Now you know what Gap Year Essay is, but there is one more document that serves as an explanation for your educational break, namely Gap Year Certificate. It is often, that two documents are confused as substitutes for each other, however, they differ, drastically at that.
Gap Year Certificate is an official document that serves to officiate the educational gap. It is of the official nature that the document is also called Gap Year Affidavit. The certificate shall help you gain verification from your country’s government, that all the claims made by you in the Gap Year Essay are true and fair. The certificate is also a big help in providing a character and activities verification for your time spent in gap years.
Hence, Gap Year Certificate is an officiated and verified statement of declaration that you took some years of gap in your educational journey and the details stated by you in its regard are true and fair to the extent of your declaration to the Indian government. On the other hand, Gap Year Essay acts as your monologue of why you took the gap years and other details. While an extremely important document, it does not have the standing enjoyed by the Gap Year Certificate. Hence, it is recommended that you get your Gap Year Essay officiated through Gap Year Certificate to avoid verification complications.
You will have to buy a stamp paper, stating the denominations of INR 100, and then include the required information and points before submitting the same for verification and attestation from the designated gazetted officer. The cost of stamp paper shall be the same as the denomination mentioned on the header of the paper. You might have to include police verification, in relation to your character and residential, to provide a firm backing for your application.
Your Gap Year certificate must include the following details:
Personal details including Name, Age, Gender, Date of Birth, Permanent Address, Contact Number, E-Mail Id, etc.,
Official ID details, of the one submitted along with the certificate,
Details of the milestone qualifications, such as X, XII, and all above degree or diploma qualifications,
Details of the last qualification,
Date of gap beginning,
Details of Gap (if started mid qualification or not),
Reason behind your gap years (briefly),
Name of the last institute, school, college, or university,
Name of the institute, school, college, or university for future application,
Date of Application,
Candidate’s Personal Undertaking,
Candidate’s Signature,
Gazetted Officer or Advocate’s Personal Undertaking, and
Gazetted Officer or Advocate’s Signature.
As stated, your country’s government, here the Indian government, shall issue the certificate. You will have to apply for the Gap Year Certificate with the Indian government, here a judicial gazetted officer, or advocate. Once the respective gazetted officer verifies your documents and application they shall attest your certificate and you may now use the same for application to any national or international exam, university, job, etc.
You shall have to apply for the Gap Year Certificate on a stamp paper of at least INR 100, as a monetary personal undertaking. Other documents you need to include when applying for Gap Year Certificate include:
Termination/Leaving Certificate of School, College, or University (as the case may be),
Undertaking or declaration of your recent previous institute,
Last qualifying examination’s mark sheet,
National ID Proof (such as Aadhar Card),
Address Proof,
Birth Certificate or Proof of Nationality,
Gap Year Essay or Reason in description behind the gap year.
A gap year can be an opportunity to do something worthwhile before going back to the mundane academic routine but it can also be looked at negatively if you are unable to justify the break. In order to prove that you took the gap and filled it with constructive activities and it was not a waste, you should avoid making a few mistakes while writing the gap year essay .
The mistakes have been explained below:
Do not show your gap year in a negative light. It should not seem as if it was not fruitful for you or that you did not gain any new experience. Try to find out or get involved in productive activities so that you can justify your gap.
Even if you did not work or do something productive during your gap year, do not directly mention it in your essay. You can write about some activities that made you curious to pursue the course of your choice.
Do not try to make your gap sound unnecessarily dramatic. You should not be fabricating false experiences as you may get caught if an interview takes place or if there is any discrepancy. Being candid and truthful is often rewarded.
Not providing sufficient proof to support your claims or activities mentioned in your gap year essay can be a huge mistake. You can get letters of recommendation from people you have worked with or provide experience certificates or learning certificates to prove that you have utilised your time effectively. A Gap Year Certificate can single-handedly help you to make your case point.
The tone of the essay must neither be too casual nor overly personal. It is important to establish a personal connection, but you must avoid presenting yourself as still too involved. Since personality growth is an important aspect of gap years, you must not come off as still dealing with the effects of the period.
Do not set a preachy tone to your essay. You have to state your reasons and share rational experiences, not advocate the requirement or advantages of taking educational gaps.
Do not overemphasize your problems behind the educational gap, such as financial ones. Over lamentation can be seen as an indicator of your negative and unmotivated personality.
