Gap Year Secondary Essay Prompts
59 medical schools ask about your gap year (64 prompts in all). Each one is below word for word, with its limit, so you can see how the same question changes from school to school.
53 verified for the 2026-2027 cycle; the rest are from an earlier cycle and marked.
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How to answer Gap Year prompts
Be concrete about what you did or will do: your role, hours per week, and what you are learning. If plans are not final, give the plan and its dates rather than a range of maybes.
Most common limits: 1000 characters (6), 1500 characters (5), 2000 characters (5). Write the longest version once, then cut it to each school's limit.
Every Gap Year prompt, by school
Collected from public applicant reports. Prompts occasionally change mid cycle, so confirm against your own secondary portal before you submit.
Has your college or university, graduate or professional school attendance been interrupted for any reason? If yes, please explain. Also, please explain any extended gaps in activity/employment in your post-graduate history. If the question does not apply to you, please put N/A in the box provided.
1000 charactersI have taken time off from school between high school and college. If you answered, "yes" to the above question, please explain.
3000 charactersI have taken time off from school during my undergraduate years. If you answered, "yes" to the above question, please explain.
3000 charactersI have taken at least a year off from school since college graduation, including this year that I am applying. If you answered, "yes" to the above question, please explain.
3000 charactersDid you take your last science course more than 5 years ago? If you answered "yes" to the above question, and have been away from course work for more than 5 years, please explain your activities, as well as any course work you may have completed during this time. If your answer was, "no," please write "NA" in the box below.
3000 charactersGap Year(s) if applicable: If you are taking time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation, please tell us why you made this decision and what you will be doing or have done during this gap time.
1500 charactersOptionalAre you planning to matriculate into medical school immediately after completing your undergraduate education? If not, please explain what activities and/or careers you have pursued in the time between your college education and your application.
No stated limitDo you hope to attend medical school immediately after earning your undergraduate degree? If no, describe how you've spent your time leading up to applying to medical school. This may include attending a post-baccalaureate program or other education, gap year activities such as employment or travel, or other relevant pursuits.
300 wordsDescribe what activities you have engaged in since degree completion.
No stated limitOptionalWill you be enrolled as a student this year? Whether or not you will be a full-time student, please provide details of your activities/employment for the application year.
1200 charactersPlease briefly summarize what you have done since graduating from your undergraduate institution:
300 wordsPlease describe your anticipated educational, employment, volunteer, or other activities between completing your AMCAS application and matriculating to medical school.
1500 charactersPlease describe your current activities/employment if you are not currently enrolled as a fulltime student.
No stated limitPlease indicate what you have been doing since the time of graduation until now.
250 wordsPlease explain what you have been doing, or will be doing since graduation prior to your planned matriculation to medical school.
No stated limitOptionalIf you are planning to take a gap year, are currently in a gap year, or have taken time off between college and medical school, please describe how you have spent (or are spending) this time. If you are have applied previously, we ask that you describe any specific steps you have taken to strengthen your application.
500 wordsIf you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? If you are a re-applicant, please address steps taken to improve your application for medical school.
200 wordsPlease indicate your plans for 2026-2027. If in school, list the courses you will be taking. If working, tell us about your job. If your plans or courses change, subsequently, please inform the Admissions Office by email at [email protected]. For course changes, we only need to be notified about changes related to prerequisite courses.
250 wordsPlease provide the Admissions Committee with a brief summary of your activities, academics, employment, or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours/week) from the point of application through matriculation in 2027.
750 charactersIf you have already graduated, briefly summarize your activities since graduation.
4000 charactersIf you are currently not a full-time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year.
100 wordsPlease describe what you have been doing since graduation and your plans for the upcoming year.
300 wordsOptionalWhat are your plans for the current year - June 2026 until June 2027?
2000 charactersIf you have already graduated, briefly describe your activities since graduation and your planned activities prior to matriculation into medical school.
275 wordsOptionalIf you have not been enrolled in coursework for over two years, please let us know what you have been doing since your coursework ended.
No stated limitOptionalIf you have taken any time off from your studies - before, during, or after college - please describe what you did during that time and your reasons for doing so.
No stated limitOptionalPlease provide a response to the timeline that pertains to you: If you have graduated from college, please tell us what you have been doing since that time up until the present and your reasons for doing so? (Please be sure to account for all your time since graduating, including your plans for the upcoming application cycle.) Please also discuss how these experiences have informed you of your understanding of primary care and chosen residency track. If you are still in college, what factors influenced your decision to apply to NYUGLISOM directly from undergrad? Please also tell us your planned academic, extracurricular, research, community service and/or work activities for the upcoming application cycle and how any of these activities align with your interest in primary care and chosen residency track?
400 wordsIf you have one year or more between college graduation and medical school matriculation, describe both your completed activities and anticipated plans, including the extent of your involvement.
200 wordsOptionalPlease use this space to explain anything on the activity timeline that may be confusing and/or for any activity gaps of 3 months or longer in your timeline above in the last 5 years.
4000 charactersOptionalIf not currently enrolled in a full-time academic program, please summarize your activities from the time of graduation from your baccalaureate program through the time of this application, as well as your plans between now and your matriculation to medical school.
