How having a gap year would be extremely helpful by Hayley

How having a gap year would be extremely helpful by Hayley - August 2019 Scholarship Essay

I believe that having a gap year would be a great opportunity to take before I start my college and career journey. It would allow me to grow as a person and mature as an adult. It would give me another year to be prepared for the long journey ahead of me. Personally, I am a senior who is intending to major in biology on the Pre-Med track to become a doctor. A gap year would help me financially, mentally, and professionally.
I would use a gap year to my advantage by starting to boost my professional profile. With my goal of aspiring to be a doctor, I believe I would be able to boost my chances of getting into medical school by being the ‘well-rounded’ scholar the board is looking for whilst reviewing my application. Furthermore, if I interned at a hospital or health center, conducted my own research within the field of medicine, or even participated in leadership organizations I believe that having a gap year would be a great opportunity to take before I start my college and career journey. It would allow me to grow as a person and mature as an adult. It would give me another year to be prepared for the long journey ahead of me. Personally, I am a senior who is intending to major in biology on the Pre-Med track to become a doctor. A gap year would help me financially, mentally, and professionally.
I would use a gap year to my advantage by starting to boost my professional profile. With my goal of aspiring to be a doctor, I believe I would be able to boost my chances of getting into medical school by being the ‘well-rounded’ scholar the board is looking for while reviewing my application. Furthermore, if I interned at a hospital or health center, conducted my own research within the field of medicine, or even participated in leadership organizations such as Rotary; I believe I would stand out more in the medical board’s eyes.
I believe having that extra year before college would also help me extremely financially. I come from a middle class family… my parents are able to support us and provide for our needs but can’t afford something as expensive as college. With that, I have to figure out how to pay not only for my first four years of college, but also my years in medical school. In this hypothetical gap year, I would find ways to make some money to support myself while in college and to pay for college. I would try to find a paid internship in the healthcare field. If I couldn’t find something of that nature, then I would attain a job and save that money for college life. I would also apply to any and every scholarship that I could find/ qualified for.
Finally, having that extra year, in my opinion, would help me mentally. I believe giving my brain a little break from the books would allow me to come back more refreshed and prepared to take the difficult courses ahead of me. Obviously, I would continue to do some studying over all the core classes and read about things related to STEM so I could retain the knowledge I have already gained from high school. Basically, I would refresh my mind by getting a healthy amount of hours of sleep, keeping a healthy lifestyle routine, and making sure I am enjoying myself so I can keep a happy mental state.
All in all, having a gap year would be extremely beneficial to me because I would use it to help me in the long run with my career, to help me pay for my future college, and to help me be as prepared and refreshed as ever for college!