While writing a gap year essay, you must keep in mind that your essay should address directly the questions that the admission officers will have in their mind such as what you did in your gap year, where did you spend your gap year and how, why did you take a gap year, how value did the gap year add to your life and how it is to impact your future. Let us check what the study gap explanation letter sample must look like.
A gap year should never be seen in a negative light. Students not only learn within the periphery of classrooms but also from the world as a classroom. People learn valuable lessons every day from in and around their surroundings, and taking a gap year often means students are developing new skills and experiences to utilise in college. Therefore, the gap year essay must consist of a justification of the gap year with evidence. The admission committee will conduct a holistic evaluation and may even give you brownie points for your efforts at being a rounded individual.
If you have any queries regarding a gap year essay and want to know further about how to write it, contact us at abroad@collegedekho.com.
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What do you write in a gap year essay?
You can write about the reasons for taking the break in your gap year essay. You can also mention the effects it has had on your personality as a whole and the learning experiences you have gained. It should highlight your professional as well as personal aggrandisement.
Where can I get samples of gap year essays?
You can get samples of gap year essays from the internet. From there, you can get an idea of the format and content of a gap year essay. You may also get some tips to write a good gap year essay and what you should avoid writing in the gap year essay. Additionally, you can take help from experts who can guide you through the entire process.
Can I write about work experience in a gap year essay?
Yes, you can write about work experience in a gap year essay. It will be a testimonial of your proactive nature and the learning experiences which you have gained during the work period. It will also show that you know the inner workings of a company and now you want to contribute to your professional experience with the help of higher studies.
What reasons for a gap year can I write in a gap year essay?
You can cite monetary and health issues in your gap year essay. Apart from these two most common reasons for a gap, you can write about any employment opportunity, voluntary or freelancing activity, travel or learning a new skill as a reason for a gap year. To support them, you can also write the challenges you have faced and how you have overcome them.
What should be the format of a gap year essay?
The format of a gap year essay follows a conventional essay format with a proper introduction, body and conclusion. In the introduction, you can write in brief about yourself and the cause of your gap year, then you can elucidate it and in the end, you can write the impact it had on your life.
How to start a gap year essay?
You can start your gap year essay by giving a short introduction of yourself and how you have spent your gap year. You can touch upon the reason for which you had chosen to take a gap. You can mention the delay in enrollment due to special projects, activities, travel or spending time in another way which is meaningful.
How can I conclude my gap year essay?
You can conclude your gap year essay by citing the effect it has had on your personal and professional development. Write about the experiences gained during this time and how they have made you a better human being. You can mention how you can utilise these learnings in your future endeavours.
Can I lie in my gap year essay?
No, it is recommended to not lie in a gap year essay. The admission committee can cross-check or verify the information during the interview and if they find any discrepancy, your candidature will be dismissed. Therefore, it is crucial to utilise your gap year by immersing in worthwhile activities and enlist the same in your gap year essay.
Will my gap year essay result in a negative decision from the university?
No, your gap year essay will not result in a negative decision from the university unless you show your gap year in a bad light. If the admission committee finds that you utilised your gap year well, learned new skills, took part in employment activities or achieved something worthwhile, they will be more than happy to welcome you.
Do I need to provide proof of my activities during my gap year along with my gap year essay?
You may or may not need to provide proof of your activities during your year gap along with your gap year essay. But if you submit it, it will provide solid evidence of your activities and support the case. You may include the activities in your resume or get letters of recommendation (LORs) to substantiate your gap year essay.
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If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably started the very exciting process of applying to college—and chances are you may be a little overwhelmed at times. That’s OK! The key to getting into the right college for you is taking each step of the application process in stride, and one of those steps is completing the Common App and the Common App essay.
In this post, you’ll learn what the Common Application essay is, how to write one (including a free checklist to help you with the process), example essays, and much more. Let’s get started!
What is the Common App, and More Importantly, What is the Common App Essay? Quick Facts on the 2021-2022 Common App Essay How Do You Write a Common App Essay?
What Should I Avoid in My Common App Essay? What Are Some Good Common App Essay Examples?
What is the common app, and more importantly, what is the common app essay.
The “Common App,” short for the Common Application , is a general application used to apply to multiple college undergraduate programs at once. It’s accepted by hundreds of colleges in the United States as well as some colleges internationally.
The idea is that the Common App is a “one-stop shop” so you don’t have to complete a million separate applications. That said, plenty of colleges still require their own application components, and the Common App, as user-friendly as it aims to be, can still feel like a bit of a challenge to complete.