75 wordsHave you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? If yes, please describe your activities during this time.
700 charactersWill your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? If NO, please explain what you have done or plan to do during the gap period and why.
500 wordsIf you have taken or plan to take time away from full-time academic enrollment (undergraduate or graduate) before medical school, please describe how you have used or plan to use this time. What experiences, skills, or insights do you hope to gain, and how will they contribute to your preparation for medical school and your development as a future physician? Please include your anticipated activities and time commitments through matriculation in July 2027:
1500 charactersOptionalPlease describe your gap activities (past and/or future):
1000 charactersOptionalAre there any periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full time or in college full-time? If yes, please briefly describe your activities.
No stated limitOptionalPlease describe your gap year plans.
No stated limitPlease briefly describe what activities you are/have been engaged in during the period between undergraduate school and medical school.
400 wordsOptionalSummarize your activities during this academic year. Describe how your activities are preparing you for a medical career.
2000 charactersPlease briefly describe your plans for the coming year. Will you be a student, working, conducting research, volunteering, or other activities?
1000 charactersDid you take any leaves of absence or significant breaks from your undergraduate education? (Do not include time off after graduation.) (Yes / No) (if yes) Please explain briefly ():
1000 charactersWhat have you been pursuing since you graduated?
No stated limitOptionalPlease clarify for the Admissions Committee your activities (school, work, and/or volunteer, travel, etc.) since receiving your undergraduate degree. You may list them in chronological order or you may incorporate them into an essay, stating why you chose particular activities. If you have just received or will receive your undergraduate degree this year, please discuss your plans for current year.
1500 charactersDid you experience or are you anticipating time between graduating from college and matriculating into medical school? If you answered "Yes" to question 4, describe the activities in which you participated or are planning to participate. Examples include additional schooling, employment, or caring for a loved one.
800 charactersOptionalIf you are 2025 or earlier college graduate, please use the space below to tell us what you have done since completing your undergraduate degree.
350 wordsOptionalIf you are not a full-time student during this application cycle, in particular at any time between July 2026 and July 2027, please detail your current and planned activities below. If your plans are not confirmed or if they change, please update us later in the cycle via the User Profile: Updates section.
250-500 wordsIf you are not currently in a degree-seeking program, please indicate what you will be doing from the time you complete this secondary application to the start of medical school.
1500 charactersOptionalIf you are no longer a full-time student, briefly describe your current employment, community, and/or educational activities.
1000 charactersOptionalPlease describe what you will be doing during the 2026-2027 academic year. If you graduated/will graduate in 2026, what are your plans for the coming year until you matriculate to medical school?
1000 charactersIf you are not currently enrolled in an academic program for this year, do not expect to spend this academic year in school, please explain how you intend to use this time. (If not applicable, please write N/A)
No stated limitPlease briefly summarize your activities since graduating from college. If you are still enrolled in undergraduate studies, please comment on any new projects, roles or initiatives undertaken since submitting your AMCAS application
200 wordsOptionalPlease briefly explain any lapses in your journey to medicine that are not explained in your application.
2000 charactersWhat will you be doing for the next twelve months during the application cycle?
2000 characters(Only required if you indicate you're not currently an undergrad) Have you already completed your undergraduate education, have you had your college or graduate education interrupted, or do you plan not to be a full-time student during your application year? If yes, describe in chronological order your activities during the time(s) when you were not enrolled as a full-time student.
2000 charactersOptionalPlease answer if you have had a gap or growth year (career change, re-applicant, additional education, etc.). A "growth year" is defined as a period of time between the end of your undergraduate education and a year or more prior to the start of medical school. What activities have you participated in or plan to participate in during this period? How does this relate to your future career in medicine?
No stated limitOptionalIf you are NOT attending college full time during the upcoming (2026-2027) academic year, what are your plans?
1525 charactersOptionalIf you have not taken any coursework for over 3 years, please explain why and what you have been doing during that period of time.
No stated limitOptionalIf there has been or will be a gap in your education, please describe how you have/will use this time. If not, please enter N/A.
750 charactersIf you are not enrolled in college or graduate school classes for the duration of the current academic year, please tell us how you are spending your time. Include both your current and any planned activities prior to enrolling in medical school.
No stated limitOptional- California Northstate University College of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
If your education has not been continuous since high school, please explain why. Examples of discontinuities include time taken off while obtaining your undergraduate degree, in addition to gap years.
250 words - Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
If you are not presently attending school, please indicate your employment or other plans for the time prior to your planned enrollment in medical school. If still in school, enter N/A.
5000 characters - Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University2025-2026 cycle
If you have completed an undergraduate degree, please describe your plans for the remainder of the current application cycle. (Ex. may include post-bacc, Master's, employment…). If no additional information is applicable, please select "N/A."
300 wordsOptional If not currently in school, what have you been doing since you were a full-time student?
No stated limitOptional- Roseman University of Health Sciences2025-2026 cycle
If you took time off between earning your baccalaureate degree and applying to medical school, please explain why.
250 words - University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia2025-2026 cycle
Describe your employment status since you completed your bachelor's degree (part-time, full-time, and dates).
2500 characters
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