gaps in my apps, I didn't consider the time between Dec 06 and med school to be an academic gap.

OP, I don't think you need to address it unless you want to, i.e., to highlight some of the medical things (volunteering, EMT license, etc.) you have been doing.

If you still want help, PM me. I'd be happy to read it over and help you word it more positively.

 

[montessori2md]

Try to change the angle of approach -you're talking about academics as the negative, and not discussing the positives....so instead saying you didn't want to spend money on something that wouldn't help you, describe what you DID with the money (ie, financially prepared for medical school). Describe what you did this year....even if it was changing diapers and going for walks, but since it's a secondary, I wouldn't get too detailed.

I had this problem myself as I filled out the apps and interviewed, some good advice here helped me rework : )