Part of the reason the Common App can seem intimidating is because of the Common App essay component, which is required of all students who submit a college application this way. But never fear! In reality, the Common App essay is easy to ace if you know how to approach it and you give it your best.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at anything and everything you need to know about the 2021-2022 Common App essay in order to help you get into the school of your dreams. We’ve also created a downloadable quick guide to writing a great Common Application essay.
Below are just a few of the short and sweet things you need to know about the 2021-2022 Common App essay, but we’ll elaborate on some of this content later in this post.
There is no fee to complete the Common App, but nearly every college has its own set of necessary submissions fees. | |
250-650 words | |
One (but specific colleges may request more than that in their applications) | |
You have until 11:50 pm in your timezone on the day a college application is due to submit the Common App, including the Common App essay. | |
The million dollar question about the Common App essay is obviously, “How do I actually write it?!”
Now there’s something to keep in mind before exploring how to compose the Common App essay, and that’s the purpose of this task. You may be wondering:
College admissions boards want to see that you can compose a compelling, well-crafted essay. After four years of high school, you’re expected to be able to craft a clear and concise piece of writing that addresses a specific subject.
So yes, you’re actually being evaluated on your essay writing skills, but the purpose of the Common Application essay is deeper than that—it’s to present the type of person and thinker that you are.
Regardless of which prompt you choose, colleges are trying to get a sense of how thoughtfully and critically you can reflect on your life and the world around you .
And furthermore, they want to get a sense of who you are—your interests, your personality, your values—the dimensional aspects of you as an applicant that simply can’t be expressed in transcripts and test scores . In short, you want to stand out and be memorable.
That said, there is no exact formula for “cracking the case” of the Common App essay, but there are plenty of useful steps and tips that can help you write a great essay.
(In a hurry? Download our quick and concise handout that sums up some of the keys to the Common App essay!)
The Common App recently released the 2021-2022 essay prompts , which are almost the same as last year’s prompts, but with one BIG difference.
The prompt about problem solving (formerly prompt #4) has been replaced with a prompt about gratitude and how it has motivated you. According to Common App President and CEO Jenny Rickard, this change was inspired by new scientific research on the benefits of writing about gratitude and the positive impact others have had on our lives.
Additionally, the Common App now includes an optional Covid-19 prompt where you can discuss how you’ve personally been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, let’s take a look at each 2021-2022 Common App prompt individually. You’ll notice that every prompt really has two parts to it:
Let’s take a look.
Prompt #1: A snapshot of your story
Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Prompt #2: An obstacle you overcame
Prompt: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Prompt #3: A belief or idea you questioned or challenged
Prompt: Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Prompt #4: An experience of gratitude that has motivated you
Prompt: Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Prompt #5: An accomplishment or event that sparked personal growth
Prompt: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Prompt #6: An interest so engaging you lose track of time
Prompt: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Prompt #7: An essay topic of your choice
Prompt: Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Now keep in mind that to some degree, it doesn’t actually matter which prompt you choose to answer, so long as you write and present yourself well. But you obviously want to pick whichever Common App essay prompt speaks to you most, and the one you think will provide you the meatiest and most meaningful material.
This is an outstanding guide to choosing the right Common App essay prompt, but as a rule of thumb, the “right” prompt will probably stand out to you. If you have to rack your brain, for example, to think of a challenge you’ve overcome and how the experience has shaped you, then that prompt probably isn’t the right one.
Authenticity is key, so choose the prompt you can answer thoroughly.
Whether you know immediately which prompt you’re going to choose or not, do yourself a huge favor and brainstorm . Take out a notebook and jot down or free write all of the ideas that spring to your mind for as many of the prompts that you’re considering. You might be surprised what ideas you generate as you start doing this, and you might be surprised which ideas seem to have the most content and examples to elaborate on.
Also, it’s important to note that your subject matter doesn’t have to be highly dramatic or spectacular. You don’t have to recount a near-death experience, an epic overseas adventure, a 180-degree turn of faith, etc. Your ordinary life, when reflected upon thoughtfully, is interesting and profound.
This may sound painfully obvious, but for some of us, it can be hard to stay on topic. Each prompt is posed as a question , so don’t lose sight of that and let your essay devolve into a story about yourself that never really gets at the heart of the prompt.
As you’re drafting your essay—say after each paragraph—pause and refer back to the question, making sure each paragraph plays some part in actually responding to the prompt.
