<p>This question is on the Penn app for those applying in Sept. I imagine I had better not say that I hang out with friends for fun!
I almost feel as if I had better start a new hobby now that would be interesting to an adcom so that I can answer the question in an interesting way. For example, as a male should I take up knitting? figure skating? If I start the lessons now, then I can honestly say I do it for fun.
Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Just say the truth. I definitely had hanging out with friends as part of my answer.</p>
<p>what do you mean for those applying in september who would ever have to apply that early? isnt ED even just Nov 1?</p>
<p>Just be honest.</p>
<p>yeah just be honest...what DO you do for fun? i'd tell adcoms that I catch up on classic movies for fun...then i'd talk about some of my favorites (full metal jacket, the good the bad and the ugly, etc)</p>
<p>There's nothing wrong with saying you like to hang out with friends, but try to also expand on it. What do you do when you hang out? "Hanging out" is quite broad, so give the committee some insight into what you actually do that makes it so much fun. Do you go to movies? Go disc golfing? Play cards? Sit around on the couch and just talk (what do you talk about?)? Why do you value these experiences as much as you do? The more you can explain to them about why this is fun and why you would choose to simply "hang around with friends," the more the committee can identify with you and see who you are as a person.</p>
<p>As a quick disclaimer, since I'm already at Penn and haven't looked at this year's app, I have no idea if this is a simple fill in the blank question, a short answer, or an essay. If it's simply fill in the blank, longer explanations are obviously not appropriate, but still try to be more specific than just hanging out. Perhaps try something like "Hanging out with friends (our favorite activities are playing cards, watching movies, and skateboarding)"</p>
<p>It is just simply a fill in the blank question.</p>
<p>It's not fill-in-the-blank. It's short answer question. Darn..I wish I had taken up ballroom dancing, or soemthing unusual.</p>
<p>^Yeah you're right. Sorry I was typing that fast while doing something else and did not realize what I wrote.</p>
<p>A friend of mine is a competitive ballroom dancer I think.</p>
<p>I said that I like to go to the zoo and feed the monkeys until they die.</p>
<p>im in the swing dance club :] it's so much fun!!! XD</p>
<p>i think they're looking for something outside of the obvious: hang out with friends (unless you don't like hanging out with friends for some odd reason)</p>
<p>i love cooking gourmet meals. :-/ i'm special like that.</p>
<p>by far the best Penn app question is, "You've just handed in to the publisher your 300 page autobiography. Please submit page 217."</p>
<p>i feel like they look really closely at that one, to make sure the kids have some life to them</p>
<p>Yeah, they've been doing that question for at least 20 years.</p>
<p>Sometimes for fun, when I'm home alone, I put on a dress and sing 80's love ballads into my mirror. Oh, wait this is a college forum...um never mind.</p>
<p>I just said the truth...playing golf, squash, tennis, baseball and basketball; playing guitar and bass in my band; watching movies.</p>
<p>halopeno2: lol, way too much information.</p>
<p>I guess I got to personal, but aren't we supposed to be honest when applying to college:)</p>
<p>lol... just say what you like doing for fun. I'm sure there's something you like enough that it's worth talking about... I guess you could even make WoW interesting...</p>
<p>but maybe not</p>
<p>Is it ok if you don't write in complete sentences?</p>