The Common App essay isn’t like many of the other argumentative essays you’ve been taught to write in school. It is argumentative in that you are essentially arguing for why you are a good candidate for a particular college, using your personal experience as support, but it’s more than that.
The Common Application essay is essentially a narrative essay that is reflective and analytical by nature. This means that regardless of which prompt you select, you’ll be sharing something personal about yourself, and then reflecting on and analyzing why what you shared is important.
And even if this isn’t an essay format that you’re accustomed to writing, you can still rely on your knowledge of basic essay structures to help you. You’ll still need a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
Let’s talk about those three pieces now.
The purpose of an introduction is 1) to grab the reader’s attention and compel them to continue reading, and 2) to introduce the reader to the general subject at hand.
So the most important part of the introduction is a unique attention-getter that establishes your personal voice and tone while piquing the reader’s interest. An example of a good hook could be a brief illustrative anecdote, a quote, a rhetorical question, and so on.
Now, you may be wondering, “Do I need a thesis statement?” This is a great question and the simple answer is no.
This is because some students prefer to hook their reader with a bit of mystery and let their story unfold organically without a thesis sentence “spoiling” what is to come. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a thesis sentence, it just means you don’t need one. It just depends on how you want to build your personal narrative, and what serves you best.
That said, your essay does need a greater message or lesson in it, which is another way of saying a thesis . You just don’t necessarily have to write it out in the introduction paragraph.
It might help you to keep a thesis in mind or even write it down just for your own sake, even if you don’t explicitly use it in your introduction. Doing so can help you stay on track and help you build up to a stronger reflection.
Here are some examples of narrative thesis statements:
As discussed earlier, there are two parts to each prompt: explanation and reflection . Each part should be addressed throughout the essay, but how you organize your content is up to you.
A good rule of thumb for structuring the body of your essay is as follows:
Note that while there are no set rules for how many paragraphs you should use for your essay, be mindful of breaking paragraphs whenever you naturally shift gears, and be mindful of too-long paragraphs that just feel like walls of text for the reader.
Your conclusion should flow nicely from your elaboration, really driving home your message or what you learned. Be careful not to just dead-end your essay abruptly.
This is a great place to speculate on how you see the subject matter informing your future, especially as a college student and beyond. For example, what might you want to continue to learn about? What problems do you anticipate being able to solve given your experience?
It may go without saying, but tell your own story, without borrowing from someone else’s or embellishing. Profound reflection, insight, and wisdom can be gleaned from the seemingly simplest experiences, so don’t feel the need to stray from the truth of your unique personal experiences.
Also, make sure to laser in on a highly specific event, obstacle, interest, etc. It is better to go “narrower and deeper” than to go “wider and shallower,” because the more specific you are, the more vivid and engrossing your essay will naturally be.
For example, if you were a camp counselor every summer for the last few years, avoid sharing several summers’ worth of content in your essay. Focus instead on one summer , and even better, on one incident during that summer at camp.
And on that note, remember to be vivid! Follow the cardinal rule of writing: show and don’t tell . Provide specific details, examples, and images in order to create a clear and captivating narrative for your readers.
Unlike in most academic essays, you can sound a bit less stuffy and a bit more like yourself in the Common App essay. Your essay should be professional, but can be conversational. Try reading it aloud; does it sound like you? That’s good!
Be mindful, however, of not getting too casual or colloquial in it. This means avoiding slang, contractions, or “text speak” abbreviations (e.g. “lol”), at least without deliberate context in your story (for example, if you’re recounting dialogue).
You’re still appealing to academic institutions here, so avoid profanity at all costs, and make sure you’re still upholding all the rules for proper style, grammar, and punctuation.
This one is a biggie. Give yourself time during your application process to revise, rework, and even rewrite your essay several times. Let it grow and change and become the best version it can be. After you write your first draft, walk away from it for a couple days, and return to it with fresh eyes. You may be surprised by what you feel like adding, removing, or changing.
And of course, make sure your essay is pristine before you submit it. Triple and quadruple check for spelling and usage errors, typos, etc. Since this isn’t a timed essay you have to sit for (like the ACT essay test , for example), the college admissions readers will expect your essay to be polished and sparkling.
A tried and true method for both ensuring flow and catching errors is reading your essay aloud. You may sound a little silly, but it really works!
Your Common App essay is your chance to provide a deeper insight into you as a person, so avoid just repeating what you’d put on a resume. This is not to say you can’t discuss something mentioned briefly on your resume in greater depth, but the best essays offer something new that helps round out the whole college application.
Okay, now this one is a bit tricky. On the one hand, you should write boldly and honestly, and some of the prompts (the one about challenging a particular belief, for example) are appropriate for addressing potentially contentious topics.
But that said, avoid being controversial or edgy for the sake of being controversial or edgy. Be steadfast in your beliefs for the greater sake of the narrative and your essay will be naturally compelling without being alienating to your readers.
If you have a personal story that you’re not entirely comfortable sharing, avoid it, even if it would make a great essay topic in theory. This is because if you’re not comfortable writing on the subject matter, you’ll end up being too vague, which won’t do your story or overall application justice. So choose a subject matter you’re familiar with and comfortable discussing in specifics.
Unless they really, truly serve your essay, avoid general platitudes and cliches in your language. It is definitely encouraged to have an essay with a moral, lesson, or greater takeaway, but try to avoid summing up what you’ve learned with reductive phrases like “slow and steady wins the race,” “good things come in small packages,” “actions speak louder than words,” “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” and so on.
There are tons of Common App essays out there, including these Common App essay examples accepted at Connecticut College, which include explanations from admissions readers about why they were chosen.
But let’s take a look here at two versions of an example essay, one that is just okay and one that is great.
Both Common App essay examples are crafted in response to prompt #2, which is:
During my sophomore year of high school, I tore my ACL, which stands for “anterior cruciate ligament,” and is the kiss of death for most athletic careers. This injury ended up being one of the greatest obstacles of my life. It was also, however, a turning point that taught me to see opportunity amidst adversity.
It was particularly awful that I was just about to score a winning goal during a championship hockey game when I was checked by a guy on the opposing team and came crashing down on my knee. It was pain unlike anything I’d ever felt before, and I knew immediately that this was going to be bad.
For the few months that followed the accident, I was lost, not really knowing what to do with myself. I didn’t know who I was anymore because hockey had been my whole world and sense of identity. Between working out, attending practice, playing home and away games, and watching games to learn more, it was my lifeblood. Losing my ability to play took a toll on me physically and emotionally and I grew lethargic and depressed.
And then one day I heard my school would be adding an advanced multimedia art class for those students who wanted to continue studying art beyond what was already offered. I had taken the handful of art classes my school offered and really enjoyed and excelled at them—though I had never considered them more than just fun electives to fill my scheduled, as required.
After a couple of weeks of the class, I began feeling better. Suddenly I wanted to draw or paint everything I looked at. I wanted to share the world around me as I saw it with others, to connect with people in a way I’d never done before. I met and made friends with many new people in that art class, people I would have never known if I hadn’t taken it, which also opened me up to all kinds of new mindsets and experiences.
We’re all familiar with the common adage, “When one door closes, another opens,” and this is exactly what happened for me. I might never have pursued art more seriously if I hadn’t been taken out of hockey. This has served as a great reminder for me to stay open to new opportunities. We never know what will unexpectedly bring us joy and make us more well-rounded people.
Areas for Improvement in Version #1:
Now let’s apply this feedback and revise the essay.
My body was splayed out on the ice and I was simultaneously right there, in searing pain, and watching everything from above, outside of myself. It wasn’t actually a “near death” experience, but it was certainly disorienting, considering that just seconds before, I was flying down the ice in possession of the puck, about to score the winning goal of our championship game.
Instead, I had taken a check from an opposing team member, and had torn my ACL (or anterior cruciate ligament), which is the kiss of death for most athletic careers.
My road to recovery included two major surgeries, a couple months on crutches, a year of physical therapy, and absolutely zero athletic activity. I would heal, thankfully, and regain movement in my knee and leg, but I was told by doctors that I may never play hockey again, which was devastating to me. Hockey wasn’t just my passion—it was my life’s goal to play professionally.
For the few months that followed the accident, I was lost, feeling like a ghost haunting my own life, watching everything but unable to participate. I didn’t know who I was anymore because hockey had been my whole world and sense of identity. Between working out, attending practice, playing home and away games, and watching games to learn more, it was my lifeblood. Losing my ability to play took a toll on me physically and emotionally, and I grew lethargic and depressed.
And then one day I heard my school would be adding an advanced multimedia art class after school for those students who wanted to study art more seriously. I had already taken the handful of art classes my school offered and really enjoyed them—though I had never considered them more than just fun electives to fill my schedule, as required. And, because of hockey, I certainly had never had afternoons open.
After a couple of weeks of the class, I began to feel alive again, like “myself” but renewed, more awake and aware of everything around me. Suddenly I wanted to draw or paint everything I looked at, to bring everything I saw to life. It wasn’t just that I’d adopted a new hobby or passion, it was that I began looking more closely and critically at the world around me. I wanted to share what I saw with others, to connect with people in a way I’d never done before.
My art teacher selected a charcoal portrait of mine to be showcased in a local art show and I’ve never been more proud of myself for anything. Many of my friends, family members, and teammates came to see the show, which blew me away, but also I realized then just how much of my own self worth had been attached to people’s perception of me as a successful athlete. I learned how much better it feels to gain self worth from within. Unlike hockey, which I’d trained to be good at since I was a toddler, art is something that made me much more vulnerable. I didn’t do it to try to be the best, I did it because it felt good. And getting out of my comfort zone in this way gave me a sense of confidence I had never known prior, despite all my time on the ice during high-stakes games.
Today, I’m back in skates and able to play hockey, but will probably not play professionally; while I am disappointed, I’m also at peace with it. We make plans in life, and sometimes life has other plans for us that we have to adapt to and embrace, which is the more profound lesson I’ve learned in the healing process. We can crumple in the face of obstacles, or we can look for a silver lining and allow ourselves to grow into more complex, dynamic, well-rounded people. I don’t know what the rest of life holds for me, but I do know that I’m going to keep making art, and I’m going to keep opening myself up to new opportunities and experiences.
Strengths of Version #2:
Hopefully these examples have given you ideas of how you can take your Common App essay from good to great. If you have more questions about how to write a Common App essay, keep reading our FAQs below.
Last year, the Common App essay was capped at 650 words with a minimum of 250 words required. The best essays tend to range between 500-650 words.
Think of it this way as you start to draft: 500 words is one single-spaced page (250 words is one double-spaced page), so you should write roughly a page to page and half of typed, single-spaced content.
Here are the 2021-2022 Common App essay prompts , which are the same as last year’s, with the exception of a new prompt #4 and the addition of a Covid-19 Common App prompt .
A title is not required for the Common App essay, but you are, of course, more than welcome to include one if you’d like.
All of the necessary information for the Common App and the Common App essay can be found on the Common Application home page.
For further reading, here are some posts that tackle and dispel common myths about the Common App essay:
Myth: The Common App essay must sound professional. Myth: Colleges can’t tell if someone helps write a common app essay.
If you haven’t already, you can download our free Common App essay checklist .
There you have it! The Common App essay can actually be quite rewarding to write if you give yourself enough time to prepare for it thoroughly. Remember, it’s all about you, and you’re the authority on that! So hunker down and don’t forget to have fun in the writing process.
We’d also love to hear from you! What questions or concerns do you still have about the Common Application essay? What are you thinking about writing on?
Comment below, and good luck!
Nadyja von Ebers is one of Magoosh’s Content Creators. Nadyja holds an MA in English from DePaul University and has taught English and at the high school and college levels for twelve years. She has a decade of experience teaching preparation for the AP exams, the SAT, and the ACT, among other tests. Additionally, Nadyja has worked as an academic advisor at college level and considers herself an expert in all things related to college-prep. She’s applied her college expertise to posts such as UCLA Admissions: The SAT Scores, ACT Scores, and GPA You Need to Get in and A Family Guide to College Admissions . Nadyja loves helping students reach their maximum potential and thrives in both literal and virtual classrooms. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys reading and writing for pleasure and loves spending time in or near the ocean. You can connect with her on LinkedIn !
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You have just submitted your primary application and after a brief respite, the secondary essays begin to flood in. Do not fret! With a little practice and patience, you will be churning out these essays! It can be easy, however, to become overwhelmed with the task at hand. My advice is to begin writing some of the more straightforward essays to help you boost your confidence and get the ball moving. A great place to start is the prompt about your gap year. Here are a few tips and misconceptions to guide you through this common secondary prompt.
In many cases for this essay, you will have very little space to describe what you are doing or plan to do. As such, do not add flowery language and get to the point as quickly as possible. Your main goals here are to (1) tell your reviewers what it is that you are doing/plan to do and (2) what you have learned/hope to learn. Ideally you want to focus on the latter and explain how these extra years will eventually align with your goals of becoming a physician.
One thing that is often not known (or is simply forgotten) is that these secondary essays are not your last opportunity to update your schools about what is happening/what you are learning during your gap year. Throughout the admissions process, applicants are often encouraged to write update letters to the schools (just double check that each of your schools accepts update letters). This secondary is a great chance to tell the schools the things that you are working on now and what you have learned from them.
Something that many applicants do during their gap years is work on their candidacy – most commonly working on their MCAT score. However, something that might be feared at this point in the cycle is that this information is not enough for this essay. However, medical school is a lot about resilience and overcoming obstacles. Therefore, talking about the plan and approach you have taken to strengthen your application is a valid approach for this essay! Ideally, your plan worked and you did in fact achieve your goals; so, talking about what you have learned in the process is absolutely helpful in showing your ability to go through medical school and become a doctor.
While many people spend their gap years doing something that is “easily defendable” in terms of its relation to a future in medicine, others may do something completely different. All the above is great! The most important thing to do in this essay is to talk about what you have learned and how it will make you a better physician in the long run.
Now, if you have taken many years off and have not touched the field of medicine for any of those years, it may be more difficult to defend why you are applying to medical school. If you are going through this scenario, my advice is to try to have something even remotely related to medicine going on in the background. Your primary focus of your gap year(s) can be unrelated to medicine, but make sure you have some kind of touchpoint with the medical field during that time, even if it's in a very limited capacity.
Pav graduated magna cum laude with a BSE in Chemical and Biological Engineering and minors in Engineering Biology and Global Health Policy from Princeton. He is now an MD-PhD student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Looking for a gap year essay example? This argumentative essay describes all the pros and cons of taking a gap year before college.
There is an ongoing debate on whether high school graduates should take a year off (a gap year) before joining college. A gap year is a break from formal education and controlled environment that is otherwise monotonous and exhausting. Gap year is common in European countries and also in Australia and it is quickly catching up in America. It is an idea that even the most prestigious colleges and universities are getting fond of and thus encourage high school leavers to try it out.
After completing high school, students tend to suffer from ‘information overload’ and exhaustion (Naomi, 2008). A year off may be helpful to such a person who has had an academic burnout and can use some time out to ‘recharge his or her academic battery’. The gap year will present the student with a chance to refresh his system and get a renewed energy which he will use to face the next phase of education.
Another reason as to why taking a year off is important is the fact that the person is able to build on some self confidence and their maturity level. Even top level universities are encouraging school leavers to take a year off since they reckon that those who do so, bring good values to the institution since they have had a taste of ‘outside life’ and will have a serious perspective towards life.
It is believed that those who take a gap year will be more focused and ready to face the more taxing institution of higher education. It is usually encouraged that students taking the gap year do so in a manner that will help them add some experience in a working environment while earning some money. They may also look for an internship which will help them have a feel of an organization and how it operates thus the student will make their curriculum vitae more appealing (William, 2000).
A gap year also offers chance for the high school leaver to do a thorough university search where he will look for the right institution that offers the course that he wants to engage himself in. The year off presents the school leaver with a chance to find the academic forte that he is most comfortable with. While enjoying a gap year, the school leaver will decide on what he or she wants to major in and this in turn will help them become more focused when joining university.
A school leaver may also spend his gap year travelling around hence broadening his horizon. By travelling abroad, the school leaver may discover new talents, gain new skills, learn new languages and visit various historical sites and this will help him have a diverse and broader perspective of life and thus make him more serious and focused when he gets to university.
Travelling abroad will also help the school leaver mingle with people of different races and cultures, a factor that helps them understand and appreciate diversity. This turns out to be very helpful to the high school leaver since he will encounter a multiracial and multicultural environment in the university and can therefore easily adapt, settle and start learning (Shellenbarger, 2010)).
A high school leaver who takes a gap year has a better chance of handling the peer pressure in the university. Because the high school leaver who was previously under the careful watch of his parents, will now be left on his own and thus the leaver who enjoyed his gap year travelling or being on an attachment will have built his self confidence and hence will tend to fight off peer pressure unlike the school leaver who joins university immediately where he will be hit by the reality of ‘first true freedom’ (World Inhabit, 2007).
Besides the fact that taking a gap year will help to refresh the school leaver’s system, the gap year may also turn out to be disastrous towards the student and his career. This usually happens when the high school leaver fails to plan properly his schedule for the year off. Mostly, the high school leavers will waste a whole year and may not gain any helpful experience.
A mismanaged gap year may turn out to be too expensive to the high school leaver and, hence, deplete resources leaving him with insufficient funds to join university. Taking a gap year may result in a higher university budget as tuition fees tend to increase annually. William (2000) notes that “engaging in a gap year may result in the student missing a slot in the university especially in courses that are competitive”.
Also taking a year off may at times make the student lose momentum on studying and this may cause him a drop out of college or take a longer time to complete his course than expected. A gap year may lead to the high school leaver being demoralized by trailing his fellow classmates during the whole year (Sanjou, 2008).
A person who takes a gap year may fail to develop good skills and habits that may affect and help in his career and consequently fail to fit in the taxing university environment. A high school leaver who takes a gap year may enjoy real freedom having a time of his life and may find it very difficult to come in terms with reality that may end up by failing to join the university (Eunson, 2008).
Taking a year off may consequently lead to a delay in the beginning of a person’s career which means that the person will start earning at a later stage in life than he was supposed to. Also there are companies which plan trips for the school leavers thus reducing their level of self responsibility and thus don’t help build self confidence since they plan everything for the school leavers who should instead be doing things on their own to help build their confidence (College Confidential, 2010).
A high school graduate should consider the options he or she has when choosing whether or not to take up a gap year. The individual through numerous consultations with his parents, school counselors and sponsors should weigh between the pros and cons of taking up a gap year or not.
Ultimately, the decision lies in the high school leaver’s hands. This means that should the school leaver decide that he needs a break from academic pressure, he should ensure that he spends his gap year productively in a manner that will help boost his career path. A year off that is well spent by the school leaver can help boost a person’s confidence and maturity level. He will have a broader perspective of life and hence will give the university the seriousness it deserves once he gets enrolled.
Many universities in Europe and currently in the United States have come to appreciate the importance of taking a year off. Reports made by a number of university deans show that most people who take a gap year before joining university usually have a higher degree of seriousness, maturity and understanding than those who join university immediately after high school.
College Confidential. (2010). Pros and Cons of Gap Year . Web.
Eunson, B. (2008). Communicating in the 21st century 2nd edition . New York: John Wiley.
Naomi, G. (2008). The college gap year. Advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year. CA: Sage.
Sanjou .G. (2008). Taking a year off is advantageous . New York: John Wiley.
Shellenbarger, S. ( 2010). Delaying College to Fill in the Gaps . Wall Street Journal.
William, F. (2000). Time out or Burn Out for the Next generation. New York, NY: McGraw Hill/Irwin.
World Inhabit. (2007). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Taking a Gap Year. Web.
IvyPanda. (2018, October 17). The Gap Year Essay: Pros and Cons. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gap-year/
"The Gap Year Essay: Pros and Cons." IvyPanda , 17 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/gap-year/.
IvyPanda . (2018) 'The Gap Year Essay: Pros and Cons'. 17 October.
IvyPanda . 2018. "The Gap Year Essay: Pros and Cons." October 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gap-year/.
1. IvyPanda . "The Gap Year Essay: Pros and Cons." October 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gap-year/.
Bibliography
IvyPanda . "The Gap Year Essay: Pros and Cons." October 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gap-year/.
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I will be applying to college this upcoming fall AFTER having already completed one gap year. On the common app there’s a section where you can click a box indicating that you took a gap year (among other options) and they give you a 250 word limit to provide details about it. Specifically it says “please use the space below to provide details about the change in progression through high school that you indicated above”
How do I go about writing this? Do I explain why I took the gap year? Do I mention the things I did during the year? Please help me 🥺
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Home / Essay Samples / Education / Higher Education / Gap Year
Things to concern before taking a gap year.
Gap year is a year or a few months of vocation which is taken after high school or university. It aims at learning from experience in various activities, like volunteering, sightseeing and working etc. Taking a gap year is popular among youngsters nowadays. This essay...
A gap year is a period of time when students break form their education to do something else: working, saving money for the tuitions, travelling. Gap year allows people to develop communication, knowledge, independence and autonomy. Besides, this enables to improve and learn foreign languages....
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In today’s society, the word gap year has gained more and more significance. It is now considered as an important period for an individual to cope with many structured activities, like volunteering, part-time working, Military training and vocational trainings. A gap year is defined as...
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